What can I make for Christmas dinner?

[PersisFord]

I'm excited to be hosting this year, but dreading the cooking. I am a perfectly competent cook usually but every Christmas it just falls apart. Plus we have such complicated dietary requirements it all ends up being a battle, and then people say "dont do anything special for me, ill just eat some coal" and it gets worse. So I am wondering if there is something I'm missing.

There will be 10 of us. 1 vegetarian, 1 coeliac. 2 life threatening allergies (mushrooms and nuts) so they can't be in any part of the meal at all. One child has a real aversion to mashed potato.

Roast dinner with a veg option is logical but I'm just not good at cooking it - last year it was about 2 hours late, meat overcooked, potatoes undercooked,veg cold. And I was nearly in tears.

Best Xmas dinner I've ever had was in Australia when I was backpacking - bbq prawns and salad. Would do this again except for I eat this most days...

Does anyone have any ideas?

OK this is how I do a roast.

Meat in the slow cooker from early, I'm usually awake before 6.00am. Then just leave it.

Peel potatoes and prep the veg. I have an electric steamer so I prep and put the veg (except the potatoes) in that. Unless I'm doing carrot and swede mash - I boil it into submission. Veg in the steamer takes about 15 mins.

About an hour before you intend to eat put a large oven dish / tray - make sure you use a metal one in the oven, put the fat in, ideally you want animal fat as it gets hotter than oil but you have a vegi so either do a few in a different dish or use oil.

Leave to heat for 10-15 mins, you want the fat smoking. Then put the potatoes in the dish, use a spoon to make sure they are covered in fat and leave them alone for 15 mins.

Open the oven and turn the potatoes over and put fat in your Yorkshire pudding tray which should be in the top of the oven and let that heat for about 10 mins.

Pour the YP batter in the tin. At this point I would take the meat out to rest and make gravy in the slow cooker but I think buying a vegi gravy so heat that now.

Switch the steamer on.

Cut the meat up and put in a serving dish/plate I usually put the roasts with the meat, put the veg on another serving dish and bring them both to the table, put the gravy in a jug / boat and call everyone in.

OK

After all that for a suggestion for a different meal how about a raclette? Stick it in the middle of the table with dishes of veg and some boiled new potatoes and cheese slices.

You can also serve eggs to cook in the trays, passata also works. Put some raw meat on the table, for a big group I would maybe do two different meats, maybe marinade some chicken and serve slices of beef.

The beauty of this is that everyone cooks their own food at the table. You tend to cook a bit, eat a bit, cook a bit more.

You can get a really small one for the veggi person to use.

Your plan sounds perfect OP!
I did a big roast turkey and all the trimmings last year but cooked everything on christmas eve and put into pyrex dishes for heating on christmas day. It meant I had time to concentrate on each thing individually to make it as good as I could and honestly it tasted just as good, you would never of know.

Things that have helped me. Its my turn again this year too!

I buy turkey crown- easier to cook and carve. I put that on first thing and when its ready I wrap in foil and 2 bath towels... it was still to hot to comfortably handle 2 hours later.

Prepare the veg the night before. Just replace the water before you go to bed.

Get a warming tray- i did and haven't looked back. I cook the veg when the turkey comes out and then transfer into the tray.

Roasts parboil on the morning when the turkey is in. Let them dry and put them on as one of the last things.

Mash- yes we do 2 potatoes 🤣🤣
I cook and mash when turkey is in and keep warm in my slow cooker.

Pigs in blankets and stuffing go in towards the roast potatoes being finished.

Gravy I use instant as fussy people in my family with gravy 🙃
Yorkshire puddings i usually make my own but not Christmas day for 14 people. Aunt Bessie's or m&s.

Oh and wine. That helps!

I see you have about chosen what you are going to do. The key for the day is preparation beforehand. Utilise your freezer as much as possible, just don’t forget to get things out to defrost. I make things like red cabbage and nut roast in advance and freeze. I have not had much success with the one attempt at roast potatoes, so have not bothered since. Gravy could be made and frozen. If you are freezing a few things, try and keep a shelf or drawer just for Christmas Day.

Prep all of the fresh stuff on Christmas Eve if you can. It takes the pressure off Christmas Day. We prepare the veg and stuffings. If having swede, it can be cooked and then heated in a microwave on Christmas Day. If you have guests who are insistent on helping, let them help with simple tasks out of the kitchen on Christmas Eve. If they want to help on Christmas Day, let them know that you would love them to wash up/load dishwasher and tidy the kitchen.

Sort out your timings in advance and write them down. Make use of timers. A steamer (hob or electric) can be really helpful. If you have an airfryer use it rather than juggling things in the oven.

Lots of great tips on here, just to add if you (or a guest) has a slow cooker, red cabbage can be done in that. Prepped the day before and just turned on and forgotten, I shove it on the table and guests serve it straight from there too!

You guys are great, thank you!

The trouble with asking people to bring stuff is that most of them stay at ours anyway for a few days before.....so they would prob end up cooking it in my kitchen, which would wind me up. I think it might be easier for me to tell each family to be in charge of one other meal - one does breakfast maybe and one does supper. They can do their own shop or get it delivered to me, and take all that mental load off me for that meal. Also for the people with dietary requirements it means they will all have at least one meal they enjoy!

Your plan sounds great but, personally, I am not a fan of reheated roast potatoes. Par boiling them the day before and refrigerating them works well (like triple cooked chips) but I think they are best roasted on the day.

As you found out last year, you have to be careful that roast beef doesn’t over cook while it is resting. Take it out a few degrees below the target temperature.

We do canapés at lunchtime then have an early 6pm dinner without a starter. There are so many lovely sides with the roast that you don’t need a starter, in fact, we find it spoils everyone’s appetite. It makes life so much easier because you aren’t trying to cook and prepare nibbles, and a roast at the same time.

But you can't walk it off if you are eating at 6pm. We have lots of family members in their 60s and 70s and eating a big meal so late is no good for their digestive systems. And eating earlier means something to soak up the alcohol. So we aim for 2pm but usually it's nearer 3.

No need at this time of year (presuming you are in northern Europe), in fact i'd say they are probably better left out of the fridge so they don't dry out/go gray/get strange and crusty around the edges).
And don't use iodised salt on them, they can go grey or black

Store them in water in the fridge or in the saucepan with water and a good lid outside the back door. Best thing about winter is the additional fridge I.e the garden, garage and shed 🤭