What are you prepping on Christmas Eve?

[Alicia870]

Here's my list so far:

-make cauliflower cheese and keep in fridge overnight

• wrap pigs in blankets
• par boil potatoes, put in roasting tray covered in oil and pop in fridge
• coat mushrooms in breadcrumbs for starter

Anything else people do Christmas Eve to save cooking time and space on the day?

Parboiling potatoes, that’s it.

Poached salmon here. No prep required.

Parboiled goose fat covered roasties already done and will be defrosted on the day before shoving in the oven. Mash done last week. NO butter or milk before freezing is the key here, it is lush when defrosted believe me!

Veg is optional. But the minimum is mixed oven roasted cauli and whatever we feel like .

We just eat and burp.

Lots of room left for dessert after too.

Enjoy whatever you like, we are all different aren't we?

I'm prepping the veg.
Making pies. Pumpkin, and chocolate cream.
Lazing about the rest of the time for me.
I did the gammon the other day, nice in the fridge and waiting.

Prep all vegetables
Make sausage rolls and mince pies
Do the jelly and fruit for the trifle
Extend and set the dining table for 6
Get all Christmas presents out and take downstairs in the evening ☺️🎅🏼🎄
I don't think I've forgotten anything else

Just wondered how many male ops or dhs will do all this prep? I know many do, but a lot don't either.

I let him at it and quaff Prosecco whilst it is being done. It is always great, but I don't stress about it at all.

Am I correct in saying it is mostly a woman thing.

/

Big empty space there in my post, oops don't know why, but anyway, enjoy.

Cranberry sauce (today)
Bread sauce (today)
Defrost gravy
Devils on horseback
Pigs in b
All veg par boiled
Red cabbage slow cooked
Basically everything except the turkey!

My stomach. DH will peel vegetables Xmas morning and I will cook them, it take no time for 5 of us.

@Kinsss - I combine the quaffing and the cookery prep, absolutely love it as it's really chilled and I can dig around recipes and internet tips to find ideas. DP will be working on customer repairs most of christmas eve anyway so not neglecting anything.

Today I have:
Made cranberry sauce
Roasted a ham for family on Boxing Day

Today I will:
Make bread sauce

Tomorrow i will:
Peel and chop spuds, leave in water in cooking pan
Peel and chop carrots, leave on tray for roasting
Peel, parboil sprouta and mix with chestnuts and shallots ready to reheat
Make swede mash

This thread has inspired me to par boil my spuds in advance BUT I’m scared they’ll discolour. How do you store them until needed please?

Potatoes are parboiled and in the freezer.
Sprouts are parboiled and in the freezer.
Red cabbage is made and in the freezer.
Pigs in blankets are, you guessed it, made and in the freezer.
I'm refusing to spend all day in the kitchen this Christmas and have prepped as much as possible already.
I make a carrot and cream side dish, the carrots were peeled earlier and are in the fridge.

I'm cooking the turkey and beef tomorrow that's it. The turkey will be sliced and put into a casserole dish with gravy and heated up on the 25th. As for the veg (including the potatoes)..they'll be taken out the freezer, removed from the bag they came in and cooked....can't be faffed with all the peeling, chopping, mess everywhere....pigs in blankest are shop bought as is the stuffing and yorkshire pudding, leaving me less time in the kitchen and more time with family.

Wonder how many men prepped as much. Sorry now, but we make a rod for our own back sometimes, and maybe don't think they are capable.

And at other times, they just sit back and say ok, I will never meet the expectations either.

Give the men a chance to prove themselves. Women sometimes can be controlling. I hand it over.

My prepping on Christmas Eve is very much a family affair, DH makes the stuffing and we all work together on the rest.

And we all work together on the roast dinner too.

It tends to be more me in the kitchen and DH tidying the rest of the year, the way it works out for us - but we really enjoy working together when we are not rushing so much around Christmas.

Par boiling potatoes the day before?? This is a festive revelation!

What do you do with them once par boiled??

Women's work largely. OK so be it.

Par boil and partly roast potatoes.
Same with carrots and parsnips
Steam cauli for cauli cheese
Made gravy today
Make mash (will reheat in microwave)
Prep turkey ready to go in Xmas morning.
Haven't got to do stuffing or pigs in blankets as someone else is doing them.

Oh and I'll be prepping the apple crumble and making mince pies!

I’m another who would like to know how to store the parboiled potatoes overnight?

It’d be nice to have them dry and ready to roast. Plus it’ll free up pan/hob space.

Made cranberry sauce today.

Tomorrow will:

• prep veg but cook on day.
• make sausage rolls and mince pies
• prep bread sauce
• make stuffing

Children will be helping and it is fun! Without being nauseating, spending time in the kitchen cooking with my children is a lovely part of Christmas.

Re ‘women’s work’ I do the majority of stuff because I’m a teacher & i broke up ages ago, DH is at work till tomorrow. DCs & I enjoy doing it all - it’s what makes us feel Christmassy! DH does majority of midweek suppers though!

So if I parboil my potatoes do I leave them in the water then? I've got visions of them going all brown, but I noticed lots of you are doing this so I guess it's okay!

Another one who would also like to know how to keep par boiled potatoes. Do you need to keep them in water?

Today we finished the Christmas food shop (no lamb anywhere! )

Tomorrow;
Par boil potatoes with a lump of goose fat over to cool, then pop in the fridge in tupperware until the big day.
Get the lamb marinated with some rosemary and salt and pepper and stock in the slow cooker pot and in fridge ready to pull out when we get up.
Make jelly for kids.
Decorate the lemon biscuits we made tonight if there's any left by tomorrow

Thanks to this thread if I've time in the morning before we leave for a party I may peel and par boil carrots, parsnips and sprouts too. Maybe make stuffing and mash to warm up on the day. I'm all for extra Lego building time!

Soak, boil and roast the ham
Peel the spuds
Peel the parsnips
Wrap the pigs in blankets
Trim the sprouts
Defrost the smoked salmon