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Help! First timer cooking Xmas dinner for 29

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:/

Any advice please? Lol..I have my family, my in-laws and my sisters in-laws round for Xmas dinner this year, that's 23 adults, 3 under 10s and 3 babies (though they prob don't count though they are on solids)

I'm planning to get 2 leg of lambs and 4 big chickens rather than turkey.

Any advice on how many veggies to allow per person? I have no idea! I'm skipping sprouts but am doing roasties, parsnips and carrots.

Any advice on planning out the cooking and any other timing and cooking tips would be welcome!

Tia!
We got rid of the kids. The cat was allergic. ;)

Debt at LBM (Sep 07): £13,500. Current debt: [STRIKE]£680[/STRIKE] [STRIKE]£480[/STRIKE] [STRIKE]£560[/STRIKE] [STRIKE]£13[/STRIKE] £0 overdraft :D
Current aims - to start building up savings
1st £1000 in 100 days - £1178.03 :D 2nd £1053.38/£1000 :D 3rd £863.59/£1000 :o
:j
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Comments

  • JJ.
    JJ. Posts: 122 Forumite
    Good heavens! That's some task!!
    I'd definitely cook the meats the day before, they can be sliced accordingly, wrapped in foil and warmed for 10 mins on the day. Peel and prep all the veg the day before too. Most veggies keep well once prepped in a dish, tightly wrapped with cling film. I'd allow 4 roasties each, get a bucket, peel all those spuds, and keep them in water with a little salt to stop them going brown. I do all of that, and I'm only cooking for 5!
    More importantly, if people offer to help, LET THEM! You have to enjoy the day too. Let someone bring starters, or side dishes, and puddings if they offer. xx
  • Chris25
    Chris25 Posts: 12,918 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Photogenic I've been Money Tipped!
    I roughly work out a backwards timeline if I'm cooking for a lot of people. So if I know we're going to eat at 3pm, in my case, the turkey needs to be taken out of the oven at 2.35 to rest before carving. Then I can put in the pigs in blankets at 2.35 until 2.55. I list the time everything needs to go in & out of the oven and then turn it all around & re-list it but from the beginning to the end :)

    as JJ says, either ask if they can bring prepared veg with them or, the puddings or starters.

    I'd definitely cook the meat the day before - will especially help, timewise, with the chickens (all that carving) and give you more room in the kitchen. With the meat, if it's in gravy and if you're going to re-heat it in the oven, I would put it in for 30 minutes.

    Stuffing balls, pigs in blankets can all be assembled beforehand & put in the oven with the meat.

    If you are mashing the parsnips, they can be cooked beforehand & re-heated.

    You can prepare gravy & custard & can keep warm in flasks.
  • That is quite a task you have there!

    I would do as much in advance as you can, definately do you meats and gravy the day before so they can just be reheated.
    Do you veg prep the night before, I usually allow around 1 carrot, 1/2 a parsnip, 3-4 roasties and a small handful of peas per person.

    Definately write down a timetable working backwards from when you want to serve, this will help you to not worry what has to go on and when!

    Good luck!
    Expecting Baby No 1 - 20/06/14 - Team Yellow!
  • Peel and chop the carrots the day before. Put them in a cellophane bag wrapped in wet kitchen paper. This will provide enough moisture to stop them drying out, but not too much that the nutrients come out of them. I do this every year. It works fairly well with parsnips too.

    Sprouts, peel the outer layers, put a cross in the bottom and put them back in the fridge til you're ready to steam them.
  • PasturesNew
    PasturesNew Posts: 70,698 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    You can't skip sprouts.... they're compulsory.
  • suejb2
    suejb2 Posts: 1,918 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    My sprouts are on a low simmer now!
    Life is like a bath, the longer you are in it the more wrinkly you become.
  • calicocat
    calicocat Posts: 5,698 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Chutzpah Haggler
    Holy-moly....that is a bit daunting.

    Unless doing a soup to start which is one thing to concentrate on and can be served at the table , do cold starter that someone else can plate up for you.

    Prep as much as possible before as already said by others. Roasties can be half done too ahead if that makes it easier, and parsnips.

    If you are having chicken or lamb before then you could make some gravy then and freeze ready too, as gravy for over 23 will be a lot.

    If you aren't using the microwave for anything you can do a big bowl of peas in it pretty quickly...also sweetcorn is easy to heat up.

    If you aren't bothered about a hot dessert or xmas pudding, then a pavlova is good to do ahead and easy to assemble...and get a few of the guests to bring a dessert each so there's a good choice for everyone.

    Organise someone to be in charge of soft drinks and another in charge of the wine etc so you don't need to focus on any of that. Organise someone else to be in charge of taking plates into the room, and have a couple of people in the kitchen with you to carry things to the table as they are ready.

    It sounds great to be honest...good luck and enjoy.



    Oh and delegate the people who are clearing the table and doing the washing up etc....while you sit down.
    Yep...still at it, working out how to retire early.:D....... Going to have to rethink that scenario as have been screwed over by the company. A work in progress.
  • mogwai
    mogwai Posts: 1,252 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Thanks there's a lot of great advice here! Cooking the meat the day before is a great idea as that's the thing I was worried most about, I had the idea that the turkey/meat had to be cooked fresh..

    I think I'll cook the chickens the day before and peel/prep the veggies then too, and then do the lamb and veggies on the day (my brother is doing the lamb so don't need to worry about that!)

    Thanks for the portion advice for veggies as well, was a bit baffled as to how to calculate that but these amounts sound reasonable..

    Im def looking forward to the challenge, just dont want to end up food poisoning anyone or being short of food..Off to order my veggies and other bits from Tesco now :D
    We got rid of the kids. The cat was allergic. ;)

    Debt at LBM (Sep 07): £13,500. Current debt: [STRIKE]£680[/STRIKE] [STRIKE]£480[/STRIKE] [STRIKE]£560[/STRIKE] [STRIKE]£13[/STRIKE] £0 overdraft :D
    Current aims - to start building up savings
    1st £1000 in 100 days - £1178.03 :D 2nd £1053.38/£1000 :D 3rd £863.59/£1000 :o
    :j
  • I always par boil potatoes before roasting. So I would definietly do this the day before as well. After par boiling, let them rest in a sieve, colander etc until cool, then pack in freezer bags and keep in fridge till next day. The more roughened up and bashed the outsides are, the better.

    The golden piece of advice I would give you is never UNDERestimate how much longer simple jobs will take, like boiling up a big pan of water for your veggies. With the volume you're doing, that will take longer than you think.

    Another Jamie Oliver tip is to use a steamer... the type that has maybe 3 sections. That way, one ring of your hob can cook 3 things at once..... (put the ones that need most cooking on the bottom nearest the water).

    Otherwise you might run out of hob space.

    good luck. ps........... room for one more? :rotfl:
  • chef002
    chef002 Posts: 13 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10 Posts
    I hope you live in a large house with table places for all those people.
    I hope you have a range cooker. I hope that you have designated hands to help in the kitchen and two designated waiters. I hope you haven't taken on more than you can handle.

    If you live in an ordinary 2/3 bedroom house and must feed that number of people, think buffet.
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