Christmas dinner? Timing and prep?

[Pinenuts91]

First year on my own with kids. Can you tell me what part of christmas dinner I can prep to just warm up? Also timings of what I put in the oven together?

I have one fan oven. I do have an airfryer, so I guess I could do the roast potatoes in there?

I'm planning to order a turkey breast from M&S

(I get paranoid about cooking meat so how do I know when it's done? 😅)

We don’t have turkey so can’t help there. But I slow cook my meat in the slow cooker. Prep all veg sausage meat stuffing ect and cook last 20mins. Potatos I par boil xmas eve for roasts.

Test the meat with a thermometer.

The timings will depend on exactly what you are cooking. Write out a list of what your cooking and how long it will take. Then work backwards from the time you want everything done to see when to put stuff in, remembering to account for resting times.

The turkey joint, depending on size, will be ok for resting 30-60 minutes, even longer if very large. You can cook most of the other oven bits while the joint is resting.

Delia is your friend here. I have her Chritmas book which has a detailed countdown timetable. Has got me through 25+ Christmases. I adjust her timings /quanities with a pencil as numbers vary each year from 4 ro 14 but she's never let me down. She even tels you when it's time to take a break and a glass of something bubbly.

There was a lady on Facebook or Instagram last year who cooked her way through a 1970’s Mary Berry booklet called “Freeze for Christmas”

If you buy it frozen in the supermarket you can make it and freeze it at home.

Meat really benefits from resting - it’s much more succulent than if you cut it straight out of the oven. Plenty time to cook the roasties.

Don't air fry the potatoes! They're never as nice.

Set the table in advance so you aren't also trying to get plates and cutlery etc out when everything is ready to be served.

Turkey depends on the weight, you can Google instructions for the weight of meat you have and just follow that. Get a meat thermometer if you're unsure.

I always cook the turkey on Christmas Day morning and then double wrap it in tin foil when it comes out of the oven so I can cook all the veg and sides in there. It makes things much simpler and the meat is better for being rested. It'll be fine and still warm as long as you're not leaving it on the side for more than a couple of hours before you eat.

I do the Jamie Oliver trick of chopping the potatoes, carrots and parsnips all the same size and par boiling them together for 10 minutes or so. While they are boiling I put goose fat or beef dripping into my roasting pans and put them in the oven so the fat is really hot. Then the veg goes straight into hot oil and back into the oven for about an hour. Drizzle of honey on the parsnips and carrots halfway through cooking.

I have an air fryer too but find that it's better for cooking the stuffing balls and pigs in blankets rather than the roast potatoes. I prepare them weeks in advance and just freeze them and you can air fry them straight from frozen in around 20-30 minutes so I do that after I've put the honey on the carrots and parsnips. My DDs and DH absolutely love pigs in blankets so it's better to make loads in advance and have plenty in the freezer so I can air fry them as and when they want some....they like them in baguettes on Boxing Day morning!

I also make braised red cabbage in advance and freeze and that can be microwaved from frozen in a few minutes and then I cook the brussel sprouts in the microwave steamer too.

I personally get shop-bought gravy and cranberry sauce to make life a bit simpler. My main tip is to make the gravy really hot so if your veg has had to wait a bit between being cooked and finally sitting down to eat it's not cold once it's got some gravy on it!

In general I try to think of it as a roast dinner with some extra side dishes so I don't worry about it.

Turkey is a dry meat at the best of times and the breast the driest of all, so make sure you rest the hell out of it. Follow the instructions on the packet (sob) if it's not bought from a butcher.

Par boil your pots and roast in du k or goose fat, sprinkled with good salt; do not use an air fryer.

Steam your other veg unless dealing with masses of guests, and reduce the number of side dishes ( not sides!) to a minimum. No one will care.

Good cheese board- unwrap and take from fridge several hours beforehand.

Buy a ready made pudding of some description.

Good coffee and mints.

Job done.