Countdown time plan

To serve mains at 2pm

Up to 2 days before:

Prepare gin, pink peppercorn and dill cured salmon.

Assemble the nut roasts, then chill or freeze.

Christmas Eve:

Make the sloe-gin jelly trifle. Chill the lime syllabub mixture overnight. Finish the cured-salmon starter.

Make any stuffing for the turkey.

Cook the red cabbage with pickled walnuts and balsamic.

Make the Cointreau and cranberry sauce. Make the lime syllabub.

Chill drinks.

Christmas Day:

10am

Take turkey or beef out of fridge. Prepare, sprouts, potatoes and parsnips. Infuse milk for focaccia sauce. 10.45am

Heat oven to 220C/Gas 7 (turkey) or 240C/Gas 9 (beef). Prepare turkey or beef.

11am

Put turkey or beef in the oven. 11.15am

For beef, reduce oven to 190C/Gas 5.

11.30am For turkey, reduce oven to 180C/Gas 4.

Slice salmon. Make focaccia sauce. 12.30pm

Add stuffing balls and pigs in blankets

to turkey roasting tin. 1pm

Remove turkey or beef from oven when cooked (ask for help lifting out a large turkey), then cover loosely with foil and leave to rest.

Increase oven temp to 200C/Gas 6. Roast potatoes, parsnips and sprouts. Cook or reheat nut roasts. Make gravy. Transfer everything to serving dishes and keep warm.

Serve salmon starter. 2pm

Carve and serve mains. 3pm

Take trifle or syllabubs out of fridge for 20 mins

before serving. Enjoy!