The Batch Lady, Suzanne Mulholland, is urging people to begin preparing their Christmas dinner in November to reduce stress and spread costs. The 49-year-old mother-of-two, who once admitted she 'hated' Christmas Day due to the pressure of organising everything, now advocates batch cooking to reclaim the festive period.
Mulholland suggests that November is the ideal time to start, as December becomes hectic with school events and social commitments. By preparing dishes in advance, home cooks can freeze fully cooked meals or 'grab and cook' kits that are assembled raw and frozen, ready to be cooked on the day.
Accompaniments like bread sauce, cranberry sauce, roast potatoes, and Brussels sprouts can be fully cooked and frozen. Mulholland also recommends making Yorkshire puddings, mulled wine red cabbage, and starters such as parsnip and apple soup in advance. Desserts like panettone bread and butter pudding also freeze well.
For the main event, Mulholland advises creating a meal prep kit in November: make herby butter for the turkey, prepare stuffing balls, and wrap bacon around sausages for pigs in blankets. Roast vegetables can be parboiled, seasoned, and flash-frozen, then cooked from frozen on Christmas Day.
'The whole point of freezer cooking is that you use recipes that are meant to be frozen,' Mulholland explains. 'People would be so surprised to know that in the absolute top-end restaurants, chefs prep in advance.' She emphasises that freezing does not compromise flavour and can even enhance it.
