Cooking Christmas dinner for the first time? Watch Darina Allen's step-by-step guide to all the trimmings
Darina Allen in her kitchen at Ballymaloe. Picture Dan Linehan
What a rollercoaster it’s been for the past few weeks: hopes raised, hopes dashed, then raised again. I eventually decided to carry on regardless, and respond to readers' requests for recipes for the traditional Christmas feast that so many happy memories are made of. This year, of all years, we are nostalgic for the past and crave a comforting family Christmas.
Hopefully, your nearest and dearest will be gathered around you, and our hearts go out to those who have also lost loved ones during this extraordinarily challenging year.
