Port-poached pears

Serves 4

Internal links

With a little extra effort Christmas can be cracking

Henry Harris's whole baked Vacherin

Caroline Waldegrave's truffle toasts

Lorna Wing's pumpkin squares

Halloumi & herb triangles

Chris Galvin's iced oysters and hot spicy chorizo

Paul Merrett's gravadlax sashimi with beetroot sorbet

Fruit & nut stuffing

Chicken Stuffing

Ricotta stuffing

Armagnac and chestnut ice-cream

Lorna Wing's syllabub with dried fruits

Christmas pudding soufflé

Easy to make, dramatic to serve, and very seasonal.

150ml/5fl oz Sandeman Imperial Tawny Porto

75g/3oz sugar

Thinly pared rind of 1 lemon

4 large ripe pears

Pour port, sugar and rind in pan with 150ml (5fl oz) water. Heat gently until sugar dissolves. Bring to boil. Peel pears and add syrup, bring to boil, cover and simmer gently until tender (about 15 minutes). With a slotted spoon, transfer pears to a dish and serve with a strong blue cheese like Stilton or Cashel Blue.