A 'traveling' Xmas dinner?!

morwenna

I used to work in a pub. I cooked and carved the turkey the day before (breast crowns and leg boned and rolled) and made lots and lots of gravy. the roasties would be par boiled and dunked in melted fat to coat each one. Veg prepped, cooked and "refreshed" under cold water. (Stops it cooking instantly, you don't get off colour sprouts!) On the day, have a roasting tin on the hob with hot gravy just gently simmering to reheat the bird, blast the potatoes in the oven as usual, also cooking sausages, stuffing balls etc at the same time and veg can be miked or steamed.

Pink.

Hi Alfietinker,

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

Stephen_Leak

kittie wrote: »

what about par boiling the potatoes for travelling. They`ll roast perfectly and quicker

I'm a pretty smooth :cool: driver (ask all the impatient drivers who've flashed me as I slow down for red lights in time for them to go green again), but even I would be worried about them "dissembling" in transit. Personally, I'd transport them uncooked.

Alfietinker

Thank-you Pink

Well, I've ordered a turkey anyway, but they're going to crown it for me and give me the legs separately so it will be quicker to cook. I'll freeze the legs as we prefer breast meat anyway. (We see the poor little things running around their field everyday, under a huge "TURKEYS" made out of haystacks - they even perch on the letters! Now hubby is trying to make me feel really guilty! But at least I know they're running around, not in a shed.)

So my 'stress free' plan of action is: Cook the bird on Xmas eve, at my leisure, carve it up and take only what I know they'll eat, with a little leftovers. Make all the trimmings and arrange in a roasting tray covered with clingfilm. Make the gravy and put in a huge jug, cranberry sauce can go in a jug too. Make stuffing balls instead of inside bird and put in tin ready to bung in oven. Braised red cabbage will be done Xmas eve too and go in tupperware.

I've now decided hubby can prepare veggies when we get round there while I'm peeling spuds. The oven apparently takes ages to heat up so I'll have time to do them after all while it's getting up to temperature.

So on the day: Put oven on, peel spuds, par boil and bung in oven. Then bung in stuffing balls, trimmings and parsnips. Meanwhile hubby will have (!) peeled/prepared any other veg ready to be steamed.

When spuds are nearly done, start to re-heat gravy, then at last minute heat up turkey with a little water or gravy (or maybe earlier in the oven if I remember).

Then voila!

Thanks for all your help - I don't feel as stressed now as I was getting yesterday!

kethry

Alfietinker wrote: »

I've now decided hubby can prepare veggies when we get round there while I'm peeling spuds. The oven apparently takes ages to heat up so I'll have time to do them after all while it's getting up to temperature.

glad you're feeling a bit better about it all one last thought. can you not ask your MIL to turn the oven on to get it up to temp?

keth
xx

Smickan

Frags wrote: »

Hi Alfietinker,

Sorry your post made me giggle, i had visions of you driving along stuffing the Turkey at the same time! Can you not stay at the MIL's house on Xmas eve? I ams ure you have probably thought of this solution already but this owuld save you a lot of rushing around?

Heee! me too! One hand on the steering wheel, the other up a Turkey's jacksy!

Is there anyway to drop the Turkey off say Christmas Eve and ask your MIL to put it into cook and you drive up after with everything else?

Alfietinker

I could, but then I'd be panicking about wasting gas while I was preparing the roasties. I'll think about that one though.