Let battle commence

Clever clogs who have wrapped all their presents and finished their shopping - even made the Christmas pudding and ordered the turkey - can stop reading now. For the rest of us, who live a mite more dangerously by leaving everything to the last mo ment, there are still a few days in which to plan the 10 days of traditional feasting.

To cater for a houseful of family and friends from Christmas Eve to Hogmanay, around 10 people most days, I concentrate on good, simple food with definite flavours. For the Christmas meal we have roast goose, game or turkey, but I also prepare (on Christmas Eve or another day) a joint of beef - a Christmas favourite of Samuel Pepys - or a leg of pork, and a baked glazed ham. I make sure we have a good supply of smoked fish in the house because it keeps well. Smoked salmon, trout, prawns and Arbroath smokies are all delicious with hot bread and crunchy salads.

This is a time of year when I indulge in whole cheeses. There's nothing like them for flavour. And, of course, we have the traditional Christmas puddings and mince pies, although I make sure there is also a large basket of fresh fruit and nuts which I decorate with greenery from the garden.

In this season of goodwill and generous eating, nobody minds serving themselves or helping out in the kitchen. My eleventh-hour strategy depends upon a trip to my favourite food shops for pre-Christmas stocking of the pantry and fridge, a few phone callsto obliging overnight-delivery food producers, and some uncomplicated yet delicious Christmas cooking (see recipes below).

Here's what I hope to have ready in my pantry, fridge, freezer and store cupboard after I have stocked up for the siege.

THE PANTRY Or larder, dry cellar, very cold space that's pet/child proof, for storing: Local farmhouse cheeses; cloth-wrapped Cheddar truckle, Cornish Sheviock, Devon Beenleigh Blue Vegetables; broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, carrots, celeriac, endive, garlic, mushrooms, onions, parsnips, potatoes, squashes, shallots, spinach, sweet peppers, sweet potatoes, swedes, etc Fruit: apples, clementines, cranberries, dates, grapes, lemons, limes, lychees, oranges, pears, pineapples, melons, mangoes, passion fruit, and other exotic fruit as available Nuts, unshelled: almonds, brazils, chestnuts, cobnuts, filberts, pecans, walnuts Cakes: English fruit cake, French buche de Noel, German Stollen and Lebkuchen, Italian panetonne and panforte, and other special Christ-mas cookies Christmas pudding Prepared dishes that are to be eaten cold but not chilled can be stored here for a few hours before serving, eg baked ham, cold roast joints of meat, brandy or rum butter, and wobbly port wine jelly.

BAKED AND GLAZED HAM 1 gammon or other cut of cured pork 1 onion studded with cloves bouquet garni 1-2 tablespoons cloves 2 heaped tablespoons dark muscovado sugar 1 teaspoon made mustard 4 tablespoons milk Follow your butcher's instructions on whether to soak the gammon in cold water before cooking. Either bake the gammon, wrapped in foil, in a roasting pan half full of water, in a slow oven 325F/160C/Gas 3 for 35 minutes per lb/500g. Or poach the meat with the onion in water just to cover (I use a preserving pan) for 25 minutes per lb/500g.

Remove the joint from the oven or pan and while it is still hot cut off the rind leaving an even layer of fat. Cut a lattice design into the fat and stud each diamond shape with a clove. Place the gammon in a roasting pan. Blend together the sugar, mustard and milk and spoon some over the meat. Roast for 30 minutes in the slow oven, basting with the glaze now and again until the ham is a beautiful golden brown.

Serve hot or cold, thinly carved.

CAMEMBERT PIE Easy as pie to make. Serve it with a crisp, garlicky salad of watercress, celery and avocado pear.

Serves 4

8oz/225g Camembert cheese 1-2 tablespoons marc de Bourgogne or dry white wine five 8in/20cm square sheets of filo pastry 1oz/30g butter melted with a crushed sliver of garlic 2 tablespoons tapenade or black olive puree 2 tablespoons prepared basil pesto Use a sharp knife to cross hatch the top of the cheese and spoon over the marc or wine so that it soaks into the cheese. Place a sheet of filo pastry on a buttered baking sheet, brush with melted garlic butter and cover with another, turned through 30 degrees, brush with butter. Repeat with the third layer of pastry. Spread the tapenade over the base of the cheese and place in the centre of the pastry. Spoon the pesto over the top. Press the pastry round the sides of cheese, brush butter over the two remaining sheets and crumple them on top of the cheese so that the cheese is enclosed. Brush the rest of the butter over the pastry. Bake in an oven preheated to 425F/220C/Gas 7 for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.

Transfer to a flat board or plate. Cut into quarters and serve straight away while the cheese is runny.

THE FRIDGE Preferably as large as possible in order to store food safely - if necessary run a cheap second-hand fridge in the garage for storing: Jars of French-produced Provencal fish soup with rouille Double and single cream, soured cream or creme fraiche Salad vegetables: avocados, celery, endive, lettuce, radicchio, spring onions, tomatoes, watercress Smoked bacon rashers, prosciutto, pancetta - wrap any of these round stuffed prunes and chicken livers, grill and serve with drinks Smoked salmon - pre-sliced for convenience or whole for flavour, smoked sturgeon, halibut, and hot-smoked salmon like Lock Fyne's Joints of uncooked meat: beef, lamb and pork Poultry: one or two of the following birds - turkey, duck, chicken and guinea fowl Game: one or two of the following - pheasant, partridge, grouse, quail, venison All raw meat should be stored at the lowest temperature, ie at the bottom of the fridge.

ROSTI POTATOES WITH SMOKED SALMON AND SOURED CREAM A family favourite for Christmas Eve.

Serves 4

1lb/450g waxy potatoes, like Desiree 1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed with a good pinch of salt grapeseed oil for shallow frying 6-8oz/170-225g smoked salmon, thinly sliced and cut into 8 pieces 14pt/150ml soured creme fraiche black pepper 1 lemon, quartered Grate the potatoes into a bowl, or use the grating attachment on a food processor. Mix in the garlic and salt and divide into eight small heaps. Heat a thin layer of oil in a cast-iron frying pan and drop the heaps into the pan. Use the prongs ofa fork to gently flatten each one to make a thin potato cake. Fry for 3-5 minutes until crisp and golden-brown on both sides. Drain on kitchen paper and serve straight away with smoked salmon on top. Add a spoonful of soured cream, a seasoning of coarsely milled black pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice and serve straight away.

WHOLE TOPSIDE OF BEEF WITH A SPICED CRUST Serves 10-12

4-5lb/2kg topside of beef 1/2 teaspoon sunflower oil For the crust: 6 tablespoons grain mustard 3 tablespoons grated horseradish 3 tablespoons wholewheat flour 1 teaspoon dried thyme 1/2 teaspoon quartre-epices or ground allspice 1 teaspoon salt 4-6 tablespoons sunflower oil Place the beef in a roasting pan brushed with a little sunflower oil. Blend together the ingredients for the crust to make a stiff paste. Spread over the top and sides of the meat in a roughly even layer. Roast in an oven preheated to 425F/220C/Gas 7 for 12-15 minutes per lb/500g depending on how pink you like roast beef.

Remove from the oven and rest the meat in a warm place for 15 minutes before carving.

THE FREEZER Or freezing compartment of the fridge: Home-made soups with crusty bread, rolls and bagels Prepared stocks: vegetable, fish, of chicken Prepared pastry: puff, filo and shortcrust Sausages or sausage meat Shelled nuts.

SORBET AU BEAUJOLAIS Serves 8-10

14oz/400g granulated sugar 7fl oz/200ml water short strip of orange peel 4 bruised cloves 4 bruised allspice berries 1 bottle Beaujolais 1 egg white 1 tablespoon sugar Dissolve the sugar in the water with the orange peel and spices over a low heat. Bringto a rolling boil and simmer for five minutes. Cool the syrup then strain into a jug and add the wine. Chill, then freeze in a sorbetiere, or in a lidded plastic box, beating the mixture thoroughly at hourly intervals to produce a smooth mixture. Serve in scoopfuls with brandy snaps, or for a fancy effect in brandy-snap baskets accompanied by a hot blackcurrant sauce enlivened with creme de cassis.

ITALIAN CHOCOLATE CHESTNUT PUDDING 4oz/120g unsalted butter 4oz/120g caster sugar 1 teaspoon pure vanilla essence 5oz/140g Green and Black's dark organic chocolate 4 tablespoons dark Jamaican rum 1lb/450g unsweetened chestnut puree, sieved into a bowl 1oz/30g flaked almonds, toasted a few drops of mild vegetable oil Cream the butter with the sugar and the vanilla essence until light and fluffy. Break the chocolate into pieces and melt it with the rum in a small bowl over hot water. Beat the melted chocolate into the butter mixture alternately with the sieved chestnut puree until smooth. Brush the oil into a square 6in/15cm cake tin and line with clingfilm. Sprinkle the almonds over the base, spoon the chocolate mixture on top and spoon level. Cover andfreeze until firm.

When ready to serve unmould the pudding on to a flat plate and leave in the fridge for one hour, or at room temperature for half an hour until softened. Cut into narrow fingers or neat squares and serve.

THE STORE CUPBOARD Or kitchen shelf, spare bedroom, etc (all the usual staples - rice, flour, etc)

Jars of tapenade, pesto and Italian pureed vegetables such as artichoke and red pepper, for serving with jacket potatoes or for canapes Pumpernickel for making small open sandwiches to be served with drinks Chutneys and relishes for serving with cold meat Quince, herb and sloe jellies to accompany roast game Olives, black and green Squid-ink tagliatelle for serving with drained tinned clams and smoked mussels Patak's Korma Curry Paste, for spicing up cold poultry Mincemeat, home-made or bought Candied and ready-to-eat dried fruit Plain chocolate, Green and Black's organic Shelled nuts such as pine kernels; fry them in garlic butter and toss over winter salads Tinned chestnuts - whole ones in brine to be used in stuffings; unsweetened chestnut puree forpuddings.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH STUFFED WITH WILD RICE, APRICOTS AND TOASTED AMONDS As a vegetable to accompany roast poultry and game, or as an excellent main course for vegetarians.

Serves 4-8

1 butternut squash 4oz/120g wild rice 4oz/120g hunza apricots, cooked and stoned, or ready-to-eat apricots 1 shallot, finely chopped 1 stick celery, finely chopped 2oz/55g butter 2oz/55g rye or wholemeal breadcrumbs 4oz/120g blanched halved almonds, toasted 2oz/55g ground almonds finely grated zest and juice of 12 lemon finely grated nutmeg salt Wash and dry the squash, make a few pin-prick holes in the skin and wrap in lightly oiled foil. Bake the squash in an oven preheated to 375F/ 190C/Gas 5 for 50minutes.

Cook the rice in 12 pint/300ml salted water in a covered pan over a medium heat for 50 minutes. Remove the lid to let any surplus liquid evaporate. Tip rice into a bowl.

Soften the shallot, garlic and celery in the butter for five minutes. Add to the rice with the roughly chopped apricots, breadcrumbs, toasted almonds and ground almonds. Mix in the lemon zest and juice and season to taste with nutmeg and salt.

Halve the squash lengthways, remove the seeds and place the two halves in a lightly oiled oven dish. Spoon the stuffing into the squash and reheat in a hot oven for 15-20 minutes.

To serve, use a spoon to scoop out the squash with some stuffing.

ORANGE CURACAO SABAYON SAUCE A delectable last-minute frothy sauce to serve with the Christmas pudding or with hot mince pies.

Serves 6-8

4 egg yolks 2oz/55g caster sugar 4 tablespoons orange curacao 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice Measure all the ingredients into a heatproof bowl over simmering water. Whisk them all thoroughly together with a hand-held electric beater for six to eight minutes until the mixture is thick and foamy.

Pour it into a warm glass jug and serve straight away.