For all the Robin Thicke's out there, me deciding to make a roast dinner was not me deciding to take my rightful place in the kitchen.
On a less chauvinistic note - if you've ever lived with me at university, you'd know my kitchen skills are rather average.
I wanted to cook a roast dinner because I thought it would be good to start practising making them. I liked the idea of one Christmas I could be the one in charge of the roast dinner, and all its trimmings. Though probably not making the three or four kinds of potatoes and stuffing my parents manage to rustle up between them. But still, I thought it would be good to give it a try.
As you may, or may not be able to tell from this picture, I had never cooked a chicken this size before. I was pretty nervous about giving my family food poisoning.
I started cooking at 4:30 in the afternoon. It took me two and a half hours to peel, chop, prepare trays, Yorkshire pudding mix, and cook all of the food. I had my timings sorted so I knew what needed doing when since I had been warned timings were the worst part.
Besides a dodgy peeler, I definitely agree with this. If you're making a roast, make sure to get your timings done beforehand otherwise you'd be running around like a headless chicken (play on words definitely intended.)
I was really happy with the end result.
It was the first time I had ever made my own Yorkshire puddings. I had made roast potatoes plenty of times before, but wanted to throw in parsnips as well like the crazy kid I am.
I was also pretty proud of the chicken. I had attempted to make my own gravy with the flavourings from the meat, but had bought some granules just in case. The gravy was a brave mix of both, and it turned out tasting fine.
And the final result - all plated up and ready to eat. After preparing and cooking for hours, I felt I deserved the cider. I prepared and cooked everything myself. The people who make roasts every Sunday, I have a new found admiration for you. Well done. If you have any roast dinner tips, feel free to leave them below.