Christmas Dinner

ellas9602 · 4 December 2007 at 12:27PM

I've been pondering making Xmas dinner more stress-free this year and would love to hear your suggestions for what can be done in advance. I'm not a novice but worry about distorting the quality of some things if done too far in advance and usually slave all morning and miss the festivities.

I try to have the veg peeled and chopped xmas eve if I'm not too busy already (we usually have an xmas eve buffet and I leave ALL my wrapping til xmas eve because OH likes to see what I've bought..we have 3 kids) I think all wrapping will be done in advance for a start.

Does anyone splash out on ready to use veg/stock especially for christmas?
I'm serving 7 and it will be a traditionl affair.

*prawn starters/veggie starter/something for the little ones with salad starter..oh dear that sounds complicated already doesn't it?
*turkey or goose + veggie main with all the trimmings. I usually overdo it with too many veg's so will be sticking to brussels, carrots, roast parsnips.
*xmas pud/mince pies/chocolate something.

So apart from peeling the veg on xmas eve I don't prepare anything else.
I love those magazine articles you get around this time of year giving step-by-step instructions with timings and would love to hear your suggestion for stress-free mums.

Sorry for waffling, our systems are down at work and I'm BORED.
x

Skint_Catt · 4 December 2007 at 12:45PM

My mum cooks the turkey in advance as we all prefer it cold anyway - usually Xmas Eve though one year she got mixed up with the days and cooked it on the 22nd :eek: :rotfl:
She preps the veg the day before too, and keeps it hot after cooking in a (now very old fashioned) hostess trolley which keeps everything lovely and piping until serving!!
All mince pies get done before the day too, and usually we're too stuffed for anything except a few choccies for afters.

Catt xx

kethry · 4 December 2007 at 3:30PM

ellas9602 wrote: »

I've been pondering making Xmas dinner more stress-free this year and would love to hear your suggestions for what can be done in advance. I'm not a novice but worry about distorting the quality of some things if done too far in advance and usually slave all morning and miss the festivities.

this thread is by someone who's travelling to do a xmas lunch and while the travelling part won't apply to you, you might get some useful tips re: pre-preparation.. You already know about preparing veg the night before. What about making your own stock the day before? its not difficult, i do it every year, just make sure you get the giblets from inside the turkey as well - delia has a great recipe for making stock with them. About the only difference i have with delia is a tip i got from my gran: reserve the liver after you've used it to make the stock, and grate it finely. When you go to make the gravy, a few minutes before the end, add the grated liver bits to the gravy. It sounds a bit gross, but it gives a lovely meaty texture and flavour to it. The giblet stock is easy - you can literally go away and get on with something else while it cooks.

if you go for a prawn cocktail type starter then i think you can probably make up at least part of it the night before and pop into a tub in the fridge. Failing that i'd go for some kind of veggie pate with some crudites - again, this can be prepared the day before, even the crudites, if you do a mix of crackers and veg that you can chop and keep in a bag in the fridge, and just popped onto a plate for the starter.

mince pies can be frozen, before baking, in the baking tin, then knocked out into a bag once frozen. you can then cook from frozen by just popping them back into the tin they were made in. add a few extra minutes and increase the temperature a little (by 1 gas mark or 20-30*C i think). Xmas pud can be re-heated in the microwave. so can a rum sauce. Brandy/rum butters can be made a week before, easily, even more, perhaps, if you put the butter in the freezer. see here for info on xmas pudding and the associated bits. I've made the rum sauce the day before and reheated in the microwave before now. just watch to make sure it doesn't boil over!

if you like step-by-step instructions on timings and so on i would really recommend getting a copy of Delia's Christmas book. have a look at it in the library or the shop first if you like, but it really is worth getting. Mine comes out every year. I use the timings she gives to work out my own, either working forward or back according to what time i want to serve dinner and how big a bird i have. she gives recipes for other types of christmas joints as well, from duck, to goose, pheasant, beef, lamb and so on, christmas cake, pudding, etc. I would use that as the basis for it - then work out, scrupulously, timings and lists of things - by the time christmas morning is here, i've worked out not only what i'm cooking things in, but what i'm serving them in and pinned these bits of paper to my kitchen cupboards with blu-tack along with timings and lists and i'm a regular sergeant-major on christmas morning. Its th eonly way to get it all done.

hope that all helps and good luck!!

keth
xx

balmaiden · 4 December 2007 at 4:11PM

I prep all veg xmas eve,carots,sprouts,cauliflower cheese. I buy m&s red cabbage with apple already prepared and frozen petit pois.
The potatos (only good old King Edwards will do) and parsnips I parboil, heat a good bit of goose fat (bought from my local farm shop) in a roasting pan add the drained pots and parsnips give them a good shake making sure all are well covered with fat so they don't discolour,cool cover with tinfoil put in the fridge with the rest of prepared veg. They soak up quite a bit of fat that way and make very crisp potatos,I just bung them in the oven while the bird is "resting"and away they go.
I also have my bacon wrapped sausages and stuffing prepared and in the fridge and I confess usually on this day only I use m&s fresh gravy.
That with my 82 year old mums xmas pud and cornish cream is my easy peasy xmas dinner.

I used to get so stressed doing the xmas dinner when my kids were young I was exausted so I learnt to simplify it, after all xmas is for everyone to enjoy!Having said that I will be cooking for ten possibly fourteen as usual.

ilikefreefood · 4 December 2007 at 4:21PM

You can make your mince pies and if you make them with the fat split 1/2 buter 1/4 lard 1/4 stork hard marge they freeze really well. I also make my xmas pud in september! and my xmas cake and just keep topping up with booze, you don't need any extra brandy to make the pud light but its really moist and soft come xmas say and also freezes well! You can make proffiteroles the day before or a few days before and keep in an airtight container and if you don't mind cheeting a tub of M&S belgian choc sauces saves you a bit of time come xmas day! For you cold buffet prepare the cruidites the day before and store in cold water in the fridge coverd over. You can also by puff pastry and grate some cheses then roll up slice in to thin bits and cook, (cheese swirls) they can then be frozen nicely and deforsted for your buffet! Xmas day is for relaxing and enjoying a glass of bubbley! ooh and another tip cook your bird upside down (breast on bottom) and it will be moist and yummy! Enjoy

Ishtar · 4 December 2007 at 4:50PM

I get all the component parts of the meal ready on Christmas Eve. I Prepare the veg and potatoes, do the bacon-wrapped sausages and even the turkey is stuffed, weighed, wrapped in tinfoil and left in the cold porch the night before. I either make the stuffing earlier in the day (we do only use paxo though!) and let it cool, or make it with cold water. We don't have bread sauce or anything like that, nor do we have a starter, we normally have nibbles through the morning.

I'm a firm believer in time plans, so that when it's time to get the dinner on I only have to pop out for a couple of minutes at a time.

If I'm on a roll, I'll set the table the night before - we have breakfast in bed on Christmas morning - but this does depend on whether I've had enough by 5pm!!

Oh yes, and I've always, always told myself 'it's just a roast'. Seems to remove all stress! (Well, it works for me...!)

D.

Penelope_Penguin · 4 December 2007 at 5:07PM

kethry wrote: »

if you like step-by-step instructions on timings and so on i would really recommend getting a copy of Delia's Christmas book. have a look at it in the library or the shop first if you like, but it really is worth getting. Mine comes out every year. I use the timings she gives to work out my own, either working forward or back according to what time i want to serve dinner and how big a bird i have. she gives recipes for other types of christmas joints as well, from duck, to goose, pheasant, beef, lamb and so on, christmas cake, pudding, etc. I would use that as the basis for it - then work out, scrupulously, timings and lists of things - by the time christmas morning is here, i've worked out not only what i'm cooking things in, but what i'm serving them in and pinned these bits of paper to my kitchen cupboards with blu-tack along with timings and lists and i'm a regular sergeant-major on christmas morning. Its th eonly way to get it all done.

hope that all helps and good luck!!

keth
xx

I was going to recommend this, too. Delia's Christmas is available from Amazon for £5.99. DH and I use it every year, and it's invaluable - she gives exact timings as to when everything needs doing. She also slots in times to relax - that's when we go for a walk.

Penny. x

troll35 · 4 December 2007 at 7:31PM

I would recommend a champagne (cava) breakfast on Christmas morning. It makes it totally stress free for me:snow_grin . Everything is prepared on Christmas Eve and a clear timetable of when to start cooking various things is attached to the cupboard next to the oven, with Dh and I sharing the work. The oven timer is used to countdown to the next bit that needs doing. This year we're cooking for 17:eek:.

Hope it all goes well:santa2:

grannybroon · 4 December 2007 at 9:32PM

DH does me a Cava and smoked salmon and scrambled egg breakfast on Christmas morning - my birthday! He spoils me rotten as he knows I really have problems with Christmas! For goodness sake I will be 57 this month and still have problems about other family just lumping in the Christmas and birthday things. I feel my birthday should be independent!

I do all the veg preparation the night before, including parboiling the spuds. After night in fridge roasties are even better. We don't do turkey at Christmas so do a roast (usually beef) overnight in the slow cooker. Starter this year for 2 is prawns, starter for 4 (maybe 5 DGS just started solids!) is home cooked veg soup, pud is trifle (special request from DSIL) and cheese and biscuits if required! Yoghurts in the fridge for 3 DGSs if nothing else! My birthday to cake to follow! Chistmas cake with a candle on top in amongst Santa the sledge etc!

GB x

Pink. · 5 December 2007 at 12:21PM

Hi ellas,

As your thread has dropped down the Old Style board I've moved it across to the Christmas board to see if you can get some more replies.

Pink

miss_phish · 21 December 2007 at 8:29AM

kethry wrote: »

... by the time christmas morning is here, i've worked out not only what i'm cooking things in, but what i'm serving them in and pinned these bits of paper to my kitchen cupboards with blu-tack along with timings and lists and i'm a regular sergeant-major on christmas morning. Its th eonly way to get it all done.

keth
xx

Keth, would you like to marry me...??

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

Christmas Dinner

Comments

Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply

🚀 Getting Started

Categories

Is this how you want to be seen?

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free