What can I make ahead today?

[Curlewwoohoo]

For Christmas dinner tomorrow. My mum told me I can par boil the potatoes and leave them covered, as long as they're dry. Stuffing balls. Cauliflower cheese. Mum said to do the meat but dh insists he wants it done on the day and hot.

Yorkshire puddings are probably a no. What about parsnips, carrots, sprouts, red cabbage? Pigs in blankets?

Red cabbage is better the next day imo. All other veg I would do on the day. What meat are you having? Gammon is also fine warmed up the next day. You can certainly prep veg tonight by chopping or prepare your turkey with stuffing and herbs etc but I prefer to do most cooking on day. How many oven /hob rings or do you have air fryer steamer etc ? to spread out things if your cooking alot.

You can prep all of it but I wouldn't cook anything today. All your veg can be peeled chopped etc in the water, sausages wrapped, cranberry sauce made, stuffing made.

Carrots and parsnips can be part done today and finished quickly tomorrow - www.tamingtwins.com/honey-roasted-carrots-and-parsnips/

Same with roast potatoes - www.tamingtwins.com/easy-roast-potatoes/

Make the stuffing, roll it into balls, put it on the greased baking sheet and refrigerate.

Def make the red cabbage today.
Cauli cheese you can also do.

You can prep all the veg today and leave it in salted water in pans overnight.

We've got smoked gammon which I was hoping to slow cooker, perhaps that could be today or timer to come on overnight then can be sliced and put back in. And butterflied turkey top which dh would prefer cooked on the day.

Got 4 vegetarians so need to do some special veg and Yorkshire puddings. I've got coloured carrots etc. Hope I've got honey in the cupboard actually.

I cook my turkey and make gravy today. I carve and joint the turkey which is served hot having been heated in stock/gravy before serving.

Today I'm making soup, par boiling potatoes and carrots, making cauliflower cheese, making shredded sprouts and bacon, organising the other ingredients for my slow cooker gammon. I will put it on over night.
I will be making trifle and pavlova. I will also be prepping my many, many pigs in blankets but not cooking them. My kids will be baking cookies for Santa too...ridiculous tradition that I started when they were tiny!
I will be checking the weights and timings of my turkey and adjusting the plan saved on my notes on my iPad. Then tomorrow I will just follow the plan.
I love the Christmas Eve food prep day!

We are making cheese cakes sausag rolls egg custards etc today

I not sure how par boiling potatoes saves time.

it doesn’t take long in the day anyway.

You can make the Yorkshire pudding mix and keep in the fridge, it makes them rise higher if the mix is cold and the oil hot when you cook them. I parboil, drain and coat all the veg on Christmas Eve, wrap the trays tightly in cling film and then keep in a cold place (ours goes in the utility room which is almost as cold as the fridge if the door is closed). Stuff the turkey and put back in the fridge in the roasting tray or make the stuffing balls if you're not stuffing the meat. Tomorrow, you can cook the meat first, wrap in foil and towels and rest it while you cook everything else. It will still be hot, resting it makes it taste better and you have all the oven space (and heat) for the rest of the food.

The day before, I always par boil the potatoes, peel all the vegetables, cook the meat and carve it, make the gravy and make the Yorkshire batter. The stuffing balls are already in the freezer.

I’ve cooked the meat the day before for years. I cover it with juices and put tin foil over it. On the day you can gently warm it. No one has ever known that this is what I do. I would find it impossible to get a meal out if I didn’t do all that the day before.

Tell you DH to do one.

I do the raymond blanc method to cook the turkey so it's only in the oven about an hour and a half. Handy if you do want to do it on Christmas day as it frees up the oven and stays hot for up to 2 hours.

The teenagers (my 2 plus 2 cousins) are prepping the veg while I make a mushroom and chestnut wellington and the cauliflower cheese. I’ll cook the pork this evening to save oven space for the turkey and beef tomorrow.
DH & BIL are in charge of tonight’s dinner of bangers and mash and SIL is on tidy up and dishes.

I really dislike this, it tastes like canteen food.

Prep the vegetables today and cook it all tomorrow.

Red cabbage, carrots and turnip, stuffing can all be done the day before. Are you having soup? That can too.

I've always par boiled the roast potatoes and but also coated them in oil at this point and put in a foil tray and cling filmed. Then tomorrow, they are just ready to shove in the oven. Always worked beautifully. That was a Jamie Oliver tip.

Sorry, how does it taste like canteen food? It's an organic free range turkey cooked to perfection and heated in home made gravy/stock. 🤷‍♀️

Potatoes - par boil, put on tray covered n oil. Cling film.
red cabbage - better done today
sprouts - simmer until nearly done then re-heat in a frying pan in which you have fried some finely chopped smoked bacon (and chestnuts).
carrots - peel and leave in water
parsnios - as potatoes
gravy - add turkey juices tomorrow

basically everything except the turkey!

Veg can be peeled and sliced today, and kept in water (carrots/parsnips, sprouts) in a coolish room. If doing a spiced red cabbage it's better done today than tomorrow. Potatoes could be peeled, parboiled if you do, and I'd coat in the oil or fat you're going to cook them in before storing them in the fridge. If making cauli cheese that can be made today.

I agree with your DH that the turkey is better cooked tomorrow from fresh.

I use frozen, but I have worked in restaurants where they make the yorkies in advance. They used to do them night before and store covered in a tea towel at cool room temperature, although I'm not convinced that that is good food hygiene practice custoners always complemented us on them! They wouldn't hurt if it was easier to make them first thing in the morning though - leave uncovered at room temperature then pop back in oven to warm through for 2-5 minutes just before serving.

It sounds like you may be making life harder for yourself with the veg if some has to be prepped separately for the vegetarians, can you change your plan for cooking the veg? If e.g. sprouts with bacon you could cook the bacon separately (today) and only add it to the ones for the carnivores. If you're roasting potatoes in duck fat and also cooking any other veg in the oven, maybe do the veggie potatoes in the same tray as the veggies in olive oil?

Definitely do the gammon today. Ours is cooking right now.

Your DH can insist all he likes, but until he's the one doing all the fucking cooking, he can keep his beak out.

What will you do with it when it's cooked?

This. In this family, whoever is hosting, the turkey has to land on the table in all its golden glory. In any case, the smell of turkey cooking is part of Christmas Day - to me, anyway.

@blacksax I'm doing most of the cooking yes. Dh will cook the turkey and carve it. I don't want to handle it. I am on the spuds veg and Yorkshires. Would just rather he was out of the way! And he'll do all the cleaning up and washing up. He's alright. He's also ill!

I made my red cabbage yesterday evening! As others say it's one of those components that genuinely tastes better when made ahead of time and then reheated.