Please help me cook my first Xmas dinner (it was postponed from covid so doing it this weekend)

[ManonCrochan]

Hi everyone. I have learning difficulties so please explain in detail for me!

This is my first time ever cooking a big family dinner. It's my In laws coming and they are lovely so if I mess up it's ok but I want to prove I can do it and I'm excited (and a little bit stressed or nevous) it's also FIL birthday.

I have a big turkey crown from the butcher which is defrosting in the fridge. There's no cooking instructions.

How do I Cook this to perfection?

I have a joint of pork. FIL favourite is pork belly you see. Again there's no cooking instructions. How do I Cook this to perfection?

I'm planning on doing:
Stuffing (pre bought)
Yorkshire (pre bought)
Roast potatoes - I know how to do these
Gravy - use the veg water and neat juices with some bisto?
Cauli cheese (I'll buy from shop)
Brussle spouts if I can find or cabbage with chestnuts and bacon (Ihave never made this. Any tips?)
Maybe some honey parsnips. I can buy those ready made

I'm trying to make it easy but also delicious.

And what about pudding? FIL favourite is red velvet cake but it's supposed to be our xmas day.

Omg what about drinks!?

I'm sorry. Please help me.

There's seven on us so DH is bringing the garden table into the living room so we can all got as we won't fit into the kitchen

Oh and pigs in blankets

Don't panic! Get your timings sorted. Write down the time you want to eat and then work backwards. Meat should be taken out about 30 minutes before you eat to allow resting time. There are websites for cooking times. Honestly, you'll feel so much better for having a timetable. Good luck!

Try this - it definitely works:

wasabilips.com/2014/11/gordon-ramsays-turkey-with-gravy/

As dickyduckydido says, work out when you want to eat, then work backwards. ......... BUT, don't make it so complicated that you stress. You need to enjoy the day as well.

I know that Pork Belly is absolutely delicious, but do you really need it if you have Turkey and Pigs in Blankets. Pigs in Blankets are Pork, so why have both? You may also find that you need the oven on different temperatures for the Pork and the Turkey.

Cabbage/Sprouts and Cauli? Do you need two brassicas?

You may be able to find some reduced Christmas Puds for sale somewhere (just found this). If you have a microwave, use it.

Don't make it a chore, enjoy it!

I don't know if I need both. I wanted enough to feed the seven of us bit then also leftovers for turkey sandwiches for the week and dinners with turkey in. I really like turkey! I'll take a picture of them so you can see the sizes

Once the turkey crown is cooked, cover in foil and let it rest for at least 30 mins depending on how big it is. You can put a towel over the top too if you think it’ll get cold but it likely won’t.
That means you can get most of the other stuff done while it’s resting. The sprouts can be boiled for 5 mins, then drain them, fry chopped bacon (buy pre chopped pancetta chunks to make it easier?) in a frying pan, when it’s nearly done add the sprouts back in and crumble the cooked chestnuts in (break each one up into 2-3 pieces) and stir it all around to get it all bacony and warm. Then keep it warm till you’re ready to serve.

Best tips - get all the plates and pans and serving dishes ready that you’re going to use in advance so you’re not upside down hunting through cupboards while pans are boiling over. And get the kitchen surfaces as clear as possible with lots of foil and mats so you have places to put things that are cooked and ready, or awaiting oven space.

It’s better for the roasties to be ready a bit before you need them because if you are relying on them to be perfect the minute you go to serve up, the potato gods will laugh at you and they will need another 20 mins! You can cover them and keep them hot, and bung them back in the oven for the last 5 mins if needed.

Can pork belly be cooked in advance too and warmed up? You could do it the day before? (I don’t usually do pork belly so not sure, but if it was eg a ham, you could pre cook, then put it back in the oven or serve cold).

Weigh your turkey and pork, then have a look on the BBC News website under FOOD, (you'll find it under MORE at the top of the page). There you will find cooking times and temperatures for the weight of your turkey and pork.

Once you have those, you can start to make a timetable for cooking.

Keep things simple, don't try to do too many vegetables. Maybe cross off the pigs in blankets this time, as you've got lots of things to do.

Red velvet cake would be a great pudding, could you buy a cake?
Why not ask the In Laws to bring some wine, then that's one less thing for you to worry about.

Have a super day!

Thank you all! I've got ready made cauli cheese to make it easier

Not sure what day you are doing this so it might be too late but for cooking the turkey, a meat thermometer is really useful - you'll want the centre to be above 74degC (165degF)

Completely agree with writing out timings, then you can add reminders on your phone or Alexa to tell you when to do each step. I even add in when to boil the kettle etc.

So find a recipe for each dish, and then work backwards from when you want to serve. Roast potatoes always take longer than you expect, whereas turkey can sit for longer out of the oven if you need, it will stay hot.

Also, if you haven't made gravy before, you probably want bisto gravy granules (green tub vegetable or orange tub chicken gravy) not bisto thickener in the brown box.

You're right to add meat juices and make with veg water.

It's gonna be delicious!

Set your table as far ahead as is practical. If you usually eat in the kitchen, but are going to be eating in the dining room for this meal, then you can perhaps set the table the night before the meal. Then you've got one time consuming job out of the way.
Wash glassware, serving dishes etc ahead of time.

Once you've got your timetable done, get out all the dishes that you are going to use in the oven, and using your timetable as a guide, make sure all the dishes fit together into the oven as they need to.

OP, How did it go?