Christmas Dinner for 14 - HELP!!

[groat]

Anyone got any ideas how to make this as stress free as possible. Obviously want to spend as much time as poss with guests and as little time as poss in the kitchen.

prepare everything the day before

peel veg, make stuffing, etc

Delia Smith's Christmas timetable

Go to a hotel & book a table for 14 !!

wish i could whizzz

thanks for the link. from past experience i will def have to cook the turkey overnight to make sure it's ready.
has anyone else noticed that everything cooks more slowly on the day because of everyone else cooking at the same time.

Grot I am not sure about cooking the turkey overnight I have never had to do that. Nigella has a great recipe in FEAST which cuts down the turkey cooking time like you won't believe. I bottled it and left it in another 30mins and overcooked the Turkey. We are talking 2.5 - 3 hrs for a big bird

Preprepare everything the day (or more) before. I do all my veg etc. Choose a menu that makes it easy - eg Cold starter that can be laid out simply. I did a mango/prawn salad that I prepared the day before, mixed with the dressing and plonked onto plates mid morning. The main course is a posh roast dinner, so KEEP IT SIMPLE. I know some people do two types of potatoes etc. I would do Turkey, plain carrots/broccoili (fave veggies in our house) Brussels (becasue I HAVE to ) roast parsnips (becasue I LOVE them) Roast potatoes. Bisto gravy pre done with added red wine and mushrooms Bread sauce (again cook the day before) and Stuffing cooked in spearate dish (Turkey cooks quicker). Pudding is Microwaved too, with brandy butter and iced rum sauce pre done.

Turn oven up a bit as it will be cooler than normal as you open/close it all the time. This should speed it up.

Im asssuming they are all good friends/relatives that are coming.
A couple of years ago I got my Mum to do the Turkey and bring it with her. I think she got up at about 4am to put it in (went back to bed of course)
MIL (who wasnt there) did one of the puddings, which didnt look so much of a cheat as noone actually saw it arrive!
Really, get people to help out, they should be more than pleased to if theyre getting the rest of the day done for them.

Buy prepared veg.

Set the table the night before.

I usually cut my veg in advance and freeze it all par boiled. Cook the turkey the day before and when served on hot plates and under the hot food it will appear warm or you can even carve it and re heat if you feel it important.Cheat wherever possible. You dont have to make your own soup, there are so many yummy ones around. Par baked bread so you can just warm it through.

Why not cut the idea of a formal sit-down starter. When our family meet up we have quite a few young children who won't want to sit around for starters, so we usually do things like smoked salmon on thin bits of bread etc. (or just buy a couple of things) and have them with a glass of something beforehand. Def. pre-prepare the veg the day before and put them in pans on the hob, ready to go. I have lots of memories of Christmas Eve, as a child, paring sprouts. Good luck!!

Look here for Nigella recipe and timings Nigella

I wish I had trusted her on teh timings as I over cooked it Also since the Turkey is sitting in a buket of brine (salty water) outside the fridge is clearer for everything else.

This year I'll be at the MIL so it is back to soggy veg, bullet potatoes, foul sprouts etc

Great idea Laa, Christmas lunch can drag on a tad. Can just about get DS to sit still long enough for dinner.

I don't know how much your budget is, but last year I had to cater for 10-12 and I ended up pre-ordering all the food from M&S. Although I still had to cook the turkey, all the veg and garnishes were beautifully prepared and all I really had to think about was what time I put everything else in to chide in with the turkey. I also bought a dessert there (to go with the Xmas pud) that easily fed all of us. It was incredibly stress and hassle free.

I actually enjoy all the cooking - for me, it's an opportunity to have a valid excuse to be in the kitchen drinking rather than having to be sociable with great uncle ted!

thanks for all the tips. I definitely like the idea of cutting out the starters as there will be 5 small children. If I have nibbles with wine beforehand it will also keep the guests occupied while I sort out the rest of the dinner. Don't know if my DH will agree he's all for the formal dinner with posh crock/cutlery.

spykid any tips?

Buy a boned and rolled turkey, that way you can fit more meet in the oven and its easier to carve, cook it the day before. Ask someone to bring pudding with them to save you time. Dont wory if anything goes wrong ,remember it x-mas so no one will mind.

Hi There
We usually have 10-12 for xmas ans i find it much better to set up 2 tables, one to sit and eat and one to put all the food on so everyone can help themselves buffet style. Much less stressful!! Do a turkey crown rather than a whole turkey and cook it the day before. Do as much as you can the day before and buy in your sauces and condiments such as bread sauce and cranberry sauce. I even buy gravy in tubs Pre chopped veg is another time saver!

get everything ready the night before my Dh and I sit at kitchen table glass of wine in one hand potatoe peeler in other, last year my turkey was so big I set my alarm for six ( couldn't gurantee kids waking me) and switched oven on. OR if it is family and friends then ask each of them to bring something ie pan of spuds, carrots, tray of mince pies. Get kids to set table night before if they are big enough mine have loads of fun writing out name places and putting candles on etc. MY only disaterous late turkey was the fact that DH and I being new to parenting and playmobile didn't constuct DS pirate ship the night before....dh was there all day, we sat down for dinner at 6.30 we laugh now.....

OMG I feel faint at the thought - good luck. Could you get them to bring something each perhaps?

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If you or anyone you know has got a Weber Kettle BBQ, do the turkey on that - it's fab, frees up your oven and a man will obviously take responsibility for it .

Have this problem as well. I'm going to smoked salmon on blinis with salad for the starter - no cooking here. Chustnut roast I'll cook the day before, roast potatoes, carrots in honey (prepare ahead & cook on the day & a meat dish I can hopefully microwave. Bread sauce & gravy from a mix. Then xmas pud in microwave with ice-cream & a cake for those who don't like it!

Just to add I only have a small oven - wont fit a turkey for 11 plus no freezer apart from small freezer in the fridge.

I have done christmas dinner for large numbers quite a few times and here are my tips

1. starter is always smoked salmon and brown bread and butter or prawn cocktails - for their retroness Easy to make and always subcontracted to the person who won't take no for an answer when asking if they can help out!

2. Turkey cooked on the day, but using a fast cook method like Nigellas. Take it out an hour before you need it to rest! Cover with two teatowels and it will stay hot and absorb the juices and not be too dry. Stuffings are made the day before and put in one hour before the turkey cooking time is up. Christmas pud goes on to steam at the same time as the turkey goes in.

3. When cooking the turkey - keep the roasting tray topped up with about half an inch of water. This keeps the turkey moist and gives you plenty of juice for gravy.

4. All veg is pre-prepared the day before. Doen while listening to Carols from Kings and everyone helps out. Table is set the night before too - delegate this one - teenagers can be particularly artistic at making the table look beautiful perhaps to theme in with whatever christmas colours you are following this year!

5. All preparation work stops at 5.30pm and we go off to the nativity service at church, then back for mulled wine and mince pies!

6. On teh day you do nothing other than tend the turkey until it comes out of the oven. SO you only have one hour of full on preparation time!

7. As soon as the turkey is out then the pots go on - parboil for 8 minutes then into the oven on a high heat.

8. Then the gravy is made. Then set aside. Get the other pre=prepared sauces out if you are using them.

9.Then the other veg - give root veg plenty of cooking time!

10. Pudding is always christmas pud and trifle. The trifle is made the day before.

11. The cook does no clearing up - the army of willing helpers can now take over the kitchen!

Remember to have hot plates - before I had my range with a plate warmer in it I used to do this on some hot plate things that someone had given me for using on the table top - you know with candles in them! These are also good for putting the veg on while people are eating to keep hot for seconds!

I second the idea of putting the food out buffet style to help yourselves to. Especially if there are young children at the table who will burn themselves on hot dishes!

Most of all - have fun and enjoy it. Make lists and delegate as much as possible!