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Christmas menu for 10 people

Ten guests without losing your mind: a menu that's mostly made the day before.

Ready the day before

How many of you?
10 people
including 0 kids
≈ $18.38per person
≈ $184in groceries for 10
7dishesfrom appetizers to dessert
2 hrcooking on the big day

Hosting ten people isn't something you wing, but it's something you can plan really well! This menu is designed so the bulk of the work gets done the day before. The appetizers line up salmon toasts, sausage puffs and beet verrines.

The chestnut soup is made the day before and reheats in fifteen minutes. The turkey breast, stuffed and tied the day before too, just has to go in the oven.

A cheese board and a chocolate praline yule log, already waiting in the fridge. On the big day, you cook a little, and enjoy a lot.

Turkey breast stuffed with chestnuts, porcini sauce: a serving idea
AI-generated image · Serving idea

The game plan

check things off as you go

Before the party: 2 hr 45 min of cooking. The big day: 2 hr of cooking, and the oven runs for 1 hr 50 min.

7:05 PM: the oven is already at 180 °C for “Turkey breast stuffed with chestnuts, porcini sauce”, and “Sausage puffs” needs 200 °C. Cook “Sausage puffs” first, then reheat it at the last minute.

  1. D-3 · Monday, December 21

  2. In the morning

    Do the "buy now" shopping (pantry, canned goods, drinks)

  3. D-1 · Wednesday, December 23

  4. In the morning

    Do the fresh shopping

  5. In the afternoon

    35 min

    Make the chestnut soup, keep it in the fridge

    Chestnut soup with crushed hazelnuts
  6. In the afternoon

    40 min

    Stuff and tie the turkey breast, keep it in the fridge

    Turkey breast stuffed with chestnuts, porcini sauce
  7. In the afternoon

    1 hr 30 min

    Make the yule log (sponge roll at 200 °C, praline cream) and chill it

    Chocolate praline yule logoven 200 °C
  8. The big day · Thursday, December 24

  9. 6:15 PM

    Preheat the oven to 180 °C

    Turkey breast stuffed with chestnuts, porcini sauceoven 180 °C
  10. 6:15 PM

    5 min

    Take the cheeses out of the fridge (they should be at room temperature)

    Cheese board
  11. 6:35 PM

    Put the stuffed turkey in the oven (about 1 h 30)

    Turkey breast stuffed with chestnuts, porcini sauceoven 180 °C
  12. 6:45 PM

    15 min

    Put the verrines together and keep them in the fridge

    Beet, fresh goat cheese and walnut verrines
  13. 7:05 PM

    15 min

    Put the salmon toasts together and keep them in the fridge

    Smoked salmon toasts with dill cream
  14. 7:05 PM

    Roll the sausages in the pastry and bake 15 min at 200 °C

    Sausage puffsoven 200 °C
  15. 7:30 PM

    Serving: appetizers

  16. 8:00 PM

    15 min

    Reheat the soup on low heat

    Chestnut soup with crushed hazelnuts
  17. 8:15 PM

    Time to sit down: the starter

  18. 8:40 PM

    15 min

    Make the porcini sauce while the turkey rests

    Turkey breast stuffed with chestnuts, porcini sauce
  19. 8:55 PM

    Serving: main

  20. 9:40 PM

    Serving: cheese

  21. 9:50 PM

    10 min

    Decorate the yule log right before serving

    Chocolate praline yule log
  22. 10:00 PM

    Serving: dessert

And there you go, it's readyCheck off every step to celebrate.

The questions you're asking

for 10, worked out right here

How much does this menu cost for 10?

About $184 in groceries for 10 guests, so around $18.38 per person, from appetizers to dessert. That's an estimate based on average supermarket prices.

≈ $184for 10 guests
≈ $18.38per person

Your store and your brands will move the total, but that's the ballpark.

What can be made ahead?

The day before or earlier: chestnut soup with crushed hazelnuts, turkey breast stuffed with chestnuts, porcini sauce and chocolate praline yule log, so 2 hr 45 min in the kitchen before the party. On the big day, you get to breathe.

2 hr 45 minbefore the party
2 hron the big day

And can the oven keep up?

The oven runs for 1 hr 50 min on the big day, and two dishes want it at the same time at different temperatures: the game plan tells you which one to cook first.

Dinner's served at 8:15 PM, and the game plan warns you when things get tight. The timers in the plan tell you when to take each dish out.

What's in the Christmas menu for ten?

With drinks: Smoked salmon toasts with dill cream; Sausage puffs; Beet, fresh goat cheese and walnut verrines. To start: Chestnut soup with crushed hazelnuts. For the main: Turkey breast stuffed with chestnuts, porcini sauce. For the cheese course: Cheese board. For dessert: Chocolate praline yule log.

How much should you plan for 10?

For 10 guests, the big picture: cooked chestnuts (800 g), turkey breast (1.8 kg), Brie de Meaux (230 g) and dark chocolate (300 g). The full grocery list, aisle by aisle, is right above.

When should you go grocery shopping?

In two trips. Three days before, the stuff that keeps (12 items: produce, dairy, bakery and pantry). Then the day before, the fresh stuff (15 items, like sausage meat, turkey breast and cocktail sausages). You'll dodge the last-minute crowds.

What time should you start on the big day?

To sit down at 8:15 PM, the first step of the big day starts at 6:15 PM: preheat the oven to 180 °C. The main (turkey breast stuffed with chestnuts, porcini sauce) goes in the oven at 6:15 PM. Every step of the game plan is timed backward from when you sit down to eat.

Who is this menu right for?

It's not vegetarian: for a meat-free table, there's a full vegetarian menu. A kid counts as half a serving in the quantities.

Can you make it for more or fewer people?

Yep, from 2 to 12 guests: change the number at the top of the page, and the quantities, the grocery list, the budget and these answers all follow.

and after the holidays?

Popotam handles your meals

Your weekly meal plan in one click, based on your tastes, your time and your budget. Christmas Eve leftovers? Fridge raid tells you what to cook with them. Every recipe step by step, and your grocery list sorted by aisle. Free, no account.

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