Cooking for 9 this year, tips please!

[user070792]

Literally as title says. The most people I've cooked a roast dinner for is 4, and to be honest found that stressful with all the timings/serving out things at different times.

Please anybody any tips to make it easier! First time I've ever made a Christmas dinner also..

We have a standard cooker and hob and we also have a dual air fryer so wondering if I can utilise that also. Oh and a microwave

Just double your quantities, prep/freeze as much as you can in advance, make sure you plan your timings so you don't get flustered and have someone assigned to help you keep the surfaces cleared at regular intervals by washing up/getting dishwasher on.

Pre cook things so they only need heating up or cooking through

Some you can cook and freeze ahead of time

Par boil and partially cook roast potatoes

Red cabbage and apple

Pigs in blankets

Roasted parsnips and carrots

Gravy made with chicken stock (you can add turkey jus when simmering

Stuffing

Most of it can be pre made partially cooked and warmed through in the oven .

Split out responsibilities- ask some to organise crackers / table decorations, so robe else prepare and bring desert etc.

start making roasts regularly between now and Christmas - I think they are only intimidating when you aren’t used to making them. We make one every week with homemade Yorkshire’s etc and I think it’s one of the easiest meals as you just hung it in and leave it!

Prep/cook whatever you can in advance. Some things work really well reheated, others not so much. Things like carrot and swede, mashed potatoes and red cabbage all reheat well. Roast potatoes reheat well too, but reheated in the oven instead of the microwave to keep them crispy. I also found a food warmer to be really handy (you plug it in and then keep food warm in metal trays in it). I'm also a list maker and have various lists for shopping, timings etc. On the day, I also keep a list of dishes in an obvious place to keep track of where I'm up to and to make sure I don't forget anything.

I tend to do a mix of completely homemade things with some shop bought. If you are buying any pre-done stuff, make sure you check the cooking instructions beforehand (the first time I made a big Xmas dinner, I had assumed I could microwave the shop-made cauliflower cheese - I could not and it needed 40 mins in the oven. I only discovered this a few mins before serving!).

Also, turkey takes a lot longer to roast than say a big chicken and needs to be taken out of the oven and left to rest for a while beforehand. Make sure you factor the full cooking and resting time into your plan. You should be able to do most of the other oven cooking after the turkey is done. I fine Jamie Oliver's turkey recipe to be perfect in terms of timing and taste.

Lastly, try not to get too stressed and enjoy it - it is Christmas after all! Just remember that it doesn't really matter if the sprouts are a bit overdone or you're eating 2 hours later than planned, what matters is a relaxed atmosphere and everyone having a good time together. Good luck!

Could turkey be done the day before or that only on the day?

I cook the turkey, then leave it to rest whilst I cook everything else. It’s fine.

Just buy it all from M&S & warm it up, that's my best tip!
Joking aside as others have said, prep what you can the day before. Divide up dishes for guests to bring if possible.
Don't bother with a starter - it takes you away from the kitchen & creates more washing up.
I find it easier to plate up the meat, stuffing and pigs in blankets then let everyone add their own potatoes parsnips & veg.

Write the cooking timings out, starting at when you want to serve and working backwards.
You can cook the turkey first, wrap it up and put it to one side to rest for a couple of hours, then you have all your oven space free for the other food, this was the realisation that made Christmas dinner so much easier.
If you want to try new recipes practice them one at a time in different meals between now and Christmas.
Decide beforehand if you want people to help or just leave you alone. Then have in mind different jobs you can delegate.
If you want to be left alone in the kitchen then delegate jobs like setting the table, getting drinks ready.
Warm the plates.

I write a list of all the food to be cooked with the times they need to go on/off.
I also set timers on alexa for the next thing I need to do, ie after I've put the turkey in, I need to start par boiling the potatoes in x mins so I don't forgot and get behind on times.

When you take the turkey out, cover it in foil and a towel and it'll stay hot for ages giving you lots of room on the oven for everything else.

If you have the room, set the table the day before, it saves rushing to do it on the day.
And plan what serving dishes everything will go in so you aren't struggling on the day.

You can also use foil trays inside your normal trays to save washing up.

For nine, don't get a turkey, go to a decent butcher and get a stuffed rolled breast, wrapped in bacon. You'll still have a ton of left overs, easy to cook, easy to carve.

Get the rest in m and s. Don't make life more stressful than it needs to be.

Some people do the turkey the day before but it needs at least an hour to rest once it's out of the oven, so that's plenty of time to cook the potatoes etc in a now empty oven.

I have foil covering the turkey for the first part of cooking so it doesn't get too dry, but take that off the bird for the last hour of roasting to get crispy skin and a good colour. When the bird comes out of the oven, I recover it with the same foil, and then a couple of towels folded over to keep the heat in and then it's happy for up to 2 hours.

That's when I put in the potatoes, an extra dish of stuffing (as there's never enough in what fits in the neck), and any veg for the oven (roasted carrots and parsnips etc).

Once those are in, I have plenty of time to cook Brussels sprouts and any other veg on the hon and to make gravy.

Sometimes I do petite poi's frozen peas by throwing them in a bowl int eh morning to start thawing, and then covering them well with boiling water close to serving time - they don't need to be boiled this way so don't need a ring, just a spot where they can sit for 10 minutes without risk of spills.

I've also recently been loving French beans from the air fryer- beans, diced garlic and a dash of live oil for 8 minutes.

You can make cauliflower cheese in advance (keep a bite to the caul, don't cook it all the way to soft), and put the dish in the oven to rehear for 30 minutes while spuds are in there. It freezes well in advance but is perfect done the day before and put in fridge overnight.

Think about the time you want to serve up. Allow 15 minutes in the kitchen of last minute organising and plating up. That's the end of your cooking time. Then work back on how long things need to cook to get your start times. Weigh the turkey when it is stuffed and ready for the oven to get the final weight to calculate the final cooking time. Allow for slippage - the meal will be on the table when it's ready, but have a spare bag of crisps or some extra nibbles if the natives are getting restless.

I find having a basin of hot soapy water in the sink really helpful to wash as I go along (I have a few pots I use a few times). And it clears clutter from the counters to leave space to work and clean as you go for food safety. But unless someone else who won't get int he way wants to wield a tea towel, I don't worry about drying them - they air dry relatively quickly and I'll get a few minutes to put them away at some stage but they are not a problem on the drainer whereas they are in the way when dirty and finished on the cooker/counter.