how to deal with a christmas dinner for 18 people

[mindermummy]

can anyone give me some advice on how to deal with a typical christmas dinner for 18??

ie what things can i cook the day before and re heat safely?

my oven is just not going to take 2 lots of meat, roast potatoes etc for that many people....i need some advice on what way i can do it easily!!!

thanks

if you have a dishwasher, you can put all your plates in it and put it on rinse cycle 10 mins before plate up and just use a clean tea towel to take them to the table.

Also i always put my disposable cooking trays on a large baking sheet, with G/P paper underneath.

sorry if this has already been mentioned!

If you cook the turkey the night before, it can be left to quietly cool, so by Christmas morning it is ready to carve. What then happens is DH attacks it - he deconstructs the carcass. He uses Jamie Oliver's approach to the breast - ie. remove the whole breast then do slices rather than slicing off the bird. Hope that is making sense. Eventually what you end up with is both breasts off and sliced, both legs off and sliced, other bits off and sliced or in manageable bits, plus any stuffing you may have cooked in the bird, and bacon from breast. Carcass is then put in stock pot and placed somewhere cool until Boxing Day when we have the official stock making. Now you have a big platter of carved turkey meat. Seperate out what you will need for Christmas dinner and then carefully cover the remainder and store in the fridge. This is also handy as now it takes up much less room than a giant carcass. Meat for Xmas dinner is now placed in smaller dish, covered with foil and warmed through gently when we are ready to eat, but as others have said, provided plates, gravy, veggies are all piping hot, the meat does not have to be molten. The key is to ensure you only reheat what you need and that it is carefully covered.

I do the same as scuttlebutter with my turkey, cooking it before and then stripping it. When its cooked pour the juices into a jug for gravy etc but I also mix some of the turkey juices with boiling water and pour it over the carved meat when I'm heating it. My cousin works in a large hotel kitchen and that is how they keep it warm but not dried out with reheating. My turkey is always so moist as a result.

i am cooking for 17 this year, which is fine, cos last year was 22.

anyway, cook turkey overnight, and prepare all the veg on christmas eve.

i also have a tick list, and times on a bit of paper blu tacked to a kitchen cupboard door, and i cross it all off as i go along.

its the buying of all the stuff in advance that is a pain.

because of allergies, i make the mince pies, and a trifle type pudding , and brandy butter .

my typical christmas dinner is as follows,

prawns and advocado, smoked salmon with lemon wedges and brown bread and butter, and melon.
served with some fizzy wine.

roast turkey, veggie sage and onion stuffing, chestnut stuffing, roast potatos, parsnips, carrots, peas, brussel sprouts, bacon wrapped cocktail sausages, gravy, cranberry sauce and bread sauce.
red and white wine, fizzy pop for the kids. older ones get wine with lemonade...

warmed mince pies, christmas pudding, brandy butter, cream , custard. and triffle.

cheese and biscuits, port. baileys, tia maria.

choc mints and coffee.