Even if you’re used to spending a lot of time in your kitchen, cooking your family’s Christmas dinner can be a very stressful experience.
But, you can make things much easier for yourself by doing plenty of planning and preparation before the big day.
To help you out, we’ve spoken to Katie Georgeson, Brand Manager at kitchen appliance manufacturer Stoves, who was more than happy to share her top tips for maximising efficiency in your kitchen this Christmas. Whether you’re going to be hosting dinner parties throughout the festive season, or you’re going to mark Christmas Day itself with one big banquet, take these tips on board to keep your stress levels down. Read on to see what she had to say.
Prepare what you can in advance
Getting your Christmas dinner right is all in the planning, and you can take a lot of the pressure off yourself by preparing as much as possible before the big day.
You might be surprised by how many elements of your dinner you’ll be able to do this with. Here are just some of the things you can do in advance:
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- Make your stuffing and freeze in an oven dish so you can put it straight into the oven on Christmas Day.
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- Peel and chop your potatoes the night before, and keep them in a water-filled container.
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- Make your bread sauce a few days early and keep it in the fridge.
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- Boil your parsnips the day before, as these will last up to a day in the fridge.
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- Red cabbage can be braised and then kept in the fridge for a few days.
- You can use the “blanching and refreshing” method to prepare sprouts. The day before, boil them and drop them into cold water to stop the cooking process. Then reheat the next day.
By doing as much as you can in the lead-up to Christmas Day, cooking your dinner is likely to go much more smoothly.
Know your cooker’s limits
When you’re putting together your plan of attack for cooking Christmas dinner, you need to make sure you’re aware of your cooker’s limits. For example, people often struggle for oven space when they’re cooking a big meal and, if this is something you need to think about, you might want to look for alternative ways to cook some of your ingredients. One idea is that, rather than roasting your vegetables, you could boil or steam them instead.
You also need to think about whether you’re going to have the space and time to cook an entire turkey, or if a turkey crown might be more realistic. If it won’t disappoint your guests, you could even forego the tradition and opt for chicken or roast beef. These take far less time to cook, and will free up your oven space much earlier so you’ll have more time to cook everything else.
Don’t set your meal time in stone
You can have the best plan in the world, but things can still go wrong. So, it’s a good idea to be a little bit flexible with your dinner time, as this will take a lot of the pressure off you. Feel free to give everyone a rough idea of when they can expect their dinner, but don’t make any promises that you might not be able to keep. Just make sure you have some snacks on hand in case things do take longer than you expected!
Putting plenty of planning and preparation into the cooking of your Christmas dinner will make the day much less stressful for you. Do as much as you can in advance, take note of your cooker’s limits, and don’t make any promises about what time dinner will be served. You’ll find this will take a lot of the stress out of the day.