EPISODE 1

Aromatic Spiced Ham

Ingredients:

For the ham

2.25-2.75kg/4lb 15oz-6lb 1oz boneless mild-cure gammon 250ml/8¾fl oz red wine 3 litres/5 pints 5½fl oz water (approximately) 1 large onion, halved 2 garlic cloves, unpeeled 1 head fennel, halved 2 star anise 1 tbsp coriander seed 1 tbsp fennel seed 1 tbsp mixed peppercorns

For the glaze

approximately 16 whole cloves 4 tbsp redcurrant jelly ½ tsp ground cinnamon 1 tsp smoked paprika ½ tsp red wine vinegar

Method

1. Place the gammon in a large saucepan.

2. Add all the ingredients for the ham to the pan, adding some more water if the ham isn’t covered.

3. Bring to the boil, before reducing the heat to a simmer and partially covering the pan. Cook for about two and a half to three hours - approximately one hour a kilo simmering time, plus an extra 15 minutes.

4. When you are ready to glaze the ham, preheat the oven to 230C/440F/Gas 8.

5. Remove the ham from the liquid and sit the ham on a board. Strip off the rind, and a little of the fat layer if it’s very thick, and cut a diamond pattern into the remaining fat with a sharp knife in lines of about 2cm/¾in apart.

6. Stud each diamond with a clove. Put the jelly, cinnamon, paprika and red wine vinegar into a saucepan and whisk together over a high heat bringing it to the boil. Let the pan bubble away so that the glaze reduces to a syrup-like consistency.

7. Place a layer of foil over a roasting tray big enough to hold the ham. Place the ham on top of the foil.

8. Pour the glaze over the clove-studded ham and then transfer it to the oven. Cook for about 15 minutes, or until the glazed fat is burnished.

9. Allow the meat to rest in a warm place for at least 15 minutes before carving it.

Chocolate Fruit Cake

Ingredients:

350g/12¼oz dried soft prunes, chopped 250g/8¾oz raisins 125g/4&frac12oz currants 175g/6¼oz unsalted butter, softened 175g/6¼oz dark muscovado sugar 175ml/6¼fl oz honey 125ml/4½fl oz coffee liqueur 2 oranges, juice and zest only 1 tsp mixed spice 2 tbsp good quality cocoa 3 free-range eggs, beaten 150g/5¼oz plain flour 75g/2½oz ground almonds ½ tsp baking powder ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

For decoration

25g/1oz dark chocolate-covered coffee beans edible glitter gold mini balls about 10 edible gold stars

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 150C/300F/Gas 2.

2. Line the sides and bottom of a 20cm/8in, 9cm/3½in deep, round loose-bottomed cake tin with a layer of reusable silicon baking parchment. When lining the tin with the parchment, cut the material into strips that are twice as high as the tin itself (it is easier to use two shorter strips of parchment, than one long strip); the height of the strips protects the cake from catching on the outside of the cake tin.

3. Place the fruit, butter, sugar, honey, coffee liqueur, orange juice and zest, mixed spice and cocoa into a large wide saucepan. Heat the mixture until it reaches a gentle boil, stirring the mixture as the butter melts. Let the mixture simmer for ten minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat and leave to stand for 30 minutes.

4. After 30 minutes, the mixture will have cooled a little. Add the eggs, flour, ground almonds, baking powder and bicarbonate soda, and mix well with a wooden spoon or spatula until the ingredients have combined.

5. Carefully pour the fruitcake mixture into the lined cake tin. Transfer the cake tin to the oven and bake for 1¾-2 hours, or until the top of the cake is firm but will has a shiny and sticky look. At this point, if you insert a sharp knife into the middle of the cake, the cake should still be a little uncooked in the middle.

6. Place the cake on a cooling rack. Once the cake has cooled, remove it from the tin.

7. To decorate, place the chocolate-covered coffee beans in the centre of the cake and arrange the gold stars around the perimeter of the top of the cake. Then sprinkle some gold mini-balls over the whole of the cake. Sprinkle the edible glitter over the top of the cake.

Christmas Chutney

Ingredients:

700g/1lb 8½oz Granny Smith apples, peeled and cored 250g/9oz dried cranberries 1 onion, finely chopped 350ml/12fl oz apple cider vinegar 200g/7oz sugar 1 tsp ground ginger 1 tsp turmeric 1 tsp ground cumin 1 tsp ground coriander 2 tsp salt

Method:

1. Slice the apples into halves. Slice the halves lengthways into smaller pieces, roughly 0.5cm/¼in width.

2. Place the apple pieces and finely chopped onion into a saucepan with all the other ingredients. Heat the mixture until it is simmering quickly. Cook the mixture for 45 minutes, or until the chutney has thickened slightly and the fruit has become soft.

3. Spoon the mixture into sterilized jars and screw the lids onto the jars tightly. Allow to cool before storing in a cool, dark place.

Christmas Tree Decorations

Ingredients:

For the biscuits

100g/3½oz unsalted butter, softened 100g/3½oz soft dark sugar 300g/10½oz plain flour, plus extra for dusting pinch of salt 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp cinnamon ¼ tsp ground cloves 1-2 tsp freshly ground black pepper 2 large free-range eggs, beaten 4 tbsp clear honey set of Christmas cutters

For the icing and trimmings

300g/10½oz instant royal icing sugar (made to packet instructions) 3 tbsp water gold or silver sugar balls or sprinkles florist’s ribbon or wire for hanging

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 170C/325F/Gas 3.2. Place the butter and sugar in a clean bowl and mix together vigorously with a wooden spoon until the colour and texture of the mixture becomes pale.3. Place the mixture into the bowl of a food processor and add the flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves and freshly ground black pepper. Blend the mixture. While the food processor is blending, gradually pour the eggs and honey down the funnel of the food processor’s lid into the bowl until a dough has formed (you may not require all of the liquid if the dough has come together before it is used up). If the dough is too dry add a little water to the mixture. If the dough is too wet add a little flour to the mixture.4. Halve the dough. Wrap one half of the dough in cling film, place it into a freezer bag, and place it into the fridge.5. Place the other half of the dough onto a floured work surface. Roll the dough, with a rolling pin, into a disc to about 0.5cm/¼in thick.6. Using a set of Christmas biscuit cutters, cut Christmas decoration shapes out of the dough. Re-roll the remaining dough and cut out more shapes until the dough is used up. Remove the second half of the dough from the fridge and repeat this process.7. With the pointed end of a small icing nozzle, puncture a hole just below the top of each decoration (through which ribbon or wire can later be threaded to hang them).8. Arrange the decorations on a baking sheet lined with a layer of reusable silicon baking parchment and cook for 20 minutes or until they are cooked through and golden-brown in colour. Transfer the decorations to a wire rack to cool.9. Prepare the icing according to the packet instructions (the icing texture should be liquid enough to be easy to apply but thick enough not to run off the decorations).10. Ice the decorations using a teaspoon (use the tip of the spoon for dripping the icing onto the decoration and the back of the teaspoon for smoothing).11. Sprinkle the gold or silver balls over the decorations and press them gently onto the icing. Cut the ribbon into short lengths and thread the ribbon through the holes in the decorations. Tie the decorations to what ever needs decorating with the ribbon.

Gravlax

Ingredients:

1kg/2¼lb salmon fillet, skin still attached 4 tbsp salt 4 tbsp caster sugar 3 tsp English mustard, prepared 2 tbsp gin large handful fresh dill, roughly chopped

Method:

1. Place the salmon fillet, skin-side down, into a wide, shallow dish that fits the salmon snugly.

2. Place the salt, sugar, English mustard and gin into a clean bowl and mix well until the ingredients have combined to form a yellow mixture with a smooth texture.

3. Spread the mixture over the salmon’s pink flesh so that it has been totally covered.

4. Sprinkle the dill onto the paste-covered salmon and pat down. Press the dill onto the flesh so that no pink flesh from the salmon is visible.

5. Turn the fish over in the dish so that the skin is facing upwards. Cover the dish with one layer of cling film. Press the cling film down onto the edges of the fish before wrapping it around the sides of the dish. Once this has been completed repeat the process with another layer of cling film.

6. Apply weight to the top of the fish to press it down into the dish (jars, tins or any other weights can be used). Transfer the fish to the fridge and leave for 2-3 days.

7. After 2-3 days, unwrap the cling film from dish and remove the salmon fillet. Brush off the dill from the salmon.

8. Place the salmon fillet on a carving board flesh-side up. With a long, sharp knife, carefully carve very thin diagonal slivers of the pink flesh off the salmon. Work from the right-hand end of the fillet (unless you are left-handed). Re-wrap the fillet in cling film and keep the gravlax in the fridge if it is not all sliced in one go.

9. To serve, place on a clean plate.

Mulled Cider

Ingredients:

1 litre/1 pint 15fl oz cider 60ml/2fl oz dark rum 250ml/9fl oz apple and ginger tea, from herbal teabag 40g/1½oz soft dark brown sugar 2 clementines 4 cloves 2 cardamom pods 2 sticks cinnamon 2 fresh bay leaves

Method:

1. Pour the cider, rum and herbal tea into a wide saucepan. Add the sugar and place the saucepan over a low heat.

2. Slice the clementines in half and stick a clove into each half. Add the clementines to the pan.

3. Break the cinnamon sticks in half. Add the cinnamon, bay leaves and cardamom pods to the saucepan.

4. Heat the saucepan until the mixture is almost boiling. Turn down the heat once the pan is near to boiling.

5. To serve, ladle the mulled cider into heatproof glasses with handles.

EPISODE 2

Chocolate-Peanut-Butter-Cups

Ingredients:

For the base

50g/2oz soft dark brown sugar 200g/7oz icing sugar 50g/2oz butter, softened 200g/7oz smooth peanut butter (not wholenut)

For the topping

200g/7oz milk chocolate 100g/3½oz dark chocolate gold buttons and edible gold stars to decorate, or other decorations of your choice

Method:

1. For the base, place all the ingredients for the base in the bowl of a food processor. Blend the mixture until the mixture takes on a sandy texture.

2. Place 48 gold petit four cases in sets of miniature tart tins or mini-muffin tins (each indent about 4.5cm/1¾in in diameter).

3. Use one teaspoon of the base mixture to fill the bases of the petit four cases. Press the sandy mixture down into the cases as best you can to form a layer at the bottom of each paper case.

4. Place the milk chocolate and dark chocolate together into a heatproof bowl. Suspend the bowl over a pan of simmering water (the water should not touch the bottom of the bowl). Melt the chocolate gently while stirring.

5. Spoon teaspoonfuls of the melted chocolate onto the top of each of the sandy bases of the petit four cases.

6. Decorate the tops of the chocolate covered peanut butter cups with either a gold button or gold star in the middle of each and transfer them to the fridge. Let them set in the fridge, for about half an hour

7. To serve, arrange the chocolate peanut butter cups in their cases on a clean plate.

Christmas In A Glass

Ingredients:

1 bottle of gingerbread flavoured syrup (or cranberry flavoured syrup) 1 bottle prosecco, or other sparkling dry white wine, well chilled

Method:

1. Pour the prosecco into glasses. Add a capful of the syrup to each glass of the prosecco, to taste.

Crabcakes

Ingredients:

4 spring onions, chopped 1 garlic clove 500g/1lb 2oz white crabmeat 3 tsp Japanese wasabi 2 tsp rice vinegar 2 tsp tamari or Japanese soy sauce 100g/4oz brown rice flour groundnut or other vegetable oil for frying limes sliced into segments, to garnish

Method:

1. Place the garlic and the spring onions into the bowl of a food processor and blend until they become finely chopped.

2. Add the crabmeat, wasabi, rice vinegar, tamari or soy sauce and the rice flour to the bowl. Blend the mixture again until it has combined to form a rough paste.

3. In a large frying pan, add enough oil to fill the panto a depth of 0.5cm/¼in. Heat the oil until a breadcrumb sizzles and turns golden-brown when added (CAUTION: Hot oil can be dangerous. Do not leave unattended).

4. Roll teaspoonfuls of crab mixture into balls with your hands. Flatten the balls slightly and carefully place them into the hot oil. Fry the crab cakes until they turn golden-brown on both sides and are cooked through (only cook 8-10 crab cakes in the pan at one time so that they can be turned quickly and the oil temperature doesn’t drop too much). Drain the crab cakes on kitchen paper.

5. To serve place the crab cakes on a clean plate and place the lime segments around the plate.

Cuban Cure Black Bean Soup

Ingredients:

150g/5oz chorizo cooking sausage 2 spring onions ½ tsp ground cumin 425g/15oz tin black beans, rinsed and drained 1 fresh tomato, roughly chopped 500ml/17fl oz chicken stock (from fresh or concentrate) 1 lime, juice only 2-4 tbsp chopped, fresh coriander

Method:

1. Slice the chorizo sausage into slices about the size of one-pound coins. Slice each of the chorizo discs in half.

2. Place the chorizo pieces into a large saucepan over a medium heat and cook over a medium heat for five minutes, or until they start to become crisp. Remove the chorizo with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.

3. Slice off the green parts of the spring onions and finely slice them. Set the green parts of the spring onions aside.

4. Finely slice the white part of the spring onions and add the pieces to the frying pan the chorizo was cooked in. Add the ground cumin to the pan, and cook over a gentle heat for two minutes, stirring the mixture.

5. Add the black beans, tomato and the chicken stock. Stir the mixture in the pan and simmer for ten minutes.

6. To serve, ladle the soup into two clean bowls. Add the chorizo pieces and the finely chopped green spring onion to the bowls. Add some lime juice, to taste, to each bowl and sprinkle the chopped coriander on top.

Prosciutto Bundles

Ingredients:

400g/14oz sliced prosciutto ham 200g/7oz ready-to-eat dried figs 150g/5¼oz mild soft goats’ cheese

Method:

1. Slice each slice of prosciutto ham into 2-3 strips.

2. Slice each fig in half, and spread a teaspoon of goats’ cheese onto the cut half of each of the figs.

3. Place the piece of fig cheese-side down onto the centre of a strip of prosciutto ham. Then roll the fig up in the prosciutto to make it into a parcel.

4. Place the fig parcels onto a clean plate so that the darkness of the fig is hidden plate-side down.

Party Poussins

Ingredients:

For the poussins:

6 poussins 4 tbsp chilli oil or regular olive oil 1 tbsp salt pinch sugar ¼ tsp ground cinnamon ½ tsp paprika 1 lemon 1 small garlic bulb

For the couscous

500g/1lb 2oz couscous 75g/2¾oz golden sultanas ¼ tsp ground cinnamon ½ tsp paprika ½ tsp ground cumin ½ tsp ground coriander 2 tsp salt 800ml/1 pint 9fl oz freshly boiled water salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 pomegranate small handful fresh coriander, chopped

Method:

1. For the poussins, preheat the oven to 220C/400F/Gas 6. Place the poussins in a roasting tin. Pour the oil slowly over the top of the top of the poussins. Rub the oil into the poussins so that they are well coated.

2. Place the salt, sugar, cinnamon and paprika in a small clean bowl and mix well. Sprinkle the spice mixture over the poussins. Slice the lemon into quarters and then slice each quarter into four so you have 16 small pieces. Place the pieces around and in between the poussins.

3. Separate the garlic bulb into its cloves and place the pieces around and in between the poussins. Transfer the poussins to the oven and cook for an hour to an hour and a quarter, or until completely cooked through. Remove the poussins from the oven and then let them rest for ten minutes in their tin.

4. For the festive couscous, place the couscous, sultanas, spices and salt into a microwave-proof bowl and mix well. Add the freshly boiled water to the bowl and then cover the bowl with cling film. Leave the mixture to sit for 10-15 minutes, or until the water has been absorbed by the couscous.

5. Remove the cling film from the bowl and stir the couscous with a fork to separate the grains. Carefully pour some of the juices that have collected in the roasting tin of poussins into the bowl. Stir the mixture again and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Transfer the couscous to a serving dish.

6. Slice the pomegranate in half and extract a good quarter of the seeds. Place them onto the couscous. Sprinkle the chopped coriander over the top.

7. To serve, place the poussins onto clean plates and place the couscous alongside. Use the oven-charred lemon pieces and garlic cloves from the roasting tin to garnish.

Quickly Scaled Mont Blanc

Ingredients:

100g/3½oz good quality dark chocolate 500ml/17fl oz double cream 2 meringue nests 500g/1lb 2oz sweetened chestnut purée or spread, from a can

Method:

1. Place the chocolate into the bowl of a food processor and blend until it forms large, broken grains. Divide the chocolate equally among the six glasses.

2. Place the cream in a large bowl and lightly whip it until soft peaks form. Crumble one of the meringues into the mixture and mix well.

3. Place the chestnut purée or spread on top of the chocolate in the glasses.

4. Spoon the cream and meringue mixture into the glasses on top of the chestnut purée.

5. To serve, crumble the remaining meringue over the top of the cream and meringue mixture.

Sweet & Sticky Ribs

Ingredients:

125ml/4fl oz Thai or Chinese sweet chilli sauce 60ml/2fl oz cranberry sauce (from a jar) 60ml/2fl oz dark sweet soy sauce 1 clementine, juice and sliced rind 1 lime, juice and sliced rind 15-20 pork spare ribs

Method:

1. Place all the ingredients into a large freezer bag and mix well. Seal the bag and place it on a dish so that it can lie flat. Transfer the bag to the fridge and leave overnight to marinate.

2. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.

3. Remove the ribs from the fridge and transfer them from the freezer bag to a roasting tin and cover loosely with aluminium foil.

4. Transfer the roasting tin to the oven. Cook the ribs in the oven for an hour, turning them over after half an hour.

5. Raise the oven temperature to 200C/400F/Gas 6 and remove the foil from the roasting tin. Cook for a further 15-30 minutes, or until the ribs are sticky and cooked through.

6. To serve, place the ribs onto a large serving plate.

EPISODE 3

Spiced and Super-juicy Roast Turkey

Ingredients:For the turkey

4-5kg/9-11¼lb turkey

6 litres/10 pints 11fl oz water 125g/4¼oz packet table salt 3 tbsp black peppercorns 1 cinnamon stick 1 tbsp caraway seeds 4 cloves 2 tbsp allspice berries 4 star anise 2 tbsp white mustard seeds 200g/7oz caster sugar 2 onions, quartered 1 x 6cm/3in piece of ginger, cut into 6 slices 1 orange, quartered 4 tbsp maple syrup 4 tbsp clear honey handful fresh parsley, optional (only if you’ve got some parsley hanging around)

For the basting glaze

75g/2¾oz butter 3 tablespoons maple syrup

Method:

1. For the turkey, place the water into your largest cooking pot or bucket/plastic bin and add all the turkey ingredients, stirring to dissolve the salt, sugar, syrup and honey. (Squeeze the juice of the orange quarters into the brine before you chuck the pieces in.)2. Untie and remove any string or trussing attached to the turkey, shake it free and add it to the liquid. Add more water if the turkey is not completely submerged. Keep the mixture in a cold place, even outside overnight or for up to a day or two before you cook it, remembering to take it out of its liquid (and wiping it dry with kitchen-towel) a good 40 or 50 minutes before it has to go into the oven. Turkeys - indeed this is the case for all meat - should be at room temperature before being put in the preheated oven. If you’re at all concerned - the cold water in the brine will really chill this bird - then just cook the turkey for longer than its actual weight requires.3. For the basting glaze, place the butter and syrup into a saucepan and cook over a low heat, while stirring, until the ingredients have melted and combined.4. Brush the turkey with the glaze before roasting, and baste periodically through out the turkey roasting time.5. Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7. Cook the turkey for half an hour at this relatively high temperature, then turn the oven down to 180C/350F/Gas 4 and continue cooking, turning the oven back up to 220C/425F/Gas 7 for the last quarter of an hour or so if you want to give a final, browning boost to the skin. For a 4-5kg turkey, allow two-and-a-half to three hours in total. But remember that ovens vary enormously, so just check by piercing the flesh between leg and body with a small sharp knife: when the juices run clear, the turkey’s cooked.6. Just as it’s crucial to let the turkey come to room temperature before it goes in to the oven, so it’s important to let it stand out of the oven for a good 20 minutes before you actually carve it.

Allspice Gravy

Ingredients

giblets from turkey (not including the liver) 1 litre/2 pints water

1 tbsp allspice berries ½ tsp black peppercorns 3 fresh bay leaves 1 x 4cm/1½in cinnamon stick 1 stick celery, halved 2 carrots, peeled and halved 1 onion, halved, but not peeled 3 tsp salt 1 clementine, juice and zest 2 tbsp plain flour 2 tbsp clear honey

Method:

1. Place all of the turkey giblets, the water, the allspice berries, black peppercorns, bay leaves, cinnamon stick, celery, carrots, onion, salt and clementine juice and zest into a large saucepan and bring the mixture to a boil. Cover the saucepan with a lid and reduce the heat so that the mixture simmers gently. Cook for two hours.2. Remove the saucepan from the heat and strain the gravy stock through a sieve into a clean large measuring jug. This should give you about one litre of stock.3. When you are ready to make the gravy, remove the cooked turkey from the roasting pan and let it rest on a clean carving board.4. Pour the turkey juices from the roasting tin into a clean saucepan.5. Place the flour into a small bowl. Add a few tablespoons of the gravy stock and mix well with a handheld whisk.6. Add the flour and stock mixture to the saucepan and mix well over a medium heat on the hob until the ingredients have combined.7. Gradually add the stock and honey to the saucepan and mix well. Let the gravy bubble away until it thickens and the floury taste disappears.8. Pour into a jug or sauceboat and serve with Nigella’s Spiced and super-juicy roast turkey.

Bread Sauce

Ingredients

1 day-old loaf unsliced white bread 1 litre/2 pints full-fat milk

1 onion, peeled and quartered 4 cloves 2 fresh bay leaves 1 tsp white peppercorns 2 blades fresh mace or heaped ¼ tsp ground mace 2 tsp salt 30g/1oz butter 2 tbsp double cream, optional 1 fresh nutmeg, for grating

Method:

1. Remove the crust from the bread and tear the stripped loaf into a mound of rough chunks or cubes about 2cm/¾in in size. You should end up with 175-200g (6¼-7¼oz) of cubes. If the bread is not slightly stale already, leave the pieces out on a wire rack to dry out.2. Pour the milk into a saucepan. Press a clove into each quarter of the onion.3. Add the onion quarters, bay leaves, peppercorns and the blades of mace (or sprinkle the ground mace into the pan) along with the salt and bring to the mixture almost to its boiling point.4. Remove the pan from the heat. Cover the pan with a lid and let the ingredients infuse for at least half an hour, though you can leave it for a few hours if that helps with your cooking schedule.5. After the mixture has infused, place the pan back on a very low heat. Using a slotted spoon, remove the onions, peppercorns, cloves, bay leaves and the blades of mace.6. Add the bread to the saucepan and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring every now and then, by which time the sauce should have become thick and warm.7. Just before serving the bread sauce, add the butter to the saucepan and stir until the butter has melted and combined with the sauce and season, to taste, with salt.8. Add the cream (if using). Grate over quite a bit of nutmeg, adding more once you have poured the bread sauce into a warmed bowl or gravy boat.

Brussels Sprouts with Chestnuts, Pancetta and Parsley

Ingredients

1kg/2¼lb Brussels sprouts 1 tbsp vegetable oil 250g/9oz pancetta, rind removed and cut into 1cm/½in cubes 2 tbsp butter 250g vacuum-packed chestnuts 60ml/2fl oz marsala

1 large handful fresh parsley, chopped freshly ground black pepper

Method:1. Slice the bottoms off each of the Brussels sprouts, cutting a cross onto the base of them as you go.2. Place the Brussels sprouts into a large saucepan of salted boiling water. Cook the Brussels sprouts for five minutes, or until they are tender but still retain a bit of bite.3. Remove the pan from the heat and drain the excess water from the Brussels sprouts.4. Heat the oil in a large clean saucepan. Add the pancetta cubes to the pan and cook until they are crisp and golden-brown in colour, but not cooked to the point of having dried out.5. Add the butter and the chestnuts to the pancetta saucepan and with a wooden spoon or spatula, press down on them to break them up into pieces. Once the chestnuts have been warmed through, turn the heat up and add the marsala to the pan. Cook until the mixture has reduced and thickened slightly.6. Add the sprouts and half the parsley to the saucepan and mix well. Season the Brussels sprouts with freshly ground black pepper.7. To serve, place the Brussels sprouts onto a warmed serving plate and sprinkle the remaining chopped parsley over the top.

Gingerbread Stuffing

Ingredients

3 tbsp butter 1 tbsp vegetable oil 500g/1lb 2oz onions, finely chopped 2 eating apples peeled, cored and finely chopped 750g/1lb 8oz streaky bacon, finely chopped 2 clementines or 1 orange, zest only 450g/16oz loaf gingerbread (or 2 smaller ones to give you 450g) 2 free-range eggs, beaten ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

Method:

1. Heat the butter and oil in a large wide saucepan. Add the onion and apple to the pan and cook until both ingredients have softened and turned golden in colour (about 10-15 minutes).2. Add the bacon to the softened onion and apple mixture and mix well. Cook the mixture, stirring frequently, for about five minutes. Then add the clementine or orange zest and mix well.3. Remove the pan from the heat and set a side to cool a little.4. Roughly cut the gingerbread into clumps and crumbs and add the pieces to the stuffing and mix well.5. Add the beaten eggs and pepper to the stuffing, and press the stuffing into a buttered baking dish. Bake the stuffing in a hot oven with your turkey for about the last 45 minutes.6. To serve, let the cooked stuffing sit in its dish for a good ten minutes after it has been removed from the oven, before turning it out on to a clean serving plate and slicing it.

Maple-Roast Parsnips

Ingredients

1kg/2¼lb parsnips 125ml/4fl oz vegetable oil 80ml/3½fl oz maple syrup

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.2. Peel the parsnips and then halve them crosswise, then halve or quarter each piece lengthwise.3. Place the parsnips into a roasting tin. Pour the oil over the parsnips and mix them well so that the oil covers all of the pieces.4. Pour the maple syrup over the parsnips and transfer the roasting tin to the oven. Roast the parsnips for 35 minutes, or until they are tender and golden-brown.5. To serve place on a clean serving dish.

Perfect Roast Potatoes

Ingredients

2½kg/5½lb potatoes 2 tbsp semolina 2 x 320g/11oz jars goose fat

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to the hottest possible temperature.2. Peel the potatoes, and cut each one into three by cutting off each end at a slant so that you are left with a wedge or triangle in the middle.3. Place the potatoes into salted cold water in a saucepan, and bring them to a boil. Boil the potatoes for four minutes. Drain the excess water from the potatoes using a colander and then tip the potatoes back into the empty saucepan.4. Sprinkle the semolina over the top of the potatoes. Hold a lid firmly on top of the pan and shake the potatoes around to coat them well and so that their edges disintegrate or fuzz and blur a little: this facilitates the crunch effect later.5. Place the goose fat into a large roasting tin and heat in the oven until very hot. Then carefully place the semolina-coated potatoes into the hot fat and roast the potatoes in the oven for 45 mins to an hour or until they are darkly golden and crisp, turning them over halfway through cooking. If the oven is hot enough they probably will not need more than about 25 minutes a side; and it’s better to let them sit in the oven (you can always pour off most of the fat and leave them in the tin) until the very last minute.

Redder Than Red Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients

1 x 340g/12oz packet fresh cranberries 200g/7oz caster sugar 3 tbsp cherry brandy 75ml/2¾fl oz water

lemon juice, optional

Method:

1. Place all the ingredients in a pan and cook until the liquids have reduced to a thick cranberry sauce.2. The pectin-rich nature of the fruit means that it solidifies briskly as it cools, so take the pan off the heat to stop it from cooking and reducing when you still think there’s too liquid. Once the berries have burst, which should be after about ten minutes, it should be ready. Taste to test whether the sauce needs more sugar (if you find it too sweet just add some lemon juice).

Rum Butter

Ingredients

225g/8oz icing sugar 150g/5oz unsalted butter, softened 50g/2oz ground almonds 3 tbsp dark rum, or to taste

Method:

1. Place the icing sugar into the bowl of a food processor and blend the sugar to remove any lumps.2. Add the softened butter to the bowl and blend the mixture again. Add the ground almonds and blend the mixture again.3. Flavour the mixture with the rum, to taste.4. To serve, place in a small, clean serving dish.