The Christmas shopping list is the longest of the year, especially if you have left things to the eleventh hour. To approach The Feast and the umpteen other special meals that surround it sensibly, include some dishes that will carry over from one meal to the next - food that can happily pop up at any time during the week. Meaty feasts
 A whole salmon, a vast pork pie and a rib of beef will all introduce some sanity to the proceedings, practically and financially
A vast piece of gammon, say, served first with cranberry sauce, potato cakes and buttered spinach that can be brought out the next day, cold but with just as much pride, in thin slices with a dazzling salsa. Worth considering too is roast guinea fowl or pheasant, whose bones can be used later for a parsley-flecked broth for pasta. A whole salmon, a vast pork pie and a rib of beef will all introduce some sanity to the proceedings, practically and financially.  One year I bought a piece of ham, boned, rolled and scored by the butcher, which I poached in organic, unfiltered apple juice with an onion, a fat carrot, a stick of celery and four whole star anise. I let it cool, peeled away the skin, then spread the joint thickly with a hot-sweet mixture of marmalade, wholegrain mustard, the juice and zest of an orange and a handful of fresh white breadcrumbs. I then let it bake to a soft golden-brown glaze. It was a huge success with a mound of braised green-black cabbage and a salt-crusted baked potato. The success was partly the fact the smell of the sweet glaze proved deeply nostalgic to the assembled guests. Two days later the generous remains appeared in sandwiches with watercress and hot onion pickle, and with a salad of raw fennel, green olives and lemon. Seasonal salads One of the most practical buys is a joint of beef. In our house it comes as a Christmassy salad in thin, ruby slices with beetroot, baby salad leaves and poppy seeds or red onion, parsley, mint and grapefruit. Sometimes I pile the soft, pink meat into crisp baguettes with rocket leaves and cold béarnaise sauce on Boxing Day as a luxurious alternative to the usual turkey sandwich.
A main course salad may sound one step too 'alternative' for some, but something hot, crisp and spicy makes a welcome change at some point during the festive period. I think the main ingredient must still complement the season but the rest can be as original as you like.
 Cold poached salmon with shredded carrots, beetroot and fennel can be dressed with finely chopped fresh red chillies, coriander leaves, mint, finely sliced shallots and shredded lime leaves with a dressing made from equal amounts of soft brown sugar and caster sugar (heated with an equal amount of water to dissolve) then seasoned with fish sauce and lime juice. A welcome jolt for the tastebuds. Shopping senseI tend to avoid supermarkets at Christmas, preferring smaller specialist shops. Even then you have to get up early to avoid queues the length of the Channel Tunnel to make certain they don't run out of Vacherin de Mont d'Or or your favourite pork pie. It’s these small shops - delicatessens, old fashioned grocers and cheesemongers - that hold the key to less frayed nerves. If you pick your moment you can stock up on everything from salami to chocolates, and marmalade to amaretti while they are quiet, leaving only the choosing of the perishables to the last minute. A cornucopia of alternatives  Apart from the ham and a couple of game birds I shall add oysters to my shopping list this year, plus some gravlax and its non-negotiable mustard-dill sauce and some squid for grilling and dressing while hot, with finely chopped red chillies and parsley – a simple recipe that looks dazzlingly festive. I'll also add some huge field mushrooms for eating on toast for Christmas Day breakfast; lumps of feta and black olives for salty beef salads; chilli dips for dunking cold goose or game; sweet potatoes to serve either mashed or baked with cold game and pickles.
 At the other end of the meal it takes a lot to convince me of anything more delicious than plum pudding, but I am aware it's not for everyone. I shall pick up soft amaretti for making trifles; crunchy cantucci biscuits for dipping into icy Vin Santo and dried figs for rolling in melted chocolate. There will be mincemeat not only for classic pies, but for stirring into a simple almond sponge cake and a few clementines to make a pomegranate-dotted fruit salad. What I like best on Boxing Day is the pickings from the fridge, together with a baked pumpkin (it even smells festive), some artisan-made preserves, followed by a couple of slices of ice-cold fresh pineapple. In my book, it just doesn't feel like Christmas without one. RecipesTry these seasonal recipes from Nigel Slater:
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