Many of us spend Christmas with only our partner, child, a friend or even alone – yet most magazines, cookery books give us recipes for a feast big enough for a large family; you can  find hardly anyChristmas dinner ideas for two. Furthermore, not everybody likes turkey and, if they do, even the smallest turkey is just too big for two people (unless you want to eat leftover turkey for weeks). I spent many years abroad, away from my family, so I had to learn to create special Christmas meals just for me and my other half. I’m not that keen on turkey either, so each year I came up with a different idea which was festive but didn’t require spending the whole Christmas in the kitchen. So here are my recommended recipes for an amazing Christmas menu for two:

Nibbles

These nibbles start a Christmas menu perfectly (but don’t make too many or you won’t have space for your meal!). I normally make three different ones.

• Crayfish and feta frittata
• Smoked salmon and egg cups
• Crayfish fritters
• Prunes in crispy bacon
• Cranberry and marmaled glazed sausages
• Stilton and walnut puffs
• Bacon-wrapped pasrnip bites
• Chicory and blue cheese bites
• Beet, carrot and walnut fritters

Starter

As you’re only cooking for two, make the starter extra special –  meaning a bit more luxurious dishes!  I like serving seafood such as crab, lobster or scallops. Here are a few recipes that work well for two:

• Avocado and crayfish cocktail
• Zesty salmon paté
• Beetroot, Goat’s cheese and walnut salad
• Goat’s cheese figs and walnut salad
• Baked figs with Gorgonzola, wrapped in Parma ham
• Smoked goose and chicory salad
• Chicory cups with mango and prawns
• Fig, proscciutto and gorgonzola with balsamic & honey sauce
• Figs and mozzarella salad with port sauce

Mains

For mains I normally cook a roast –  but instead of turkey it’s a duck, Guinea fowl or pheasant – cooked with festive ingredients (such as port, orange, pomegranate, chestnuts, Christmas spices etc). Here are some amazing recipes that look and smell very Chrismassy and are more than enough for two!

• Roasted duck with pomegranate and orange glaze
• Lemon roasted pheasant
• Roast pheasant with prunes
• Christmas roast duck
• Pot roasted pheasant with chestnuts
• Herby turkey thigh roast
• Roasted guinea fowl with pomegranate

If you don’t fancy making a roast dinner, these other recipes are also fantastically festive and yummy –  some are ready within 30 minutes so you don’t have to spend too much of your Christmas day in the kitchen!

• Duck breast with spiced plums
• Duck breast with fig & port
• Bacon wrapped pheasant breast with orange sauce
• Pheasant breast wrapped in bacon
• Pork tenderloin wrapped in prosciutto
• Steak with pomegranate dressing
• Spiced duck salad

Side dishes

If you’re doing a roast – the roasted potatoes, baked carrots & parsnips should fit on the lower shelf in your oven and so can be  can be cooked at the same time  (just make sure you time things properly). If you like cranberry sauce, make it ahead! Brussels sprouts can be cooked in very little time! If you’re not using the oven –  just makes some interesting mashed veggies! Here are some dishes:

• Mulled wine cranberry sauce
• Roasted carrots with chestnuts
• Crushed potatoes with rosemary and olives
• Braised red cabbage with port
• Sprouts with bacon and chestnuts
• Roasted carrots and parsnips with maple and orange glaze
• Sprout mash with chestnuts
• Celeriac mash
• Baked sweet potatoes with goat’s chesee
• Mashed carrot with roast garlic

Dessert and sweets

To be honest, by the time you get to dessert you’ll be probably full –  so instead of serving something heavy, why don’t you make a light pudding ahead and serve some truffles later on with some tea? Here are some lovely desserts that you can make the previous day.

• Spiced mandarin with pomegranate
• Mandarin and pomegranate trifle
• Amaretti and pomegranate trifle
• Baileys tiramisu
• White chocolate truffles
• Mincemeat puff swirls