This is why we can't have nice things.

There is one plate of food I look forward to more than any other – more even than Christmas lunch and certainly more than any restaurant reservation. It is that glorious Christmas treat: the Boxing Day sandwich.

Need a last-minute gift idea?<br />
If you happen to have a batch of homemade limoncello, use that. If not, buy a bottle and pour some into a small glass container with a lid. Float a teaspoon of Campari on top, seal it shut and deliver with these instructions: pour a shot over ice, top with soda water. 

Even for experienced cooks, Christmas dinner presents a unique challenge. Felicity Cloake examines every aspect of the main course and makes mince pies and brandy butter to keep everyone going

In many families, mine included, Christmas can be quite a challenge. Everyone, but everyone has an opinion, and it's often that everything should be exactly the same as it was last year. And the year before that. "We always have turkey/brussels sprouts with chestnuts/parsnips roasted with honey…" come the cries, even from those who never do any of the cooking.

Cranberry sauce has become as much a part of a modern Christmas as mince pies and brussels sprouts, despite the berries not being indigenous to these shores. I keep my recipe simple, using fresh cranberries, white wine and sugar with a spritz of orange, but frozen cranberries work perfectly.

Turkey, pheasant, beef – and a pile of quails too. The chef behind London's Rochelle Canteen guides you through some perfect Christmas main courses

No other event has the ability to transform the way we drink quite like Christmas. At this time of year, the otherwise abstemious take to the Harvey's Bristol Cream like Nicolas Cage to the bourbon in Leaving Las Vegas, the otherwise sane come over all creative with eggs and Advocaat, and the idea of mulling wine suddenly makes a strange kind of sense to pretty much everyone.

Christmas pudding is almost my favourite part of the festivities, but that doesn't mean I want it at every special meal the season holds. This is the chance to try a host of sweet things that you wouldn't at any other time. A new cheesecake, a rich chocolate cake, a soft jelly are just a few of the things I will be making this year.

Brandy butter has been around since the 1700s. This "hard sauce" is aptly named, the butter and sugar only softening when they meet the hot Christmas pudding. You either like the gritty texture of brandy butter or not. Those of us who cannot imagine Christmas without it will be beating up our butter and sugar with (or without) ground almonds, rum, nutmeg and orange zest.

It doesn't have to be a chore - this method ensures a wonderfully moist turkey that's easy to carve

Last night an on-screen Jamie Oliver went to some lengths testing three types of roast spud. Our verdict? Lightweight! Here, our own Vicky Frost tests three varieties of spud with four sworn-by recipes from celebrity chefs. That's 12 lots of potatoes eaten selflessly, all for you. You may find the results surprising ...

Despite its high sugar content, mulled wine is not a drink that's aged well. The thin, oddly sour broth on tap at most pubs during the festive season is a sad comedown for a tipple originally designed to show off the wealth and generosity of a medieval household. Mulling is not just an excuse to serve laughably cheap wine to your unfortunate guests, although it does have that as a fringe benefit – there's a real art to it.

In my family, this bread is enjoyed on Christmas morning with a cup of coffee amidst a flurry of wrapping paper. The tart cranberries and bright orange flavor cut the sweetness. This also makes a great dessert.

Honestly, I really do look forward to my first, frost-sweetened sprouts of the year. (Though, if I'm completely honest, perhaps not quite so much as I look forward to the first broad beans, though that may just be because they often come with a side order of sunshine.) I treat sprouts tenderly, boiling or steaming them until they're cooked but still retain a little bite – about six minutes should do it for small, walnut-sized sprouts, which are the ones we're hankering after here anyway. The other benefit of choosing small sprouts – apart from their superior flavour – is that you don't have to bother with that fiddly nonsense of cutting crosses in their bases to ensure that they cook evenly.

Boxing Day Chutney as seen on Kirsties Homemade Christmas

Sloe gin is just the tipple for warming up cold days, but you have to think ahead and make it now so the rock-hard, purple-black fruits have time to flavour the gin. Your gin isn't ready until the colour resembles a decent Beaujolais.

"Prep like a pro and avoid disaster on Christmas Day. What's your top tip for taking the stress out of cooking Christmas dinner?"