Help me cook Xmas dinner!

[SandraC]

Hi! Xmas dinner at my house this year! YIKES! First time ~ 17 people ~ 17 nice people who know I'm nervous about it! YIKES AGAIN!

I've cooked turkeys before, but this is different! I'll have 17 people in my house and great big tree! AND A 2 YEAR OLD and a great big tree!

I need help with:
simplicity
menu
timing

We are eating at 3pm and everyone will arrive about 3pm, we'll eat right away and clear everything out of the living room for Xmas festivities!

THANKS

 

[eleanor]

I always cook the turkey the day before and make the gravy. Wrap it and put it in the frig without cutting it. {take out the dressing}. Next day just warm it a little before cutting.It gets rid of alot of mess. Make all your desserts days before.Set the table the night before and Christmas day you only have the veggies to do. Eleanor

 

[Taryn]

I totally agree... turkey and gravy the night before...

No worries about it cooking to slowly or too long... saved my sanity more than once...

We even carved and laid out the platter the night before once and just to be sure it wouldn't be dry once reheated I mixed some of the drippings (saved before gravy was made) with some broth and drizzled that over the meat and covered with foil to re-heat. I think it was the most moist flavourful turkey we ever had.

Easy easy easy... and sooooo much less mess... and we didn't have the traffic jam in the oven if you know what I mean!

 

[SandraC]

THANKS! I once made a Thanksgiving turkey about three days before and wrapped it in foil. It was nice, but the house didn't smell like turkey on Xmas day. MIL thinks I should cook the turkey days before, I think I might do that. NOW, what turkey and when should I buy it. Its been sooooooooo long since I'll done a turkey. 17 people, how many pounds do I need. HI TARYN! How are you?

 

[grover]

Sandra- I can't be of much help to you as I am known to NOT be a great cook-On my first x-mas dinner 10 years ago I dropped the cooked turkey on the kitchen floor!! ! However I know that the people over on the recipe and scrapbooking board could be of great help to you! They have given me numerous great ideas and recipes- check it out! Will any of your 17 guests be bringing anything-that could be a great help, they could each show off their best dish!

Grover in Winnipeg

 

[Taryn]

Hi Sandra!

Frantically packing for DISCON... I leave in... Oh my... 21 hours... *faints*

We thought it was silly to get a free range fresh until we did one year and it was sooo good... I don't even like turkey and it was the first year I ate it! We could have like three people and we would still probably get a 25 pounder. My BF can eat it for months and never get tired of it, so I have no idea!

I'll check this thread when I get back!

Oh, and as far as your house smelling like turkey... well sometimes I simmer spices on the stove like pot pourri... just some herbs and spices in water usually cinnamon and vanilla or cloves or something... why not simmer the same spices as you have in your stuffing all day... thyme, rosemary... that might work! *getting hungry*

 

[TimNDansMom]

Sandra, I'm not much of a cook, but my family comes over for Christmas dinner since I now have the larger house. I have been using the Butterball pre-stuffed turkey for a few years now and I found they are great for me. Just pop it in the oven, still frozen~no muss, no fuss!
I've also used the store's (Zehrs or Sobey's) own pre-stuffed turkey and it was pretty good too. The only thing is that you may not be able to find one in a large enough size for 17 people. Last year I cooked it the day before and it worked so well, that I'm going to do it again from now on. Turkey always tastes better the next day anyway. I think I also made the gravy the day before too.

 

[from Canada]

Julie, Im curious about cooking the turkey from frozen...are there instructions on the outer wrap on how to do this? If not, how would I do that? I think that sounds like a great idea. Half of my trouble with turkey is figuring out how/where to thaw it safely, and in time to cook. I have done fresh too, but then there's the hassle of picking it up at last minute, and Im working right up 'til the big day.TIA
Karen

 

[cottontail]

Eleanor:

How long do you warm up a turkey that was cooked the day before and at what temp?

Also Sandra, you could cook two medium size turkeys, if you cannot find a big enough one for l7 people.
My family always does a turkey and a ham (one of the ones that just needs warming, like the schneiders old fashioned ham, and warm it in a little apple juice and some pinapple pieces.) They also do that whipped potatoe thing with the philedelphia cream cheese, sour cream and mashed potatoes, (make it about a week ahead and freeze) and take it out of the freezer and thaw in fridge then warm it on xmas day. Good luck,

Deb.

 

[eleanor]

Hi I warm the turkey at about 225 for 20 to 30 mins covered with foil.The idea of a few dribbles of drippings sounds good . also you still get the turkey smell .Ialso warm up the dressing at the same time.

 

[TimNDansMom]

Karen, the turkeys that are to be cooked from frozen are specially prepared. They are pre-stuffed with a herb stuffing and all you do is remove the turkey from the plastic wrapper and peel off the giblets which are frozen to the outside of the turkey in a bag and put it straight into the oven. Just like a regular turkey, there are cooking times, according to the weight, located somewhere on the outer packaging. I personally use one of those throw-away aluminum roasting pans and I'll put an aluminum tent over the turkey when it's browned enough. About an hour before it should be ready I stick a meat thermometer into the turkey.

When these frozen pre-stuffed turkeys first came out, only Butterball seemed to make them, they were smaller birds and hard to find, but I have noticed lately, that the grocery stores also carry their own brands, the birds are larger and by the number I see now in the freezers, have become very popular. They are more expensive, so you have to weigh that against the convenience of not having to prepare a bird yourself.

My BIL was horrified that I was not preparing a turkey from scratch when he and my sister first came over for Christmas dinner a few years ago. He was quite surprised how good it was and now my sister buys pre-stuffed turkeys too!

Hope this helps!

 

[Baboo]

Hi Sandra! I noticed that Loblaws has a deboned stuffed turkey abailable this year. This makes it easier to carve it too. It may seem more expensive, but you won't be paying for bones. Maybe you could give this a try. I think that if you are using a regular turkey they say to allow 1/2 a pound per adult since this includes the weight of the bones.

 

[SandraC]

YIPPY! Thanks! Did the Loblaws turkey come with dark meat too? A couple years ago I bought a white meat only bird, breast only. I never ate the dark meat, but I missed it ~ I'm odd. THANKS!

I am trying to figure out a way we can have a 'sit down' meal. I think with 17 people, we'll be eating off our laps!

 

[Limmer]

Cottontail, I had never heard of potatoes like that until I ate my MIL's. They are fabulous and I now have my mother making them too! Sandra I highly recommend these potatoes. My MIL uses 1 block of cream cheese and one container of sour cream for a large pot of potatoes.

Also for dessert the best (and easiest) recipe for mini white chocolate cheesecakes is on the back of Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk (there are all kinds of recipes on the back of the cans with a picture on the front showing the dessert) . These take about a half an hour and they always go like hotcakes. They can be made 3-4 days in advance. On the day add a little whip cream and a small piece of fruit and you are ready to go.

 

[PoohBWV]

Just wanted to add that I have never thought of cooking the turkey the day before. I always make the cream cheese mashed potatos and a sweet potato casserole the day before, and of course the pies, but now you guys have got me thinking about the turkey as well. We always have a big brunch in the morning as well as the turkey dinner and I really have to watch what I make for brunch, because the turkeys always in the oven! Hmmmm......

 

[sammi]

Hi Sandra! Yes the deboned turkeys from Loblaws or in our city No Frills are President's Choice brands and are a complete (even dark meat) turkey that only has the drumsticks in them in order for the turkey to hold it shape when presenting it at the table. It also comes fully stuffed and the price is a bit steep but then again everything is edible and there is no waste with bones etc. The price in Hamilton is $4.49 lb and I'm really curious as to what they taste like. Hmmmmm maybe I'll get one and give it a try! Good luck with whatever bird you choose!

 

[TimNDansMom]

You should give it a try, PoohBWV. It was so easy to reach into the fridge and pull out the already-carved-turkey and just warm it up in the oven or microwave! And since all the paraphernalia associated with cooking and carving the turkey had been washed and put away the day before, I didn't have the added stress of a big clean-up after everyone goes home.

Sammi and Baboo, those de-boned turkeys sound interesting! I might just give one a try this Christmas if I can find one.

 

[CindyAnn]

Here's another vote for the Butterball pre-stuffed frozen turkey. My mother bought it by accident for Thanksgiving one year, and we've used it ever since. There are simple to follow instructions on the package, based on the weight of the turkey. In my experience Butterball has been tastier than other brands, but I haven't tried anything else for the last three or four years, either.

We just put it in the oven at about 11:00 or so on Christmas day, so that it's ready by 5:00 in the afternoon (again, that might vary depending upon the actual weight). To me one of the important considerations is food safety. I don't like turkey standing around anywhere, and this way it goes straight from frozen solid to being cooked in your oven.

One of our other traditions is cheese & egg strata for Christmas breakfast. It's a little bit like a souffle, but prepared the night before. We get up, I pop the strata in the oven, and by the time the stockings are opened and played with, the strata has cooked and we can have a substantial breakfast before attacking the rest of the presents.

Speaking of presents - I think I'd better go an wrap some in a few minutes!

 

[tigercat]

I also cook my turkey the day before then cut it up and put the dripping on it so that it stays moist when reheating it. Also the stuffing is made the day before that. I peel the potatoes (we have mashed potatoes) and cook and mash them the day before. We also have mashed turnip and again that is cooked the day before. Carrots are peeled and put in cold water. The punch is made and put into containers, the table is set, and the serving dishes are readied. This is all done the day before. Then Christmas day when people come everything is organized and ready to go. Just heat and serve pretty well. I have been doing this for years and it has worked really well. I used to do dinners for my family and there were 25 to 30 people there (just my brothers and sisters and their kids). Now there is just my kids and I so there is only 9 people but I still do things the day before. We have our dinner at 12 p.m. so it makes my morning very nice. (We open our gifts after dinner)
tigercat

 

[sammi]

Another great idea Sandra, that I tried a few years ago was cooking the turkey the day before and then slicing and layering the meat between layers of lettuce! I heard about this somewhere and thought I'd give it a try and boy was the meat so moist and very tender! The water in the lettuce keeps everything so moist so that it really does taste like it's fresh from the oven! Hope this helps you out!