Nigella Lawson's Impressively simple, simply impressive menu

Advance preparation

1. Read through all the recipes in advance to familiarise yourself with the steps.

1. Purchase all of the ingredients and check them off the list to avoid last-minute panics.

1. Make sure you have enough room in your fridge for all the ingredients. You may have to rent or hire a second fridge if you're serving lots of people and don't have a larder.

1. Make sure you have a roasting tray (or two if necessary) large enough to hold the birds.

Two to three days before

1. Marinate the salmon for the Gravlax a few days before, weighed down with heavy weights (such as full jam jars or soup/bean tins).

On the day

1. You can sprinkle the spice mixture over the poussins first thing in the morning and set aside, covered, until you want to place them in the oven - don't forget to factor in the resting time after cooking for the poussins.

1. Extract the pomegranate seeds for the Festive couscous and put them into a covered bowl in the fridge - remove them from the fridge at least an hour before serving so that they are at room temperature. If you're using prepared pomegranate seeds, remove them from the fridge an hour before to allow them to reach room temperature.

1. You can make up the couscous a few hours before serving time and set aside, covered.

1. Carefully slice the Gravlax into thin diagonal slivers, storing any remaining Gravlax in the fridge.

1. Blend the chocolate in the food processor for the Mont Blancs and set aside in a cool place until you're ready to assemble.

Last minute

1. If the couscous has gone cold, cover and reheat the couscous in the microwave on full power for 1-2 minutes, or place in a warm oven to heat through.

1. Whip the cream for the dessert, crumble the meringue and assemble the dessert just before serving, otherwise you'll lose the crunchiness of the meringue.

Leftovers

1. Leftovers should be stored in the fridge and consumed within two days of preparation.

Tins, packets and jars

1. 675g/1lb 8oz couscous

Cooking ingredients

1. 100g/4oz golden sultanas

1. ¼ heaped tsp ground cinnamon

1. ½ heaped tsp paprika

1. ½ heaped tsp ground cumin

1. ½ heaped tsp ground coriander

1. 5½ tbsp chicken or vegetable stock

1. 1½ tbsp butter or olive oil

1. 3 tbsp caster sugar

1. 1½ tsp prepared English mustard

1. 5 tbsp chilli oil or regular olive oil

1. ½ heaped tsp ground cinnamon

1. ½ heaped tsp paprika

1. 675g/1½lb sweetened chestnut purée, from a can

Drinks

1. 5 tsp gin

Fruit and vegetables

1. 1 pomegranate

1. 1 handful fresh coriander, chopped

1. 1 large handful of fresh dill, roughly chopped

1. 1 large lemon

1. 1 large garlic bulb

1. 1 handful fresh coriander, chopped

Meat, fish and poultry

1. 750g/1¾ lb salmon fillet

1. 8 oven-ready poussins

Biscuits, snacks and sweets

1. 150g/5oz good-quality dark chocolate

Dairy, eggs and chilled

1. 650ml/1 pint 2fl oz double cream

Baking and patisserie

1. 2½ ready-made meringue nests