Your Christmas dinner, worked out before you've bought a single sprout.
Four complete menus for 2, 4, 6 or 8, each with its own shopping list, make-ahead tasks and cooking timetable. Fewer decisions, less of a last-minute dash, and all your favourites on the table.
Dish images are illustrative.
Christmas Dinner, Sorted! Classic British recipes, ready-planned menus & step-by-step timings for a calmer Christmas.
One oven. A long list of things that want to be in it.
You can roast a potato. You've made gravy more times than you could count. What takes the thinking is everything happening at once.
How big a turkey crown for six? How many sprouts, how many parsnips? And when the bird comes out to rest, what goes into the oven next, and for how long?
None of it is difficult on its own. It's just a lot to carry in your head on a morning when someone's asking where the good glasses are.
One book that does the working-out.
Christmas Dinner, Sorted! treats the meal as what it really is: one big job made up of lots of small ones.
Choose a menu and the rest follows from it. The dishes are chosen to sit together on the table. The shopping list is built for that menu and that number of people. The make-ahead tasks show what can be done early, and the timetable sets out the day in order, right through to serving.
You still do the cooking. You just aren't doing the sums as well.
Four steps from first list to full table.
Choose your menu.
Go by how many you're feeding: two, four, six or eight.
Do the shop.
Take that menu's list, arranged by supermarket section, with the quantities already calculated.
Get ahead.
Work through the tasks marked for doing in advance, with guidance on storing what you've made.
Follow the timetable.
On the day, work down the plan. It shows what comes next and how jobs are shared between oven, hob and air fryer, if you're using one.
Four menus. Start with the one that fits your table.
Every menu comes with:
Each timetable belongs to its own menu, because the value is in how the whole thing fits together: the shop, the quantities, the preparation and the order of work.
Everything you'd hope to see on the table.
40 recipes across the whole meal: 4 starters, 6 mains, 16 sides, 6 sauces and extras, and 8 desserts. Here's a taste of the selection.
Dish images are illustrative.
Turn the pages.
Every spread has a job to do. Here's what each one is for.
The menu. Your dishes for the day, planned together for your number of guests.
The shopping list. Arranged by supermarket section, with quantities calculated, so you can work your way down the aisles.
The recipe. Clear steps and metric measures, with Celsius temperatures for conventional and fan ovens.
The timetable. What to do and when, shown with a 2pm serving example, including what's in the oven, on the hob or in the air fryer.
Short of oven space? The air fryer can help.
The oven is where most Christmas dinners get crowded. So the book includes air fryer options, mainly for sides and smaller jobs, to help you organise the cooking and free up some room.
It won't hold dinner for eight in a single drawer, and the plan doesn't ask it to. It simply gives certain jobs somewhere else to go.
No air fryer? That's fine.
This is a Christmas dinner book, not an air fryer book. Where a recipe offers an air fryer method, you'll find an oven alternative too.
Made for the worktop.
A5 format.
At 148 × 210 mm, it's a compact size to keep close to hand.
Wire-O binding.
It stays open on the kitchen worktop while your hands are busy with the stuffing.
British measures.
Grams, kilos and millilitres, with Celsius temperatures for conventional and fan ovens.
Bought once.
No subscription, just a book to bring back out next December.
Three digital bonuses, included with your book.
These are digital extras rather than printed books, and they come with your purchase of the physical book.
The Christmas Host's Planner
A digital planner to print and keep to hand.
Solves: the small details, written down so you don't have to remember them all. The book already holds the essential lists and timetables. The planner gives you versions to fill in, print and share out.
Air Fryer Festive Bites
An ebook of 12 extra recipes for nibbles and small December get-togethers, all different from those in the book. Think brie and cranberry pastry bites, mini mushroom tartlets and cheese straws.
Solves: what to offer when friends drop in, or when people want a little something before the meal.
Boxing Day & Beyond
An ebook of 12 extra recipes for making the most of your Christmas leftovers, including turkey and leek pie, bubble and squeak and turkey curry.
Solves: the "what shall we do with all this?" moment, by turning leftovers into different meals for the days that follow. How long they keep depends on the ingredients and how they're stored.
That makes 64 recipes in all: 40 in the printed book and 24 across the two recipe ebooks.
"Can't I just find recipes for free?"
You can, and plenty of them are very good. If you enjoy building your own plan, that's a lovely way to spend an evening in December.
The recipes are only part of the job, though. Someone still has to scale everything to your headcount, merge the ingredients into one list, work out what can be done early and put each task in order around one oven.
That joined-up work is what you're paying for here. It comes with all four menus, ready to follow.
Sort my Christmas dinner →What you get for £24.99.
In the printed book
Christmas Dinner, Sorted!, A5 with Wire-O binding
40 recipes
Four complete menus, for 2, 4, 6 and 8 people
A consolidated shopping list for each menu
Make-ahead tasks and cooking timetables
A vegetarian alternative for each menu
As digital bonuses
The Christmas Host's Planner
Air Fryer Festive Bites (12 extra recipes)
Boxing Day & Beyond (12 extra recipes)
Add to your order
Tick any extras and they go in the same order.
Order total: £24.99
Secure checkout. Prices shown in your local currency.
Frequently asked questions
Is it a physical book?+
Yes. It's a printed A5 book (148 × 210 mm) with Wire-O binding, so it stays open on the worktop. The three bonuses are digital.
What do I get in digital format?+
Three bonuses: The Christmas Host's Planner, to print and fill in; Air Fryer Festive Bites, an ebook of 12 extra recipes; and Boxing Day & Beyond, an ebook of 12 extra recipes for leftovers.
How many people are the menus for?+
There are four menus, for 2, 4, 6 and 8 people. Quantities are calculated for each menu's number.
Do I need an air fryer?+
No. The book includes air fryer options, with oven alternatives in the recipes that use them.
Are the ingredients easy to find?+
The recipes favour ingredients from ordinary UK supermarkets. Stock varies from shop to shop, so we can't promise every item in every store.
Do I need to be an experienced cook?+
No. The book is written for people who are comfortable with everyday home cooking, and it sets out the steps, order and timings for you.
Are there vegetarian options?+
Yes. Each menu has a vegetarian alternative, with the adjustments it needs. The recipes also include mains such as Mushroom Wellington and nut roast, plus a vegetarian gravy.
Can I prepare some of it in advance?+
Yes. Each menu lists the tasks you can do ahead, with guidance on storing what you've made.
Can I swap dishes in the menus?+
You can, but the lists and timetables are written for the menus as presented. A swap may mean adjusting your shopping, quantities and timings.
Is the book gluten-free, or suitable for all allergies?+
No. It isn't a gluten-free book and shouldn't be treated as suitable for all allergies. If you're cooking for someone with an allergy or intolerance, check each recipe and every product label carefully.
How do I receive the bonuses?+
Your three digital bonuses are emailed to you once payment is confirmed, so you can start planning before the book arrives.
How much is it, and how long does delivery take?+
The book with its three digital bonuses costs £24.99. Delivery options and times are shown at checkout before you pay.
Is there a subscription?+
No. It's a one-off purchase.
What's your returns policy?+
If it isn't for you, return the book within 30 days of receiving it for a refund of what you paid. For anything else, email info@thecookbookstore.co.uk.
The gravy's hot. The plates are warm. And you're sitting down.
Christmas dinner is about the people round the table and the food that brings them there. With the menu chosen, the shop done and the day mapped out, you'll have more time to enjoy both.
Your favourites, a proper plan and a seat at the table.
Plan my Christmas dinner · £24.99 →