So, how clean is your fridge? Not very, I imagine. But before you groan at the sight of all the leftovers and wonder what to do with them now, remember this is the real test of a good cook, finding imaginative ways to use up whatever’s available. It’s called improvisation, and no, you don’t get any points for turkey curry.

Making soup with the turkey carcass is as much a part of Christmas as Santa Claus and mince pies, but instead of making a chunky broth, I suggest you make a more sophisticated consommé and add sliced vegetables right at the end so they stay crisp and colourful.

This dish reminds me of a time I was stranded off the Virgin Islands one Christmas when the weather was so bad the boat couldn’t dock. At times like that, the only thing that keeps passengers and crew from mutiny is something spectacular to eat, and all I had in front of me was a turkey, a pigeon and a duck carcass, so I made this amazing consommé. That’s the joy of it, you don’t have to stick to one bird, you use turkey and chicken, turkey and goose, goose and duck, whatever. The secret is to lightly brown them in the oven beforehand to achieve a dark colour and depth of flavour. Make sure you use the legs and drumsticks because that’s where all the flavour comes from, from the marrow in the bones.

And if you really don’t want to use it as a consommé, keep it as stock and make some amazing minestrone soup with tomatoes, pancetta and pasta in there, or use it to poach some chicken for a pot-au-feu.

The veal dish is another great way of using up all the leftovers in the fridge. Stilton’s the most popular cheese over Christmas and there’s bound to be some lurking around. Adding the mascarpone counters the strength of the cheese and the confit of lemon helps to cut through the richness. Do make up a batch of lemon confit if you have any lemons around. You can add it to couscous for vegetarians, to sea bass, red mullet, salmon… And I’ll be using it in a fantastic roast chicken recipe in a couple of weeks’ time.

The bread and butter pudding here is amazing, especially when made with panettone. Panettone is one of those things that makes a popular present, but by the time you get round to eating it, you are so stuffed you can only manage a tiny sliver to show willing, and the rest goes stale. In this dish it doesn’t matter, and you can mix it in whatever proportions you need with old baguette or fresh bread. Make sure you put in a good slug of alcohol. It really doesn’t matter what: sherry, port, Grand Marnier, malt whisky, Bailey’s, Drambuie - you must be able to prise at least one of them out of your grandmother’s hands. You can also eat this the next day, sliced up and served at room temperature. It’s great for giving to the children when they go out on their Christmas bikes. Pop it in their front basket for when they need to ward off the cold.

Recipes

Carcass consomme with vegetables

Ham and grain-mustard carbonara

Veal chop with a stilton and lemon gratin

Bread and butter pudding

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