I feel good, and proud.
For the last 30 years, being the only capable cook in the house WRT roasting things (my Mum had a stroke when I was 12 ish - then single then SWMBO is Chinese and they are not big on oven cooking),
I have slogged my guts out fixing a massive turkey, roasting it, delaying "lunch" until 4pm when the big fat bastard was finally cooked several hours after the lying toerag who wrote the cookbook said it would be...
Then there was turkey salad, reheated turkey, turkey rissotto, turkey curry, turkey soup.
Not having a cooker kind of forced a rethink - had to be doable with a combi and a rice cooker.
So:
Menu ====
3.5lb plump succulent Waitrose chicken stuffed with 2 lemons, segmented, and some peppercorns, 100% top+side covered with cheap streaky baconStuffing balls made from a packet
Bacon rolls with real sausagemeat
Few sprouts for effect and lots of carrots, steamed in rice cooker together
Instant gravy with added chicken roasting juices
Instant bread sauce
Mulled wine made earlier in rice cooker and kept in a thermos.
======
2 hours to prep everything last night, carrots and brussels kept in a bowl of cold water.Cook chicken - 2-bit hours Cook potatoes, bacon and stuffing which steaming veg - 30 mins Gravy and bread sauce in microwave - 5 mins.
Luckily top of combi runs quite hot so cooked food can stand and keep warm.
Result:
YUMMY and very little actual work today, except for a 15 min frantic finish.
Can't think why I didn't do this before... This is now the *new* tradition in our house. Bollocks to turkey from now on!
BTW the chicken could easily feed 6, maybe 8 at a stretch...
And *more* time to chill, play with the kids' present, watch TV and DRINK.
Woohoo.
Happy Christmas Everyone :)