Going live effective immediately – and open right through to Christmas Eve, JB and I are on duty to answer your Christmas cooking questions. ✨Welcome to our Christmas Cooking Hotline!!✨
JB and I are on call!
I’m so excited to be doing this! I’ve had the idea of a Christmas cooking hotline bubbling away in my mind for years, but I always hesitated because I worried it would be too much to handle on my own.
But now that JB is part of the face of RecipeTin and it’s not just me, there’s two of us here to answer your questions. So for the first time ever, we’re opening up a hotline for Christmas cooking questions, bringing together home-cook practicality and actual proper chef experience (JB!), which means more ideas and better problem-solving for you!
So drop your question in the comments section below and we will answer as many as we can (we need to sleep, and we have some other work things to finish!). Ask anything you want, like:
Can I make this ahead, freeze it, or reheat it?
What can I substitute if I can’t find an ingredient?
How do I scale recipes up or down?
Help, something’s going wrong – how do I fix it?
Menu planning, timing, or oven logistics chaos 😅
Even though our last day of work is this Friday, JB has generously agreed to continue helping me with questions right through to Christmas Eve. Thank you JB, you’re the best.
And now…. the Christmas Cooking Hotline is now officially open. So drop your questions below and we’ll jump in to help wherever we can, because Christmas cooking is much more fun with backup! 🎄 – Nagi x
PS Few out-takes from today’s little Christmas shooting session. We know how to cook better than taking selfies. Promise. 😅
PPS Who nailed The Wink? 😉
Life of Dozer
My favourite Dozer Christmas outfit.
Though to be honest, Santa spends most of his time like this:
Which I’m sure is Santa after a few too many Christmas wines. This has absolutely nothing to do with his ride – or the stable hand who saddled up his ride. 😂
Hi Martin, wanted to let you know that I have starters/appetizers and rice under control, what I need is ideas for mains…..one chicken, one pork, one beef and one vege. Many thanks again
Hi Liz,
okay, with your experience and equipment its a different story 😀
And you are probably more experienced than i am.
First thing that came to mind about asian theme and mass-production was soup. Wether a thai tom ka, a vietnamese pho or a japanese ramen, all would be good to make ahead.
And when it is time to eat, you just put the soup base on a table and let the guests build their own version by adding meat, fish, tofu, veggies, herbs and sauces.
Its fun for the quests and no work for you.
This could be a starter or a main, too.
Next thing was ‘oven’?
I didnt make many asian roast myself, but Nagi has a recipe for chinese pork char siu and filipino adobo with pork or chicken.
Maybe thats something for you.
When I think about chinese buffet restaurants here in germany, there is probably a thai curry, red or yellow, with chicken and mixed veggies and a beef with onions and bell peppers or carrots in a dark sauce, soy sauce based. Rice and noodles on the side.
Made in big batches and kept warm for some time.
If you are cooking chinese beef for a crowd, check out Nagis article about tenderising beef. Could save you some money.
A stir-fry could be a quick thing, if everything is prepared, maybe even pre-cooked meat and veggies.
But if you ask me, not sure if i would wanna do live cooking stir-fries for 40 people and be the only one hungry 😉
If you would do live stir-fries, you could increase your output by putting something in a steamer while you are stirring.
There are some recipes here on Nagis website.
I hope it is okay, if i put a link to another site here:
‘The woks of life’ have a section just for steamed things.
https://thewoksoflife.com/category/recipes/steamed-dishes/
Dumplings, whole fish, pork spare ribs
I am not experienced enough to give you precise recipes for so many people.
But I hope there is something helpful for you.
👋😀
Thanks so much Martin for your input, all very helpful and will look into all your suggestions! So very grateful for your time and trouble! Have a wonderful Christmas Liz 🎄🎅🏻
You are welcome, Liz.
Happy holidays to you, too 😃😃
And maybe someone else read this and added something to the menu 🙂
Hi. I have bought a haunch of Venison boned and rolled for Xmas day. It is too big for the day. Can I capaccio som of it to have with cold meats?
Hi Martin, yes I do have experience with hosting lots of people in my home…had a catering company many years ago and have had many, many parties here at home minimum 30 people. I have two kitchens , and my main kitchen has a Molteni, which I’m sure you know is a professional stove. It has four large burners plus a large middle cast iron hotplate and a very large oven all gas. The other kitchen has four normal domestic burners plus an electric oven. My problem is the menu…I’ve cooked all types of cuisines but not Chinese for a large crowd. This is where I hoped to have some insight to which recipes could be prepared in advance and which needed least amount of time in the final stages, in short which recipes would make my life easier. Thanks for responding and hope to hear from you soon. Liz
Can you please send me your favorite recipes for augratin potatoes and
Mac and cheese?
I really need a good festive fish recipe. I would love to know which fish feeds 12 comfortably too!
Hi Nagi and JB. When making a pavlova, can you make the cream topping ahead of time or should it be whipped up right before serving. Thanks!
Hi Nagi and JB, wondering what side you recommend to serve with your Christmas salmon and maple glazed ham. I am thinking of the sweet potato mash but not sure if that would go well with those two dishes. Thanks
Hello, a few days ago you had a Maple Roast chicken in your stories and asked if you should publish the recipe. It looked amazing and I was wondering if you were going to publish this as id love to cook if for Christmas
Am interested in serving your wild rice salad with other salads but fussy g’children won’t eat wild rice. What would you substitute. Also I am doing the salmon so maybe you could suggest a better option Many thanks
It’s been In my brain today and so I cut loose, U have been so inspirational since I bought your 2 cook books… So tonight, I had 2 sheets of puff pastry. Sauted leek, bacon and shallots in butter, whisked up 5 eggs cracked pepper, white pepper, salt and thyme in a bowl, chopped a few baby tomatoes, grated some cheese. Chopped up parsley. Lined 12 muffin pans with the pastry, followed by the sauted mix, chucked the tomatoes, parsley and cheese on top, baked in my pre heated fan forced oven on 225 for 15 minutes, served a salad, omg, U should try this, my hubby gobbled till he was uncomfortable 😣🥵🥵
U have stepped me out of mundane cooking which has led me into thinking 🤔 on my own, gratitude to U for thinking out of the box. Merry Christmas and the best New year to U and Dozer. It’s been 4 weeks since we lost our best friend Cody our Blue heeler of 15 years, Our fur baby’s r better than humans. Thankyou for the inspiration xxxxxx
Hi,
What are your best make ahead of time salads?
Would the sweet potato with honey lemon dressing be suitable?
Any suggests of salads I can prep the day before?
Hi Nagi and JB. Please answer my question. I am away from home until about midday on December 23. I have a 3kg turkey buffe in my freezer that I want to have on the table for hot Christmas Eve dinner. Last year I used your brining recipe but that took 4 days. Can you give me your best tips for a great turkey dinner going from frozen solid to beautifully cooked within 30 hours? Thank you for everything you do xx Trish
Is the turkey wrapped in a sealed plastic bag? If it is, submerge it in cool water in the fridge and it’ll defrost much faster than if it was just sitting in air. Good trick to know for defrosting vacuum packed meats quickly.
Is it best to put your eggs in the fridge? Or leave them at room temperature.For cooking or whipping.Thank you
Hi Nagi & JB, absolutely love your recipes! It’s my only go-to for recipes anymore.
My question is: I want to make bite-size Pavlova bombs but unsure if this would even work. And if it did, does the oven temp change and time it takes to cook change from original recipe?
Thanks in advance, and Merry Xmas!
I’m wanting to make the slow cooker turkey breast but can only find a turkey breast from the butcher in a net will it still be as good if I just smear the butter over it or do I remove the net
Hi Nagi! My name is Liz Macrì and I’m an Australian living in Rome, Italy since 1995. I’ve been a big follower for many years, together with my 3 daughters who live in Berlin, Milan and Rome respectively, and we have used your recipes countless times over the years which have never failed us!! 💪
I’m writing to you in the hope you can give me suggestions for my youngest daughter’s birthday party which is on the 29th! She wants to do a Chinese themed evening and has singled out several recipes from your web site and cookbook. I’m pretty experienced but she’s invited 40 people 😳 and I really need to use recipes that can be prepared beforehand and that can be easily finalized on the night. I know this is not exactly a Christmas hotline question, sorry, but I hope that you help me out. Many thanks Liz 🙏
Hi Liz,
do you have some experience with hosting 40 people?
My brother asked me to grill for 40 people at a garden party when he moved into his new house. I told him, that one man at one grill will not work…
He insisted.
It didnt work.
I only managed to grill about half the meat by the time the salads and sides where empty and people put their plates away.
So, if you would only have one oven and one stove with four burners, i highly doubt it will work, no matter the recipes.
Not many foods I dont like but coriander is without doubt the food of the devil what can I use in stead
Hello & Merry Christmas! I am having guests over a few days & want to do as much prep as possible for as many meals as possible, so I am not in the kitchen all the time. I want to do Oven Fried Parmesan Backed Chicken Tenders & wondered how much in advance I can prep, & what to do for prep, how to store prepped chicken tenders before cooking? Many thanks.
Need a really simple dessert for Christmas. Have a 5 month old and cooking for the in-laws for Christmas for the first time 😱
Desparate for a cook time for a whole de-doned and rolled turkey method. All recipies seem to be for a crown only. From butcher, not marinated. x