How do you cook your dinner?

[ohforgodssake135]

Just that really!

So what meats do you have, and what's your method of cooking do you use? Same for veg.

What do you buy/prep/freeze in advance?

I'm after ways of keeping our Christmas dinner easy but also tasty

I spend a lot of time in the kitchen. Someone has too (even if you're using relatively easy fixes) if you want a decent Christmas dinner.

I know I don't "have" too. I also don't "have" to get my family or children any presents. Save time if I didn't "have" to have a tree as well ;)

I do enjoy cooking, and ideally would like to spend more time with DC, but I don't miss so much time that it's worth sacrificing such an important part of Christmas Day. We all enjoy our meal greatly. I would never not bother simply because it can't cook itself. It wouldn't be Christmas without it.

Take very expensive filet of beef. Sear in pan. Put in oven for 50 minutes with m & s goose fat chips

Microwave creamed spinach.

Serve with choice of bearnaise/ketchup.

Ditching turkey in 2020 was the best thing I've ever done.

DH does cook a ham on Xmas eve to have on boxing day for leftovers though.

@Starlight86 @TwinsAndTiramisu ok. Point taken.
If you enjoy it then that's fine.
Just ignore me.
Personally I don't enjoy Christmas dinner as I don't like roast dinners and/or formal meals. I would happily just eat a sandwich on Christmas day 😂.

I really enjoy the cooking in the run up to Christmas- it's one of my favourite bits of the whole thing. I don't want to spend the whole of Christmas Day in the kitchen however so have worked out how to do things in advance.

Definitely agree that people shouldn't do a lot of cooking if they don't want to, but these days there are lots of options so it's really not compulsory.

I fricking love cooking the dinner. DH and the DC and I all muck in with carols and Junior Choice on. We all congregate in the dining room/garden room anyway, which is open plan to the kitchen and when my parents and brother arrive, they pitch in.

In advance - usually on the 24th - I make: a couple of types of stuffing, bread sauce, horseradish, cranberry sauce, spiced and braised red cabbage, leeks in cheese sauce, pigs in blankets, slow cook a ham with mustard and cloves, parboil and flour potatoes and make a veggie main which this year is a red pepper and feta parcel. Other veg such as brussels, carrots etc are all prepped on the evening of the 24th where possible and done whilst watching a Christmas film.

Pudding is made in advance and usually two starters prepped as far as possible. One is usually soup - spiced parsnip this year - and then something like earl grey infused salmon or charcuterie.

On the day, I do turkey, roast beef, other fresh veg, yorkshires, gravy.

It's not as labour intensive as it sounds. Lots of prep in advance and it's generally, a joyful and happy time. The turkey and beef cook in the morning and then rest for at least two hours whilst wrapped in foil and bath towels. There's minimal stuff to prep after that as we do most stuff in advance.

Prep everything ahead and freeze (freeze the roasties after par boiling and shaking then cook from frozen, really crunchy and tasty. cut and par boil carrots and parsnips and cook from frozen too, add honey glaze 10 minutes from end.. Spiced red cabbage reheats really well in microwave). Just cook gammon and turkey on Christmas morning. Make bread and cranberry sauce and gravy couple of days ahead, then add meat juices to gravy and reheat on hob.

Don’t panic.it just a larger selection Sunday roast!
Christmas as eve we do the ham in the slow cooker.
and that is as advanced as we’ve ever needed to be.
on the day leisurely get up and do presents.depending on what time this is dad might go down and stuff the turkey and stick it in.
then amble down and start prepping the veg: carrots cauli broccoli brussels
then the potatoes and also make a tray of sweet potatoes and red onions ready to roast together on a tray
check how the sausage in blankets need to be cooked and depending on oven space we can do these then and kept warm under foil in a dish
get the stuffing mixed ready to stick int he microwave
mix sachet of bread sauce
lay the table
get the sink filled with hot water to wash as we go.
then time everything as you would a roast so potatoes and veg go on on time.
watch tv and do any present under the tree whilst taking it in turns to shower and change
Usually late lunch about 3.

Needmorelego I love cooking the Christmas dinner .... and I love eating it . I don't find it a chore at all and in fact I would much rather be in the kitchen on my own than assembling new toys or watching films ... although I am happy to play a board game . But it's lucky we are all different, if your username reflects your interests I can personally think of nothing worse than being forced to assemble Lego....

@Ragwort I will think of you as I spend Christmas Day building my new Lego set 😂
(Yet to decide which one to ask Santa for....)

Need hope we will both have a Happy Christmas

Christmas Eve:
Turkey brined early if possible. Later sometimes. Left in 3- season porch.

Cranberry and orange sauce made, left in porch.

Stuffing made in the afternoon or evening, and refrigerated.

Pumpkin pie and pecan pie made, cooled, refrigerated or left in porch if cold.

Tiramisu made and refrigerated.

Cinnamon rolls made late evening and left to rise.

Christmas Day:
Cinnamon rolls baked, cooled, glazed.
DS makes the rest of breakfast (scrambled eggs, rashers, sausage).

Breakfast cleared away, dishwasher run and then emptied.

Turkey taken out of brine and left to air at around 12 noon.

Turkey stuffed about 1.30pm and put in hot oven.

Turkey neck boiled for stock with onion, parsley stalks, and carrot.

Potatoes peeled and chopped.

Carrots, parsnips, sweet potato peeled and sliced.

Brussels sprouts trimmed and tops Xd.

Potatoes parboiled when the turkey is turned down (maybe about 40 mins after being put in the oven).

Sweet potatoes set to boil, carrots and parsnips in same saucepan after about ten minutes. All ready at the same time.
Water from the saucepan set aside. Sweet potatoes set aside for later.

When the turkey is leaking fat, potatoes and parsnips dropped into the roasting pan. Extra spuds placed in pan of melted butter, topped with rosemary, sprayed with oil, bunged in oven.

About half an hour from T(urkey) hour, Brussels sprouts and frozen green beans parboiled. Water reserved.

Turkey out and covered with foil to rest.

Brussels sprouts heated in balsamic reduction. Green beans and carrots tossed in melted butter, parsley and tarragon in a saucepan.

Sweet potatoes reheated in microwave, mashed with butter, molasses, s&p.

Gravy made using sweet potato, veg, and green veg water.

We eat about 7. Dessert about 9.

Afterward dinner:
Clear away, wash up/ load dishwasher,, take turkey meat off carcass, refrigerate meat plus carcass, all veg and potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, refrigerate stuffing. All turkey stock and veg stock to freezer.

After dessert:
Refrigerate all leftover dessert.
Empty dishwasher, load up all remaining pots, pans, dessert plates, forks, etc. Start dishwasher, hit the hay.

That's on years when we have a turkey.

We sometimes have beef, usually a rump roast. The only difference is that the beef doesn't require stuffing and it roasts quicker. I do all the rest with the only difference being potatoes roasted in two potato pans instead of the smaller beef roasting pan.

I always do the full turkey, roast potatoes, Brussels sprouts, pies, etc for Thanksgiving, a month earlier too.

Yes, two very busy days in the kitchen for me, but I don't cook at all for a few days afterwards.

Cook and eat it all on Christmas eve! I started doing that when the DC were tiny as Christmas day they'd be tired from excitement and full from stuffing chocolate from santa! As they got older they preferred it as that made Xmas eve special too. It's a win for me as then I can just relax on Christmas day. Plenty of left overs to fry up and eat later. I would never to back now.

All veg prepped Christmas eve (with a glass of wine, while dh wraps presents)

Yorkshire pudding batter prepped and in fridge.

Turkey prepped and in fridge.
Oven goes on as soon as dc wake up and turkey in oven as early as possible.

Once the turkey is done, usually around 10am ish, double wrap with foil and a bath towel to rest (resting for a few hours makes it really moist)

Roast potatoes in the air fryer with carrots and parsnips about half hour before serving.

Stuffing and pigs in blankets in oven an hour before serving so the oven is empty half hour before ready for the Yorkshire puddings.

Broccoli, mash and cauliflower on the hob.

This works just as good for 4 as it does for 13 (most amount of cooked for in a while).

I don't really understand why it seems such a faff. It's a roast dinner, I do one most Sundays.

Prep turkey and veg Xmas Eve. We usually have mince pies and homade sausage rolls Xmas Eve with a glass of something nice :) Xmas day we have a fancy brekkie-bagels with cream cheese and smoked salmon and a bottle of fizz. Stockings are opened before brekkie, and presents come after brekkie. Xmas dinner is served 1-2 and consists of roast turkey carrots and potatoes, boiled broccoli and cauliflower, village salad, macaroni salad and fancy salad (spinach,strawberry,pinenuts and parmesan shavings) then koupepia and pastitsio because we have Greek parents :) dessert we usually buy a small Xmas pudding as only two eat it, but I always make chocolate bread and butter.pudding and whatever dessert the children request.

The only thing I make in advance is Yorkshire puddings, which I do on Xmas Eve and refrigerate over night. I don’t trust them to rise properly if the oven is too full. DH is gluten free and I use Becky Excell’s recipe which has never failed me so far.

Turkey and gammon go in about about 8am. I roast my gammon joint and add a honey glaze ten minutes before it’s cooked. I leave the meat under foil and tea towels while I cook the rest.

I make roast potatoes from scratch, but the pigs in blankets, stuffing balls, red cabbage, carrots, parsnips, potato gratin, any other veg and the GF Yule log is all prepared by Mr Marks and Mr Spencer.

Cranberry sauce, bread sauce and stuffings made a week before Christmas and frozen.

Various vegetables prepped on Christmas Eve in the afternoon and anything to go with them is also prepped - as an example the pine nuts, garlic and butter for the sprouts.

Turkey is prepped and put back in the fridge on Christmas Eve night.

Desserts are usually homemade Christmas pudding and Tiramisu or my mango and coconut truffle.

Christmas morning

My children and their families arrive for present opening and we have a brunch that everyone makes something for. All that’s done in my house are the eggs and other things that need to be warmed up.

Everyone leaves by 12 as my son who’s severely disabled has had about as much as he can cope with. This is when we then put the turkey in the oven and he then has a snooze.

Whilst he’s snoozing me and his carers have fun in the kitchen and cook the rest of the meal ready for all of us to have at 4. My son always has the legs from the turkey and has been known to grab them off the serving plate in the kitchen and run through the house to the dining room to put them on his plate. Dessert for him is usually a chocolate cake or a trip to Baskin Robbins for a bug Sundae. We don’t have anything till later.

By 7 my son is in bed and that’s when my sons care team as well as the others who work and live with me have their friends around for a secret Santa and a bit of a party. Much later in the evening we have Christmas food from their home country and desserts that I’ve made. It’s great fun and at the secret Santa when handing out your present you have to say something very nice about the person receiving it and everyone has to guess who it’s for. After that we all go into the garden where a huge tin of Roses and another one of Jewel's are tossed up in the air and we all have to see how many we can find in the dark. The winner gets to open the Champagne and aim the cork at anyone they want to.

This year is "small scale" as it is only me, dh and the 4yo.
I prepare and freeze as much as I can at least a couple of weeks before. I have a big freezer.
Goose fat roasties.
Yorkshire puddings
Cauliflower cheese
Gravy (to add meat juices in the day)
Burnt butter honey glaze for carrot and parsnips
Pigs in blankets (homemade ones with sage leaves and smoked streaky bacon)
Stuffed chicken. Will be completely deboned but wings are drumsticks. Stuffed with sausagemeat, red onions, bacon, green apple and raisins. Put together again. Covered in butter and vacuum pack in the freezer for sous vide from Xmas eve
Xmas eve peel carrots and parsnips and blanch. Put chicken in the water bath. Defrost pigs in blankets, gravy and glaze.
Everything else would go straight into the oven after coming back from walk and the pub
Would also steam some sort of green vegetable (green beans or tenderstem broccoli)

Sticky toffee pud (made in advance) and Christmas cake (for me)

Will be the only meal of the day, if anyone wants any more food, there will be leftovers, cheese and crackers, fruits and nuts and a trillion chocolates

@Starlight86 l cut up potatoes ready for both mash or roast potatoes and leave in water. Everything else I do , carrots, parsnips, sweet potatoes, broccoli , cauliflower, beans, I cut up how I want them, rinse them put in plastic bags on the fridge. Christmas morning I can just tip them in boiling water to cook at the appropriate times.

Red cabbage will be slow cooked and frozen at the start of December.
Will also make the wrapped in bacon stuffing and freeze before thawing a cooking christmas eve.
Turkey will be cooked and sliced christmas eve.
Bread sauce will be made christmas eve.
Will assemble the cauliflower cheese together christmas eve before baking christmas day.
Carrots, potatoes for the mash, sprouts and green beans will be prepped and placed into the big slow cooker and the trio of small slow cookers on christmas eve ready to be switched on christmas morning.
Will peel, chop and par boil potatoes for roasties on Xmas eve.
Brocoli will be thrown in a pot christmas day and boiled.
Yorkshire pudding, peas and pigs in blankets will all come out of a packet/tin and straight in the oven/pot.
Will make gravy fresh on christmas day.

Beetroot and horseradish blinis with smoked salmon and dill, king prawns with sweet chilli, wild mushroom and garlic Bruschetta...

Chateaubriand, stuffed roast goose, goose fat potatoes, honey glazed carrots and parsnips, spouts in browned butter and pancetta, chorizo pigs in blankets, braised red cabbage, garlic and herb stuffing balls, buttered green beans and peas, lots and lots of gravy..

Christmas pud, of course, chocolate torte, citrus mousse with ginger snaps...

It takes days, it's ridiculous, it's exhausting... I absolutely love it. I show love through food, and I love food.

Usually buy a stuffed Turkey breast either from butchers (pick up on 23rd or Christmas Eve morning) but last couple of years has been from supermarket as didn’t have a decent butchers nearby (now live locally to winner of national award for best butcher in U.K.!)

Christmas morning, while making breakfast

• prepare potatoes, leave in a pan of cold water with slice of bread on top
• peel carrots, parsnips and swede
• top sprouts and cut crosses in them
• prepare pigs in blankets from scratch
• make stuffing - I’m a heathen and use a pack of Paxo so it’s a case of pouring boiling water on it, add a knob of butter and prepare dish by rubbing butter into it

Around 12.30pm, while drinking Buck’s Fizz

• heat oven and start cooking turkey joint
• chuck slice of bread and change water in potato pan; put potatoes on to par boil for 15 minutes. When ready, drain and leave in colander over pan with lid on to allow steam to dry potatoes ready for roasting
• all veggies into steamer on worktop away from cooker
• stuffing mix into dish ready to cook later on

Around 2pm

• heat oil/goose fat in oven dish ready for potatoes to go in. Shake potatoes in colander to scuff edges up and add mix of garlic salt, salt and herbs transfer potatoes to pan of hot oil/fat and into oven
• pour any meat juices off turkey into saucepan
• lay table

Around 2.30pm

• turn potatoes and baste with oil/fat
• add parsnips to potato pan
• add stuffing to oven
• add pigs in blankets
• drain any further juices off meat into pan and remove meat from oven depending on cooking time. Leave meat to rest covered in foil and a couple of tea towels to maintain heat.
• steamer on to cook veggies

Around 3pm

• drain potatoes leaving small amount of oil/fat in pan turn potatoes & parsnips
• turn pigs in blankets
• move stuffing to top shelf if needs higher heat
• use water from steamer to make gravy using meat juices, stock pot and topping up with extra water
• carve meat

About 3.15pm everything ready to serve either at table or, if it’s just the 4 of us, in kitchen and serve straight to table.

Great thankyou!!

I've got the 'Jamie's Christmas' DVD. Easiest, stress free Christmas meal I've ever made.

Have a simple roast the Sunday before and make the Christmas Day gravy in advance from that. Having a silver foil tray of prepped roast potatoes in your fridge ready just to shove in the oven - brilliant.