h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

As this is my first year hosting xmas dinner and my kitchen and oven are teeny tiny, can I cook the turkey the day before?
If I can, how do I store it, and as I am assuming I can't reheat it, I don't want it served cold from the fridge. Any advice?

Yes you can

Cook it the day before, wait for it to cool and then carve it... remove the legs first and then slice the breast. Cover in foil and put it in either the fridge or larder or an unheated room or garage.
I was lucky... I had 3 outhouses which I could use.

You can re-heat it... put in back in the oven with the roast potatoes, but keep it covered with foil to retain the moistness. Make sure it is heated through though! Don't reheat all of it! You should only do this once, so if you want to make other hot dishes (see below) these should be with meat only cooked once.

Alternatively don't worry too much! By the time you have piled the plate full with hot vegetables and poured on the gravy, the turkey will be just right!

Any leftovers, apart from the obvious 'cold with bubble and squeak' etc, you can use to make a Turkey Supreme or Turkey Rissotto. The supreme just means making a thick white sauce and adding the sliced and chopped turkey, the rissotto... mix some cooked rice, vegetables and the turkey all together. You can even add the stuffing if you want to!

shazz

Shazz, you are a life saver. I've got an old coal shed outside my kitchen door, I'll keep it in there over night. I'll be relying on h2g2 and you in particular now to get me through the day!

That sounds ideal! I expect that I will be around! Ironically I don't think I will be doing a Turkey dinner this year!

I'll send you through the recipes for left overs if you like! There again, maybe I'll write an item for The Post about it!

shazz

I doubt I'll have any left overs. I tried to make sure I bought only what I needed. But if I have, I know where to come!
I think I might get my other half to print some of your work out, to stick to the fridge where it's handy. The parsnips stuff I'll need, as I've never cooked those before.

Mmmmmmmmmm

Roast parsnips with lashings of butter are the best!

What is the old saying? 'Kind words butter no parsnips.'

Remember to check everything is cooked... if you use gas the pressure is always lower on Christmas day, so the cooking times may need extending a little!

If you don't have room on the hob, use separators in a large pan and cook the potatoes and carrots in the same pan!

Even better... use a pressure cooker if you have one.

I always prep the veggies days before and freeze them... it leaves more time for playing with the kids and drinking cheap sherry!

shazz

I'll be putting the parsnips in the oven, and I am cheating and using ready roast potatoes. Just stuff them in the oven as well. That's why I need to cook the turkey the day before. It won't all go in together, especially with the xmas pud going in as well. I doubt the hob will even get used except for custard.

Wow! Very organised!

Christmas pud in the oven? Now I've heard everthing!

Are you going to flame it?

shazz

Where is xmas pud supposed to go? Maybe I'd better go and read the instructions before I start...
Set it on fire? Maybe I'll ask my dad to do that bit...

I think you can microwave them, but they are suet-pudding based, so they normally need steaming.

shazz

Aha, it says microwaveable - 18 mins. Problem solved.

You can tell I'm not a natural cook.

That saves fiddling about and also filling the kitchen with then

I don't think there is any such thing as a natural cook... you either like doing it and have the time, like doing it but don't have the time, or hate it! I am hovering around the second one atm... plus my recent munching problems tend to put me off bothering!

shazz