Five weekends, one or two recipes each
The party food and the sides go first and the mains last, so the biggest cooks are nearest the day. Each recipe makes 8 portions. Rather do it all at once? Cook it on one day instead.
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Next up
Mince pies and sausage rolls
Made first, so there's something in the freezer for whoever drops round in December.
- Mince pies 50m, 24 pies, 3 each
- Mushroom, chestnut and sage sausage rolls 1h 15m, 24 rolls, 3 each
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Next up
Red cabbage and stuffing balls
The Christmas Day sides. The cabbage braises slowly while you roll the stuffing.
- Braised red cabbage with apple 1h 20m, 1 container for each meal
- Sage and onion stuffing balls 50m, 3 each
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Next up
Gravy and red onion marmalade
Both start with a long, slow pan of onions, so cook them side by side.
- Onion and red wine gravy 1h, 1 container for each meal
- Red onion marmalade 1h, 2 tablespoons each
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Next up
The Christmas Day main
The biggest cook of the five, with a weekend to itself. Pick one.
- Squash, goats cheese and cranberry Wellington 2h, 1 Wellington feeds 4
- Cranberry and cheddar nut roast 1h 30m, 1 loaf feeds 4
- Chestnut, mushroom and sage roast 1h 40m, 1 loaf feeds 4
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Next up
Christmas Eve and Boxing Day
Pick a tart for Christmas Eve, then shape the bubble and squeak cakes while the potatoes cool.
- Shallot and balsamic tarte tatin 1h 15m, 1 tart feeds 4
- Squash, cheddar and thyme galettes 1h 20m, 1 galette each
- Bubble and squeak cakes 1h 15m, 2 cakes each
The roast potatoes, parsnips and the rest of the roast freeze too. Add them to any weekend with room.
Christmas week: nothing to cook ahead
The one job on each of the three evenings is moving the next day’s food to the fridge.
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, for Christmas Eve
Before bed: move tomorrow’s tart to the fridge
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, for Christmas Day
Before bed: move tomorrow’s main, the gravy, the red cabbage and the stuffing balls to the fridge
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, for Boxing Day
Before bed: move tomorrow’s bubble and squeak cakes and marmalade to the fridge
These come from the Food Standards Agency.
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Defrost in the fridge overnight. If you can’t, use the microwave’s defrost setting directly before cooking.
the safest way to defrost food is in the fridge overnight
use a microwave on the defrost setting directly before cooking
Food Standards Agency -
Once it’s fully defrosted, eat it within 24 hours.
use food within 24 hours after it’s been fully defrosted
Food Standards Agency
Last checked against the Food Standards Agency page linked here.
Every rule, with all its sources: freezing, defrosting and reheating safely.
Nomstash plans each weekend
- One shop a weekend Pick that weekend’s recipes and get one shopping list, foil trays and freezer bags included, with an estimated cost.
- A label on every container The dish, the day it was made and who it feeds, so nobody defrosts the wrong one.
- The reminder the night before Plan each meal on its day and Nomstash tells you what to move to the fridge before bed.
Freezing it safely
The Food Standards Agency’s advice for each weekend’s cook:
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Cool cooked food at room temperature and put it in the fridge within one to two hours.
cool cooked food at room temperature and place in the fridge within one to two hours
Food Standards Agency -
Label everything that goes in the freezer.
label food you freeze so you don’t end up with Unidentified Frozen Objects (UFOs)
Food Standards Agency -
Food that’s been cooked and frozen is reheated once, not again after that.
you can freeze food again once cooked, but you’ll only be able to reheat it once after that
Food Standards Agency
Last checked against the Food Standards Agency page linked here.
Every rule, with all its sources: freezing, defrosting and reheating safely.
Every rule for cooling, freezing and reheating is on the freezing and defrosting guide.
Sources
- Food Standards Agency How to chill, freeze and defrost food safely gov.uk
Last checked . Each quotation on this page was read against the page it links to.