11 unbeatable Christmas recipes, whether you’re cooking for two or 20

Senior food and wine editor Susan Jung offers some ideas, and tips, for home cooks hosting parties and dinners over the holidays

Reading Time:3 minutes

If you’re having an intimate Christmas meal rather than a feast for 20, roast guinea fowl makes a nice alternative to traditional fare. Photo; Jason Joseph Bonello

Published: 12:30pm, 22 Dec 2015Updated: 1:20pm, 22 Dec 2015

With the holiday season fast approaching, fans of home cooking will be finalising their menus for the festive season. We thought we’d give you some food for thought with a selection of Christmas recipes.

Deep-fried Cornish hens. Photo: Jonathan Wong

When it comes to holiday cooking, many people automatically think of turkey. That’s great for when you want to feed a crowd, but if it’s just a small group - or a romantic dinner for two - you need something that won’t leave you eating leftovers for days. Chicken is one option but for the holidays, you want something a bit special. I like small birds, such as poussins or Cornish hens.

See my recipe for deep-fried Cornish hens

Roast guinea fowl. Photo: Jason Joseph Bonello

While the Norman Rockwell version of a holiday celebration is gathering with a large group of friends and family for a feast, many people prefer something more intimate. Drinking fine wine and starting with caviar or foie gras might not be possible when you’re feeding 20, but a smaller celebration means you can be more extravagant. Guinea fowl has a firmer texture than chicken and the meat tastes sweeter. You can buy them frozen from City’super.

See my recipe for roast guinea fowl

Serving roast turkey is a good way to feed the holiday crowd: the bird looks impressive on the buffet table and is cheaper than other types of meat. But it’s awful when it’s overcooked: the white meat becomes dry and stringy. United States government guidelines say turkey should be cooked to 73 degrees Celsius, which is still overcooked to our tastes. I remove it from the oven at 64 degrees; as the turkey rests, the temperature rises to about 70 degrees, which yields moist white meat and just-done dark meat. See my recipe for roast turkey, which includes brining the bird - and the sooner you start, the better, preferably today!

Gingerbread people are fun to make with children over the holiday.

When I was training to be a pastry chef at hotels in San Francisco and New York, the winter holiday season started very early for us. Our first task was to mix batch after batch of gingerbread.

After making one enormous gingerbread house to be displayed in the hotel lobby, we’d make smaller ones for VIP guests and gingerbread men and women to serve on the Christmas buffet. Making gingerbread at home is a fun project that children may enjoy.

See my recipe for Gingerbread people

Holiday cocktail parties are good events at which to reconnect with friends (and, if we’re honest, to pay off the social debts we’ve been feeling guilty about all year). They don’t have to be extravagant affairs: serve some sparkling wine (although champagne is better, if you can still afford it) and lay out an array of sweet and savoury nibbles. See my recipes for gougeres, grilled Vietnamese chicken wings, fresh spring rolls, and easy chocolate truffles. If you’re too busy to cook a lot of dishes, round out the display with fresh oysters on the half shell and smoked salmon on Melba toast.