Christmas Roast Dinner

Extras for the table - bought or made in advance

Cranberry Sauce
horseradish sauce
Festive White Sauce for Christmas Pudding
cointreau butter
cream
festive crackers

Ingredients and Ready Made products

joint of meat (alternatively, slices of roast meat)
christmas pudding
carrots
dwarf beans
frozen sprouts
4 potatoes per person (to make sure there are more than enough)
sunflower oil
margarine
8 oz plain flour
2 eggs
1 pint milk
Sage and onion stuffing (packet mix)
Gravy granules

Utensils

2 cooker timers
steamer
potato peeler
sharp knife
large saucepan
roasting dish
kettle
2 measuring jugs
fork
2 serving spoons
caserole dish lid
kitchen roll
2 bun tins (to hold 24 Yorkshire puddings)
carving board
carving knife
electric whisk
weighing scales

Method

Put Christmas Pudding on to steam for 2 hours with its own cooker timer.

Put meat in to roast at at least Gas Mark 6 (200 centigrade) and set cooker timer for 10 minutes more than the meat needs.

Prepare all vegetables and put into a steamer ready to be steamed.

Put water on to boil
Peel potatoes and cut them into 2 or 3 to make even sizes.
Add to boiling water for 10 minutes.
Drain and place in a lidded roasting dish.
Add sunflower oil to the roasting dish and shake vigorously to spread the oil and roughen the potato edges.
With 1 hour to go on the cooker timer (increase the time on the timer if necessary), put in oven with lid.

Make Yorkshire pudding mixture in a measuring jug and put in fridge.

Continue roasting the potatoes with the lid off. Loosen them.

Make stuffing in a second measuring jug and transfer to a greased caserole dish lid.
Leave the dish on one side. Don't put it in the oven yet.

Don't wash the jug but instead add enough gravy granules for later.
Boil enough water in the kettle now to make the gravy to save time at the dishing up stage.

Complete the Yorkshire pudding recipe.

With 25 minutes to go on the cooker timer (increase the time on the timer if necessary) put the Yorkshire's and the stuffing into the oven.
Give the roast potatoes one last stir to loosen them from their dish. The oven must not be disturbed again until the Yorkshire's have had at least 15 minutes.

With 15-20 minutes to go on the cooker timer put the vegetables on to steam.

With 10 minutes left on the cooker timer remove the meat from the oven and allow to rest on a carving board.

Set the table.

When the cooker timer chimes, switch the oven off.
Remove the Yorkshire puddings first and loosen them.
Remove the stuffing and roasts and loosen them.
Put the kettle back on to boil.
Carve the meat.
Dish up.
Make the gravy.
Transfer to table.

Enjoy.

When the Christmas pudding timer chimes serve the Christmas pudding.

Added January 2003.

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