The Stocking Filler

Nigella is back in her kitchen at a time when the nights are drawing in and most of us are up for a bit of extended kitchen work. As always, Nigella's mantra is that cooking should be fun - if it becomes stressful then you are not doing it right. This series reveals how Nigella enjoys the run up to Christmas and how this year she will be preparing her Christmas larder in advance, prepping party food for the freezer and revealing some of her sanity preserving short cuts that make even the most routine recipes redolent with Christmas sparkle!

Christmas is a state of mind but it is a difficult state to achieve if you finish work on Christmas Eve and are expected to be as mellow as a tipsy Santa the next day - ice queen more like! Nigella's answer is to start early by filling her shelves with homemade seasonal beetroot and ginger chutney, bright red chilli jelly (fabulous with cold ham and spiced beef), spiced fruits steeped in Ximinez sherry (poured over Cornish ice cream) and winter spiced vodka.

This episode is not just about condiments - Nigella will be making her Christmas puddini truffles destined for the store cupboard but unlikely to last there for long. Nigella's Christmas cookies are welcome gifts but the most comforting aspect of all this work is the sense that Christmas doesn't have to come "off the shelf".

This stocking filler will create a sense of homely Christmas industry but it isn't all solitary work. Nigella opens her doors to a few friends for a pre-Christmas brunch. Featuring an espresso martini, triple cheese and onion strata, a glazed and toasted vanilla cake 'brioche' and an anti-oxidant fruit salad, which could come in handy for the weeks ahead!