I’ve got two recipes to tell you about to get you in the mood for celebrating the season.

This recipe is my own but at the same time a conflation of a couple of Italian Christmas must-haves: the glorious, fruit-studded panettone and crema di mascarpone, which is best described as tiramisu without the Savoiardi biscuit layer, and sometimes with pieces of chocolate stirred through the mascarpone mixture. I have brought in a cassata element, which means I add, along with the chocolate, some crumbled marrons glaces (though any candied or dried fruits could do) and chopped pistachios…

A vital part of the Christmas Eve dinner in Norway, these pork ribs have the tenderest meat and the crunchiest crackling imaginable. You have to take a leap of faith when making them, as the idea of letting the rind get so wet in the course of cooking goes against every bit of advice you may have heard thus far about the importance of keeping it dry. This method is an absolute revelation. You need a big old slab of pork belly on the bone for this, which requires a visit to the butcher. And —…

A magnificent pavlova recipe from Nigella Lawson, that will provide a stunning finish to any dinner party. Billowing meringue combines perfectly with whipped cream and tangy fruit.

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"I creep into the kitchen the next morning to check on the cookies, and I feel just like a kid at Christmas."

This gammon is simply simmered in ginger ale and, although you need to strip off the rind to glaze it, the glaze is straightforward. And it is a very efficient way of cooking — depending on how many you have in your household to feed, you should be able to eke this out for several meals. It won’t give that same crowning effect, but if you cannot get hold of ginger preserve, you could use ordinary orange marmalade and add a teaspoon of ground dried ginger or, indeed, grated fresh, as you…

If you want to have something hot to pass around on a tray, then cocktail sausages are what you're after. There's nothing fiddly to make, nothing to go right or wrong, and everyone loves them. These are not just any cocktail sausages: the sesame oil, honey and soy give them a sweet-savoury stickiness that is pretty well impossible to resist. For US cup measures, use the toggle at the top of the ingredients list.

She's the author of 12 books, master of a seductive stir and a passionate home cook.