‘Host’ is definitely one of my defining characteristics, but as much as I enjoy cooking and entertaining, I also like to be able to switch off once my guests arrive, so that I can enjoy their company... and enjoy a wine ;)
Luckily for me, my fairly extreme A-Type personality makes me particularly good at prepping dinner party menus in advance (without serving up food that has a tired, re-heated feel to it!).
So here is a deep dive into one of my most recent hosting wins – we’re making a (cheat's!) roast lamb, with veggies (some covered in cheese), and gravy. It’s a Sunday Roast! Let’s go!
BEFORE WE BEGIN
This post is less of a recipe, and more of a hosting guide. While I will give you a rough ingredients list, feel free to swap in your own favourite recipes! I'm also choosing to use a slow cooker, but you could swap this out for a Dutch Oven.
INGREDIENTS
CHEAT'S ROAST LAMB
Lamb shanks (1 per person)
Olive oil
Assorted herbs & spices (I used basil, oregano, rosemary, garlic salt)
Minced garlic
Salt
2 cups chicken stock
CHEESY (AND BACON-Y) BROCCOLI & CAULIFLOWER
ROAST VEGGIES
GRAVY
METHOD – PREP DAY BEFORE
CHEAT'S ROAST LAMB
Mix the olive oil with the herbs, minced garlic, and salt to make a rub. Reserve half the olive oil mix for tomorrow, and coat your shanks with the other half.
Sear the shanks on a hot pan (or in your slow cooker, if it has a sear function).
Set your slow cooker to low / 8 hours, and add 2 cups of chicken stock to the bowl.
Place a small oven rack / cooling tray in the slow cooker bowl, so that the shanks can sit just on or above the liquid. (Tip – I didn’t have an own rack that fit in my slow cooker, so I sat my shanks on top of two mini cake tins with the bases removed).
Place your shanks in the slow cooker, just on or above the liquid, and leave to slow cook for 8 hours.
Once cooked, remove very carefully so that the meat doesn’t fall off the bone (I think it looks better for final plating if the bone is still in place!)
Cover your shanks in foil – refrigerate overnight.
CHEESY (AND BACON-Y) BROCCOLI & CAULIFLOWER
Steam your broccoli and cauliflower until just cooked (you’ll be heating them together with the cheesy sauce tomorrow, so they’ll continue to cook then!). Refrigerate overnight.
Dice your bacon into small pieces and fry until nicely crispy – refrigerate overnight.
Make your cheesy sauce by cooking the butter and flour together in a saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly.
Once the butter has melted and mixed with the flour, gradually add the milk a little at a time, stirring until the consistency thickens before adding more.
Once you have used all your milk, add the cheese and stir until melted.
Add salt and pepper to taste, and refrigerate in a food storage container overnight.
GRAVY
Cook the butter, flour and gravy powder together in a saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly.
Once the butter has melted and mixed with the flour and powder, gradually add the beef stock a little at a time, stirring until the consistency thickens before adding more.
Once you have used all your stock, stir through the Worcestershire, and add pepper to taste.
Transfer to a food storage container and refrigerate overnight.
METHOD – PREP MORNING OF
CHEAT'S ROAST LAMB
Rub the second half of your spice rub over the lamb, and pop under a hot grill for 5 minutes or so (until it gets a little crispy).
Transfer the shanks to the empty slow cooker bowl and set to ‘keep warm’ until serving.
ROAST VEGGIES
Peel and chop your potato and pumpkin, toss in duck fat and chicken salt, and roast according to your oven’s specifications.
Once roasted, turn the oven off, cover the veggies in foil, and leave them to keep warm inside the heated oven.
CHEESY (AND BACON-Y) BROCCOLI & CAULIFLOWER
Transfer your broccoli and cauliflower to a baking dish, dollop over the cheese sauce, and sprinkle over the crispy bacon.
Cover in foil and place in the oven (turned off, but warm) along with the roast veggies.
GRAVY
Transfer your gravy to a saucepan ready to heat at the last minute.
SET THE TABLE
Bonus note – don’t neglect your table! It will tie everything together for you :)
Be sure to include flowers or candles (or both) to create a cosy, wholesome vibe.
And (shameless plug incoming!) some linen napkins will create a sophisticated yet warm feel (you can shop my collection of linen napkins here!).
Finally, pour yourself a wine - the hard parts are all taken care of now!
METHOD – LAST MINUTE PREP
CHEAT'S ROAST LAMB
Your lamb is ready to go! Just transfer from the slow cooker to a serving dish when you’re ready.
ROAST VEGGIES, CHEESY (AND BACON-Y) BROCCOLI & CAULIFLOWER
Just pop the oven on 150 for 20-30 minutes to heat everything before serving (the time required to heat will depend how long your oven has been turned off for!)
GRAVY
Your gravy will only take a minute or two to heat up on the stove. Transfer it to a gravy boat and you’re good to go!
Well would you look at that? That's BARELY any active time required once your guests arrive! Cheers to that!
Em x