Delia's Happy Christmas

With beautiful photography, Delia's Happy Christmas book guides you through all the recipes you need to take you from Christmas Eve to New Year.

Of course there's Traditional Roast Turkey for traditionalists, but also recipes for goose, duck, venison and beef. No Christmas lunch should be without all the trimmings of perfect roast potatoes, stuffing and gravy, and for some, it's that one time a year they eat sprouts! There are also plenty of vegetarian and fish recipes to suit all tastes. A time to indulge, you'll find plenty of recipes for puddings including Traditional Christmas Pudding and Mince Pies. Try Delia's 36-hour countdown to keep you on track, find out what to do with all the leftovers as Delia holds your hand from long before Christmas to New Year.

The Delia Online Cookery School: A lovely festive recipe is Christmas Stollen, and you can watch it being made in our video. Just click the image to play.

a picture of a white plate with a whole roast duck with a bowl of cherry sauce and a silver carving knife and fork

Roast Duck with Cherry Sauce

After 40 years of recipe writing about other more elegant ways of serving duck I have now returned to this,...

After 40 years of recipe writing about other more elegant ways of serving duck I have now returned to this, the original recipe. If you think halfway to Chinese thi...

2 hours 50 minutes - 3 hours 20 minutes

Roast Ribs of Aberdeen Angus Beef

For those underwhelmed by turkey, Christmas is a time to splash out on a really good, well-hung joint of th...

For those underwhelmed by turkey, Christmas is a time to splash out on a really good, well-hung joint of the best Aberdeen Angus. The confit (see related recipe bel...

35 minutes - 50 minutes

cooked red peppers and fennel in a white serving dish on a wooden serving board

Roasted Red Peppers

This delightful combination of flavours makes a very attractive first course. I love to serve the pepper...

This delightful combination of flavours makes a very attractive first course. I love to serve the peppers on a faded antique plate that I have, which shows off thei...

Vegetarian

A picture of roasted root vegetables in a white oven dish

Roasted Roots with Herbs

This is a winner for entertaining, not least because all the vegetables can be cooked together with little ...

This is a winner for entertaining, not least because all the vegetables can be cooked together with little or no attention. This can also be prepared 2-3 days befor...

35 minutes - 40 minutes

Vegetarian

a picture of a white dish with cooked halved fennel garnished with dill

Sauteed Caramelised Fennel

Fennel's lovely aniseed flavour is here warmed up by caramelising with sugar and cider vinegar. Traditio...

Fennel's lovely aniseed flavour is here warmed up by caramelising with sugar and cider vinegar. Traditionally, fennel goes with fish but this recipe is also recomme...

Sautéed Brussels Sprouts with Chestnuts

No frazzled nerves here, trying to peel, or more irritatingly, remove the skins from the zillion crevices i...

No frazzled nerves here, trying to peel, or more irritatingly, remove the skins from the zillion crevices in chestnuts. Just a pack of cooked and peeled chestnuts, ...

13 minutes - 14 minutes

A picture of four scallops in their shells sitting on a white plate

Scallops in the Shell

Fresh scallops are very plump and good around Christmas time, and this is my own favourite way of serving t...

Fresh scallops are very plump and good around Christmas time, and this is my own favourite way of serving them. The recipe has the advantage of requiring no last-mi...

Seafood Lasagne

It is always useful to have a recipe made up of ingredients you can have standing by in your store cupboard...

It is always useful to have a recipe made up of ingredients you can have standing by in your store cupboard and freezer. Seafood Lasagne fits the bill for when you ...

50 minutes - 55 minutes

Simple Decoration for a Christmas Cake

There really couldn't be an easier or quicker way to top a cake. Just finish it off by tying it with a p...

There really couldn't be an easier or quicker way to top a cake. Just finish it off by tying it with a pretty Christmas ribbon. The Delia Online Cookery School: ...

A picture of braised belly pork with bacon apples and cider on a white plate

Slow Braised Belly Pork

This is a very special recipe which could make a great meal for the family on Christmas Eve. Once assemb...

This is a very special recipe which could make a great meal for the family on Christmas Eve. Once assembled, it sits happily in a slow oven for three hours, leaving...

3 hours

Arbroath Smokie Creams

This is a very old favourite that never fails to delight. It’s easy, can be prepared in advance and fulf...

This is a very old favourite that never fails to delight. It’s easy, can be prepared in advance and fulfils all the criteria of a really top notch first course. Rem...

30 minutes

Spiced Brown Rice Salad

This is very colourful, with nuts and seeds giving lots of crunchy texture. The added plus is that it ca...

This is very colourful, with nuts and seeds giving lots of crunchy texture. The added plus is that it can be made well in advance and no last-minute attention. Just...

40 minutes

Vegetarian

Spiced Cranberry Chutney

This, as you would expect, is a lovely, bright, Christmassy colour, and it's excellent served with cold cut...

This, as you would expect, is a lovely, bright, Christmassy colour, and it's excellent served with cold cuts, as well as sharp, assertive cheeses. Keep in a cool da...

45 minutes

a picture of cranberries in a little silver bowl

Cranberry and Orange Brulee

An easy, unctuous and very Christmassy do-ahead dessert. You can use a cook's blow torch for the brulee,...

An easy, unctuous and very Christmassy do-ahead dessert. You can use a cook's blow torch for the brulee, but the caramel won't be as crunchy as putting it under the...

pickled pears in a glass kilner jar with a single pear on a white plate

Spiced Pickled Pears

Pears in a mild spicy pickle make a wonderfully new and different accompaniment to Christmas cold cuts or, ...

Pears in a mild spicy pickle make a wonderfully new and different accompaniment to Christmas cold cuts or, if you warm them through slightly, they are magic with eithe...

20 minutes

Vegetarian

Stem Ginger Ice Cream

What a star this is. You get the smooth velvet ice cream with the chunks of preserved ginger, which does...

What a star this is. You get the smooth velvet ice cream with the chunks of preserved ginger, which doesn't seem to freeze at all, retaining its fieriness. The D...

Stilton Rarebit

This recipe makes the most of leftover Stilton – but it could be made with any hard cheese (or even a mixtu...

This recipe makes the most of leftover Stilton – but it could be made with any hard cheese (or even a mixture of all those end bits clinging to the rind). The Delia...

Tomato Tart with Swiss Cheese

This recipe was kindly given to me by a lady called Christiane who lives in Nice. You'd think that when ...

This recipe was kindly given to me by a lady called Christiane who lives in Nice. You'd think that when they eat it there it would be made with fresh tomatoes ripen...

30 minutes

Vegetarian

a picture of an oval white china dish of shredded, braised red cabbage

Braised Red Cabbage with Apples

This is a recipe I have been cooking for years. It's great because it can be made a day or two bef...

This is a recipe I have been cooking for years. It's great because it can be made a day or two before and gently reheated with no last-minute bother. It...

2 hours - 2 hours 30 minutes

Vegetarian

A picture of a glass bowl layered with sponge, fruit custard and cream making a trifle

Traditional English Trifle

This one's the real deal. Though we love making trifles all the year round, we only ever make thi...

This one's the real deal. Though we love making trifles all the year round, we only ever make this one at Christmas - which keeps it in the very special...

Vegetarian

A a picture of a baking tray with pastry and mince pie filling in each hole

Traditional Mince Pies

I will always cherish fond memories of my mother's and my grandmother's cooling trays piled high with fresh...

I will always cherish fond memories of my mother's and my grandmother's cooling trays piled high with freshly baked mince pies on Christmas Eve, ready to be packed int...

25 minutes - 30 minutes

Traditional Pork, Sage and Onion Stuffing

I firmly believe that the whole idea of stuffing a large bird like a turkey is to help counteract the dryin...

I firmly believe that the whole idea of stuffing a large bird like a turkey is to help counteract the drying-out process during the cooking. Pork sausagemeat is an ...

a picture of a table set with white plates, cutlery wine glasses and a cooked turkey with all the trimmings

Traditional Roast Turkey

Cooking a turkey for the first time at Christmas, when in-laws and other guests are probably milling around...

Cooking a turkey for the first time at Christmas, when in-laws and other guests are probably milling around, can be quite a traumatic experience. I think the secret...

3 hours 40 minutes - 4 hours 10 minutes

Turkey Roulades

This recipe is for those who want to enjoy all the traditional flavours of Christmas without having to go t...

This recipe is for those who want to enjoy all the traditional flavours of Christmas without having to go through the whole turkey-cooking marathon. Serve with brea...

35 minutes - 40 minutes