Getting ahead for Sunday lunch

We are having a crowd over for lunch on Sunday, but are heading into London to the theatre tomorrow, so I thought I would try and find some recipes that I could do ahead. Otherwise my Sunday morning may become a little fraught with too much to do and too little time!

We're going to have Roast Beef, so I thought I would do some braised red cabbage. This is handy because it can be made a couple of days in advance, and it always seems to taste better on re-heating.  It also is so gloriously red that you feel it must be doing you LOTS of good! I normally use Delia's recipe, but thought I'd try this new one, Ruby Braised Red Cabbage with Beetroot (from BBC Good Food) as a nod to the Polish contingent!

First melt 50g of butter...

Add a couple of star anise and a couple of cinnamon sticks...

Add in a finely shredded (after quartering and coring) red cabbage, and 5 raw (okay, mine were cooked) peeled medium beetroot, cut into thick rounds..

Add one large sliced red onion...

Three tablespoons of sugar...

100ml red wine vinegar...

...And (my first substitution) 100ml of apple juice.  The recipe calls for the juice of an orange, but as oranges (however much I like them) do not agree with me, I substituted the apple juice instead.

Season well then cover and simmer for about 40 minutes.

Now add in 2 peeled, cored and roughly chopped Bramley apples, and cook (covered) for a further 35-40 minutes, till the cabbage is tender.

At this point the cabbage can be cooled and refrigerated for a couple of days, or you can freeze it for up to two months. 
(Get ahead for Christmas!)

All I need to do on Sunday is reheat it in the microwave or oven (depending on what space is available) then add 6 tablespoons of fresh, grated horseradish, a handful of  parsley, chopped, and the zest of an orange. 

I'm going to use a bit of creamed horseradish, as I couldn't find fresh, and omit the zest.

Later I'm going to make a cheesecake and a chocolate pudding, both of which say they are better made ahead. If they come out well you can bet you're going to see them here.  
(And if it all goes quiet on the pudding front, you'll know what happened...)