How to Survive Cooking Christmas Dinner

Christmas Day is nearly here and I am oh so ready for the best part – the food. My first experience of cooking Christmas dinner was at 19 for 2 families I didn’t know. I had just started my ski season and this was our first week of guests. It felt like I’d been thrown into the deep end! Thankfully, it all went smoothly and I even had time to ski during the day.  

Since then, I’ve cooked a fair few Christmas dinners and have 2 seasons worth of cooking 3-course meals 6 nights a week under my belt, so I feel well versed in putting on a spread. With so much pressure on 1 day of cooking, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. So, here are my top tips for cooking Christmas dinner for a stress-free day.

Plan ahead

The best way to ensure a stress-free Christmas day is to plan ahead. This day comes around every year and there’s always the same food to be prepared, so you know what to expect. By having a plan to work from you can easily figure out what ingredients you need to buy; when everything needs to go into the oven and delegate to anyone that’s keen to lend a hand in the Christmas dinner prep.  

Being the super-organised person I am, I created a document last year containing the menu, all the timings and recipes I used which has made things much smoother this year.

Preparation is key

Anything that can be peeled, chopped or put together the day before or earlier will only help to achieve a stress-free Christmas day. The more you can do beforehand the better. 

My list of prep to do on Christmas Eve consists of; making the Cranberry & Orange Relish, Bread Sauce, Pork & Sage stuffing, Fig Chutney, Mushroom stuffing, Mushroom Tartlet filling, marinading Beetroot slices, making mince pies and icing the Christmas cakes.

This means that when I need to put it all together there are fewer elements on Christmas day. 

Work backwards

Timing can be tricky when there are so many elements to a meal. You want to ensure that when you serve the food it’s on time and hot! So, the best way to figure out how to get all the cooking timings to match is to work backwards. Using your plan, work out how long each element of the meal will take to cook. Then, pick the time you want to serve the meal, say 4 pm, and add the timings in reverse. Here’s mine:

• 4pm – Remove anything remaining in the oven and serve. 
• 3:50pm – Heat the plates.
• 3:45pm – Make the gravy, cook peas and reheat bread sauce.
• 3:30pm – Remove the turkey from the oven. Place the brussel sprouts in the oven. Remove the cranberry sauce from the fridge. 
• 3pm – Place the parsnips, carrots, mushroom stuffing and nut roast into the oven.
• 2:30pm – Serve canapes. Place the roast potatoes into the oven.
• 2pm – Parboil the potatoes, parsnips and carrots. Cook the canapes. 
• 1pm – Turn the turkey oven and cover with streaky bacon. Place back into the oven. 
• 11am – Place the turkey into the oven. 
• 10am – Prep the canapes and turkey. 
• 9am – Peel and chop potatoes, parsnips, carrots and sprouts.
• 8am – Remove the turkey and stuffing from the fridge. 

It’s a full-on list and won’t be exact during the day, but it will help me stay on track when cooking Christmas dinner.

Foil is your friend

If, despite your perfect planning, timings get mixed up and something’s finished earlier than it should be, don’t worry. Simply cover in a sheet of foil and set aside. Likewise, if something is cooking too quickly in the oven, cover it in foil to save the top from getting burnt. 

I’d also recommend layering a sheet of baking paper over your turkey before covering it in foil to stop it from sticking to the turkey. 

Cook your turkey upside down

My dad’s famous move when cooking the turkey and the best way to ensure a juicy bird throughout. It sounds like an odd technique but I find turkey can often be quite dry and this move really helps. By placing the turkey upside down for its first half of cooking, all the juices drip down into the breasts resulting in a truly moist slice of meat.

Before preparing your turkey, be sure to take it out of the fridge first thing to allow it time to reach room temperature. When you come to lay the turkey on its bed of root vegetables on the tray, place it upside down. Then, when it’s halfway through its bake, remove it from the oven and, with some help, turn it over so it’s the correct way up. Place some streaky bacon over the top, before placing it back into the oven to cook further. In its final 30 minutes of cooking, remove any foil covering and let the bird brown. Finally, allow the turkey to rest for 20 minutes or so before serving and enjoy a deliciously tasty turkey.

Hot plates

A simple but often forgotten element to a meal is warming the plates. Not only is it a nice touch for your guests or family to eat from, but warming your serving plates also will ensure all the food you’ve lovingly prepared will stay hot for longer too. 

There are a few ways you can warm your plates; 

• Splash some water onto each plate, stack and then place into the microwave for a short time. 
• Boil some water and place the plates into a bowl or deep tray to soak. 
• Place them into the oven in small stacks. 

Be careful with all 3 options so you don’t burn your fingers. Likewise, as the plates are hot, you may want to place them onto some heatproof mats so they don’t damage your dining table.

Cook what you know

With so many taste testers, it can be a fun chance to try out something new. But often trialling a new recipe takes longer than you think and it’s sometimes best to stick with recipes you’re comfortable with. Last year I made a raw brussel sprout salad with pomegranate seeds. On paper, it sounded tasty, but the reality was a large bowl of average greenery. Best to save the experiments for Boxing Day instead. 

Have fun

As cheesy as it sounds, I want you to enjoy yourself. Cooking Christmas dinner shouldn’t be a cause for concern (it’s basically a glorified roast dinner) and hopefully, these tips will help you achieve a stress-free day.

There’s nothing better than being surrounded by your favourite people among a spread of delicious food. This is our first Christmas in our new home and although a great opportunity to start some new traditions, there’s nothing I’d love more than to be cooking Christmas dinner with my dad.

Merry Christmas Everyone! 

Els x

For more tips or baking inspiration, follow me on Instagram @theardentbakery