Christmas dinner runbook

The whole night orbits prime rib roast: weight × 5 minutes at 500°F, oven off, then do not open the door for 2 hours. Everything else should be ready to hit the table when the rib is sliced.

Drinks

Red wine (Cabernet Sauvignon), water, maybe club soda + fresh pomegranate juice if you’re feeling fancy.

Prep calendar (example: dinner on Dec 24)

Adjust the dates if your feast is another night — keep the spacing (dry brine length, “don’t glaze carrots early,” etc.).

~Dec 19 — Get ahead

• Prime rib: buy early, unwrap, pat dry, salt heavily, rack in fridge uncovered — start the dry brine.
• Bread: buy yeast, honey if needed, extra flour, parchment.
• Pie: buy shell, heavy cream, anything missing for chocolate cream pie.

Dec 20–21 — Dry brine continues

• Prime rib: still in the fridge, uncovered — let the surface go tacky-dry; that’s good.

Dec 22 — Light mise

• Shrimp: thaw in fridge if frozen.
• Spinach / carrots: confirm groceries (spinach shrinks; milk, butter, nutmeg, onions; carrots, honey, vinegar).

Dec 23 — Heavy prep (so Eve isn’t a circus)

• Prime rib: optional herb butter rub (soft butter + salt + pepper + rosemary/thyme); store covered. Trim fat if you want.
• Shrimp: pat dry, mince garlic, chop parsley, portion lemon juice, pepper flakes, butter cubes — mise in small containers.
• Creamed spinach: wilt, squeeze bone-dry, coarse chop. Make the cream base (butter → onion → garlic + flour → milk → simmer → season). Store spinach and base separately or mixed — your call.
• Carrots: peel, uniform pieces, parboil to ~90%, drain, steam off moisture. Do not glaze today — glazed-ahead carrots tighten and sulk.
• Pie: bake shell; make filling (temper the eggs like an adult); chill overnight.

Christmas Eve — game day

Bread wants a humid oven (pan of hot water) and bakes at 390°F. If you have two ovens, bake rolls in the bottom early so the top can be a passive warmer later. Details: crusty bread rolls.

Morning — bread + rib comes to room temp

Time	Move
~9:00	Bloom yeast (sugar + warm water + yeast ~10 min). Mix flour + salt; knead 10–12 min; smooth, slightly sticky.
~9:25	First proof 1 hr (oven light only is a good warm box). Pull prime rib out so it can temper 2–3 hours before roast.
~10:25	Punch down, re-ball, second proof 30 min.
~10:55	Divide into 6–8 pieces, pre-shape balls, rest 5 min under cloth.
~11:05	Final shape (ovals on parchment), final proof 20 min.
~11:25	Preheat 390°F + steam pan.
~11:35	Bake 16–18 min, score first.
~11:55	Cool on rack briefly; hold warm in off oven with a light towel so they don’t dry out. Bread = done.

Midday — reset

• Clear counters; carrot skillet and spinach pans ready; shrimp mise out. Hydrate.

Early afternoon — holds (flexible)

• ~1:00 — Reheat creamed spinach: combine base + spinach, gentle medium-low, adjust S/P/nutmeg, hold warm (top oven).
• 2:00–5:00 — Honey glazed carrots glaze window; ~4:00 is ideal. They’ll hold warm ~45 min; don’t glaze >1 hr ahead or the glaze over-tightens.

Late afternoon — prime rib sequence

• ~2:30 — Final rub prep: herb butter ready, pat rib dry, aggressive kosher salt on top, roasting pan + rack set.
• ~3:00 — Slather butter rub + final salt.
• ~3:15 — Preheat oven 500°F (let it get fully hot).
• ~3:30 — Rib in; weight × 5 min at 500, round up (e.g. 5.35 lb → 27 min). No peeking.
• ~4:00 — Oven off. Rib begins the 2-hour rest inside the closed oven. This is the window to finish everything else.

4:00–5:30 — While the rib rests

• Carrots: final glaze if you haven’t (butter + honey + vinegar + pre-cooked carrots; hold warm).
• Spinach: check, adjust, hold warm.
• ~4:20 — Shrimp station: cast iron, oil, salt, parsley, garlic, butter, lemon, warm platter.
• ~5:10 — Whip cream (medium peaks) for the pie; fridge until dessert.
• ~5:20 — Cook garlic butter shrimp last minute — they do not hold well. Plate; short hold in warm oven only if needed.

~5:30 — Line check

Rolls warm, spinach hot, carrots glazed, shrimp ready, pie chilling, cream ready, wine breathing.

~6:00 (or 2 hr after oven-off) — Serve

Open the oven like you own the place. Slice rib; everything else should already be waiting. Pie: pull from fridge ~1 hr before if you want it softer; top with cream whenever.