It has become traditional to fill the turkey with two stuffings – one for the neck or crop (in this case, pork and veal) and another for the body (fruit and walnut).
Use these cooking times for stuffed turkey as a guide:
3kg – 4kg turkey will take 3 – 31/2 hours and serve 8 – 10
4kg – 6kg turkey will take 3 ½ – 4 hours and serve 10 -14
6kg – 8kg turkey will take 4 – 6  hours and serve 14 – 16

Serve with roasted vegetables, candied sweet potatoes, steamed green beans, brussels sprouts & chestnuts and gravy (made from pan juices).

Preheat oven to 220degC (200degC fan-forced).  Wipe turkey dry inside and out with paper towels.  Put pork and veal forcemeat into the neck.  Be careful not to pack it in too tightly as it will swell as it cooks.  Pull neck skin over the cavity and secure with skewers.
Put fruit and nut stuffing into body of the turkey.  Tuck wings underneath and plump up breasts to give it a good shape.  Pull the turkey skin up under wings to hold it in shape and secure with skewers.
Tie legs together with string, making sure they are secured close to the body.  Rub butter over breasts, legs, and wings, and season lightly with cinnamon, salt and pepper.
Place turkey, breast side down, in a roasting pan and roast for 20 minutes.  Turn oven down to moderate (180decC/160 fan-forced) and cook for another 3 – 3/12 hours.  Check from time to time, basting with pan juices, and covering any parts which may be browning too quickly with foil.  Turn turkey onto other breast about quarter of the way through cooking, then onto its back so that it cooks evenly.  The turkey is cooked when juices run clear – test this by inserting a skewer through the thickest part of the thigh.  Take care not to overcook.
Remove to a warm serving platter, discard string and skewers and cover loosely with foil.  Leave to rest in a warm place for 15 – 20 minutes while you make the gravy.

Pork and Veal Forcemeat: Combine all the ingredients together in a bowl and season to taste.

Fruit and Nut Stuffing:   Soak prunes and apricots overnight in a bowl with the Madeira.  Toast nuts in a moderate oven for 8 – 10 minutes.  Melt butter in a heavy frying pan, and cook onion and celery until soft.  Add apple and pear, and cook until softened.  Remove pan from heat and stir in all the remaining ingredients, except bread cubes. The stuffing can be prepared up to this point.
Just before stuffing, add bread cubes and macerated prunes and apricots.  Stir to combine well.

The photograph is from my Entertaining At Home book, taken by Rodney Weidland

Try this stunning beef dish for Christmas this year instead of roast turkey.  Serve with roasted rosemary potatoes, sweet potatoes and steamed baby vegetables.
Ask the butcher to prepare a standing rib roast – 4 -5 ribs is ample for 8 – 10 people.  Ask for beef which has been well-aged – it should be a rich red to dark red colour.  The best rib meat comes from the fore-rib, nearest the loin.
Preheat oven to 250degC.  Season meat with salt and pepper and insert a few slivers of garlic in between the ribs.  Cover the rib tips with foild, shiny side in, to prevent burning.  Place on a lightly oiled roasting pan. When oven is hot, put in the meat. Roast 20 minutes, then turn down heat to moderate (180degC).  Continue to roast, basting occasionally with pan juices.
After the initial 20 minutes roasting on high heat, allow approximately 15 minutes per 500g for rare meat, 20 minutes per 500g for medium and 25 minutes per 500g well-done.  Alternatively you can use a meat thermometer.
Remove beef from pan and reserve juices for the sauce.  It’s important to allow the meat to rest for 35 – 30 minutes in a warm place, covered with foil, before you start carving as this allows the juices to settle.
Red Wine Sauce: After the beef has been removed from the pan, saute the onion in the juices and fat from the beef on top of the stove.
Pour the red wine into the pan and reduce by half (i.e. to 250ml/1 cup).  Pour in the beef stock and boil rapidly for 2 – 3 minutes.  Pour through a sieve into a clean saucepan and skim the fat from the top of the stock.  Bring back to the boil and reduce by two-thirds, correcting the seasoning.  Whisk the knob of butter into the sauce just before serving.

Photography by Rodney Weidland: “Seasonal Entertaining”

This splendid shimmering centrepiece which will impress guests is a good one to do for Christmas.  Even better, it’s low-fat and not difficult to make.  You can substitute sparkling apple juice for the champagne if just for kids.  You can double the quantities if you have a larger mould to make an even more impressive centrepiece. And you can fill the centre with whipped cream and top with plump red cherries.

Place the sugar and cranberry juice in a saucepan and place over low heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved.
Sprinkle the gelatine over the surface and stir until it has completely dissolved.  Add the wine and place in the refrigerator to chill thoroughly but not set.
Rinse a 1.25 litre (5 cup) decorative mould with cold water and spoon a little jelly over the base.  Chill until set.
Scatter some of the berries over the base and cover with more jelly mixture.  Chill until set.  Continue this layering process until the mould is full.  Leave to chill for several hours.  To serve, dip the mould in hot water briefly.  Give it a vigorous shake and invert onto a serving dish.

A new twist on eggnog (without eggs!), specially devised for Christmas 2010, by Uwe Habermehl, executive chef the Sydney Convention Centre – perfect for the hot humid weather at this time of the year Down Under.  I bet Oprah Winfrey, who is currently visiting Sydney, would love it! Uwe is creating some marvellous, “unconventional” dishes at the centre – eggnog is usually associated with winter celebrations.

Sift milk powders together and moisten with milk to make a paste.
Bring powdered milk paste, milk, sugar, vanilla bean and glucose to the boil. Remove from heat and strain. Add remaining ingredients and refrigerate till cold.
Churn in an ice cream maker until frozen. Place in the freezer over night.  Serve a scoop with mixed summer berries.

Here’s a terrific recipe for gingerbread from my latest book Mini Chef – Cooking with Kids.  Once you’ve made it, roll it out and cut into different shapes: christmas trees, bells, angels, stars,cockatoos, kangaroos, maps of Australia.  You can also use it as the foundation for a Gingerbread House – cut out walls, roofs, chimneys and doors, then stick together next day with cement icing (see below). It needs to be refrigerated and you need to flour the rolling pin and bench top when rolling it out as it can be sticky (if too sticky, wrap it up again and return to the fridge until chilled).

Cream together the butter and sugar until light.
Beat in the eggs one at a time then add the honey. Sift together the dry ingredients and add to the creamed mixture alternately with dissolved bi-carbonate soda.If the dough feels too soft, add a little more flour.  Shape into a ball and wrap in greaseproof paper or plastic wrap.
Refrigerate two hours or overnight.
Preheat oven to 180degC.
Divide the gingerbread into four so that you can work with one piece at a time, putting the remainder back (wrapped) into the refrigerator.  Roll out onto a lightly floured board and stamp out various shapes with a cutter. If making gingerbread men, insert sultanas or currants for eyes and buttons. Lift carefully onto greased baking trays.  Bake for about 15 minutes or until browned.
Remove with a spatula to cool on a wire rack.  Decorate as you wish – use the white frosting (below) as “cement” for smarties (eyes), jellybeans (mouth) and coconut (hair). Or spoon it into a piping bag with a small nozzle and pipe squiggles over the men.

Makes about 20 men, or enough for a Gingerbread House.

To make the icing:

Sift the icing sugar.  Whisk egg whites until stiff, then gradually add the sifted icing sugar, lemon juice and glycerine.  Keep beating until a stiff consistency, cover well until ready to use. A drop of blue food colouring added towards the end will help to keep it sparkling white.

Cover tightly with plastic wrap and/or a damp cloth to ensure no air penetrates – or it will harden like cement.

Christmas puddings can be made up to six months in advance and reheated on the day, so now is a good time to get cooking.
This mixture will make 1 x 2 litre pudding (serving 12 – 14 people) or 2 x 1 litre (each serving 6 – 8 people).  You can use commercially prepared suet if you like – better still to ask your butcher to grate it freshly for you.  Don’t forget to collect a few shiny coins to buy in the pudding (but make sure to wrap them in foil first).
Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl.  Stir well with a wooden spoon to combine.
Cover with a cloth and allow to stand in a cool place for 12 hours.
Spoon mixture into one large (2 litre) or two smaller  (1 litre) buttered pudding basins, pressing down well.  Cover with buttered  greaseproof paper, pleated in the middle (to allow the pudding to expand as it cooks).  Cover again with foil, also pleated n the middle.  Tie securely with string.  Make a handle at the top and knot it securely to make it easier to lift the pudding out.
Set the pudding on a rack or upturned heat-proof dish in a large pan of boiling water to reach halfway up the side of the pudding basin. Bring the water back to the boil after putting in the pudding, turn down to simmer and cover with a tight-fitting lid. Steam 7  – 8 hours for the large pudding or 3 – 4 hours for the small puddings.  Top regularly with more boiling water. You will know the pudding is ready when it is firm to the finger and shrinks from the sides.  Remove from the water, take off the paper and foil and re-cover with fresh layers. Store in a cool place.
On the day, boil the small puddings for 1 1/2 – 2 hours, the large one for 2 1/2 – 3 hours.  Invert onto a warm platter, flame with hot dark rum or brandy,  and serve with egg custard.
Custard
You can add warm some rum or brandy, according to taste, once the custard has thickened – add a little at a time and stir well to combine.
Scrape seeds from vanilla bean into milk.  Scald milk over medium heat and set aside.
In a bowl, whisk egg yolks and sugar until light and thick.  Pour warmed milk gradually onto yolks, whisking all the time.  Wash the saucepan and return egg and milk mixture to it. Place over medium to low heat and cook until custard thickens, stirring continually – you will know it’s ready when it coats the back of the spoon.  Immediately remove from heat and pour through a sieve into a clean bowl.  Serve warm or cold in a jug.
Hard Sauce
Cream butter and sugar until soft and white then beat in grated zest and juice until mixture is really pale, light and fluffy.  Add rum a little at at ime, beating constantly so that mixture doesn’t curdle (add as much as mixture will take). Pile into a bowl and refrigerate until hard.
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A clever way to use up leftover Panettone after Christmas from Armando Percuoco’s fabulous new book, Buon Ricordo (Allen & Unwin). Or you could make seriously decadent French toast with it (see below), almost as decadent as wedges of plum pudding fried in butter!

Put the kiwifruit, strawberries, blueberries and half the raspberries in a bowl. Mix together the Maraschino and one tablespoon of the sugar and splash it over the fruit. Toss and set aside to macerate for one hour.
Slice off four discs of panettone, each about 2cm (3/4 inch) thick.  Place a disc in the middle of four plates Spoon a mound of the macerated fruit over each slide of panettone.
Make a coulis by pureeing the remaining raspberries with the remaining sugar and two tablespoons of warm water. Drizzle the coulis over and around the mound of fruit on each plate. Sprinkle with the chopped mint.

Tip: use slices of panettone for seriously decadent French toast – dip the slices (20 seconds each side) in a mixture of two eggs beaten with 300ml cream, 1 tbsp brandy and 1/2 tsp cinnamon.   Fry on both sides in frothy  melted butter until golden, drizzle with maple syrup and dredge with cinnamon sugar.

Whole turkey breast (or buffe, as the manufacturers call it) is an impressive and easier option than a big whole roast turkey.  It also yields plenty of delicious moist white meat which keeps well for leftovers. Serve with mixed roasted vegetables, which can be prepared ahead and served warm.

Remove plastic and paper towels from chest cavity before stuffing and wipe the skin dry.
For the stuffing: Place breadcrumbs in a large bowl.  Saute onions in the butter until soft and transparent.  Add to the breadcrumbs along with remaining ingredients.  Season well.  If mixture seems dry, add another beaten egg.
Preheat oven to 180degC.  Fan-forced oven 160degC.  Webber BBQ place 45 briquettes on each side.
Spoon some of the stuffing firmly into neck of the turkey buffe, being careful not to pack too tightly as it will swell as it cooks.  Pull neck skin over the cavity and secure with skewers.
Spoon remaining stuffing into  the chest covering tightly with a double layer or greased foil.Place breast up on a roasting dish and cover the whole breast with foil.  Place in the oven and pour in 1 – 1 1/2 cups hot water.  Roast for approximately 40 minutes per kg – you won’t need to turn the turkey around.  Thirty minutes before it is ready, remove foil and pierce the skin in several places to allow self-basting and browning.  The turkey breast is cooked when meat juices run clear when pierced with a skewer. If using a meat thermometer, the temperature should read 85degC (185degF).  Allow turkey to stand ten minutes covered with foil before serving.

Tip: when I looked in the supermarket today, I noticed most of the breasts are 2kg – 2.5kg, which are considerably smaller, so you will need to halve the stuffing if using one of those.  They’ll serve fewer people too.

This delicious coconut ice-cream bombe may be prepared well in advance which makes it ideal for hectic Christmas days. Try coconut, strawberry and blackberry -  there are many lovely combinations – just think about the end result in colour and flavour.

Place the coconut ice cream in the refrigerator until soft enough to mould.   Spoon ice cream into a 5 cup decorative jelly mould, metal is the best but do not use glass. Place the mould in freezer until coconut ice cream is firm. Smooth to coat the sides of the mould to about 1-2cm thick. Freeze again. Place the strawberry ice cream into the refrigerator until softened. Spoon into mould and smooth over the coconut ice cream to completely cover. Repeat with remaining flavours. Freeze until firm.
To un-mould: Fill a sink full of very hot water. Dip the mould quickly into the water and turn out onto a platter. Mix the berries and diced mango together. Grate over the lime zest and pour over the juice. Surround ice cream bomb with berries and serve sliced into wedges.

Line a 20 x 30 cm (8 x 12 inch) baking tin with baking paper. Melt the chocolate, golden syrup and butter in a large saucepan over low heat (do not cook; you want the butter to be just melted). Add the biscuit chunks and stir until well coated. Pour into the baking tin and use the back of a spoon to flatten the mixture. Cover with baking paper and refrigerate for 1 hour, or until set. Turn out onto a clean chopping board and, using a serrated knife, cut into bar shapes.