The thing is, in order to get into this lovely-chilledfestive-hostess-with-themostess (or indeed host-with-the-most) mood, you do have to be a little bit prepared. Now is the time, while the children are still at school or before everyone gets that panicky I-still-haven't-bought-anyChristmas-presents madness, to get ahead.

Clean out your fridge and freezer, so that you know exactly what food you have in your kitchen.

Make at least one shelf or drawer free, and fill it with food that you will use over the festive season for all those impromptu visits from your family and friends.

Make a big stew, and divide it up into a few batches, do the same with a soup. Why not bake some bread or scones, pre-slice the bread and halve the scones too if you wish, and pop it into the freezer?

A delicious homemade pate, which is easy to make, is a great thing to have on scones, toast or crackers with a drink for guests. And to get really ahead, bake and freeze something now that you can offer with tea or coffee, like some biscuits or a cake.

With all this done, you can look forward to a stress-free Christmas with plenty of time to file your nails and sip champagne.

Brown soda scones with seeds Makes about 12 scones These will be delicious with soup, cheese, pate or topped with a slice of smoked salmon. They can be frozen . . . so for quick thawing when taking them out of the freezer, split them in half before they freeze.

225g wholemeal flour 225g plain white flour 50g seeds, like sesame, sunflower or pumpkin seeds . . .

can be a mixture One tsp salt One tsp bread soda, finely sieved 25g butter One egg, whisked 400ml buttermilk Preheat the oven to 2200C, gas mark 8. In a big bowl, mix together the brown and white flour, the seeds, salt and the sieved bread soda. Rub in the butter.

Whisk the egg with the buttermilk, and pour most of the liquid into the bowl.

Using one hand with your fingers open and stiff, mix in a full circle, bringing the flour and liquid together, adding more liquid if necessary. The dough should be quite soft, but not too sticky.

Turn it out onto a floured surface, and do not knead it but gently bring it into one. Flatten it slightly to about 4cm high. Cut the dough into square scones, if you like you could brush any leftover liquid over the top and sprinkle with some extra seeds.

Put the scones onto a baking tray and pop into the hot oven and cook for 15-25 minutes (depending on the size). Have a look at them after 10 minutes . . . if they are deep golden brown, then turn down the heat down to 2000C, gas mark 6, for the remainder of the time.

When cooked, they should sound hollow when tapped. Cool on a wire rack.

Leek and potato soup with blue cheese Serves 6-8 This is a lovely wintry soup that is perfect for serving as a starter around Christmas time or for lunch, with the brown soda scones.

This soup can be made a couple of days in advance, or it can be frozen for a month.

50g butter 350g sliced leeks, remove the root and the dark green tops 350g chopped, peeled potatoes 75g chopped onions Salt and pepper 500ml chicken or vegetable stock 250ml milk 75g-100g blue cheese, like Cashel Blue or Stilton Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the leeks, potatoes and onions.

Season with salt and pepper (not too much salt as the cheese will be salty), cover with a butter wrapper or piece of greaseproof paper and a lid and cook on a gentle heat for about five minutes.

Remove the butter wrapper, add the stock, bring up to the boil and simmer until the vegetables are all cooked.

Then add the milk and the blue cheese, bring back up to the boil, then liquidise the soup till smooth. Taste and add more seasoning or more blue cheese if you wish.

Serve in warm bowls with some chopped chives or parsley on top.

Cucumber pickle I have included this recipe because it is the ideal condiment to have in your fridge around Christmas time . . . in fact any time. It is great with cheese, perfect in a sandwich, fab with cold meats or smoked fish and divine with a pate, like the chicken liver pate recipe here.

This brilliant recipe is one of Myrtle Allen's from about 30 years ago that is made regularly at Ballymaloe, and is sold at most farmers' markets around the country. This will keep in the fridge for a month or two.

900g thinly sliced unpeeled cucumber (about two large cucumbers) Three small onions, thinly sliced . . . optional 350g sugar One tbsp salt 225ml cider vinegar or white wine vinegar Mix the cucumber and onion in a large bowl, add the sugar, salt and vinegar, and mix well to combine.

Make one hour ahead, if possible.

Chicken liver pate Serves about 8-12 Whenever you buy a goodquality chicken, don't throw out the liver. It will make the most delicious pate. Freeze any livers you have until you have enough to make a pate. This pate will freeze very well for a month, or will keep for a few days, covered, in the fridge.

150g (5oz) chicken livers, with any membrane or fatty bits removed One tbsp olive oil Two tbsp marsala, port or brandy One large clove of crushed or grated garlic One tsp chopped sage, or thyme, or slightly less of rosemary 75g butter Fry the livers in the olive oil over a low to medium heat till cooked through.

While they are cooking, measure the alcohol into a small bowl.

When the livers are cooked, transfer to a food processor, and whizz up till fine. Put the pan back on the heat . . . do not wash it first. Add the alcohol, garlic and chopped herbs.

Be very careful . . . if the pan is very hot it will flame, and it is perfect if it does, but you need to stand back, just for 10 seconds or so.

Then pour the flamed alcohol into the food processor, scraping out all the nice bits from the pan in on top of the livers.

Whizz the livers again, and leave to cool before you add the butter (otherwise the butter will melt, and you will need to chill it and whizz it again).

When it has cooled, add the butter, while whizzing, until it is smooth. Season to taste.

Handy hint: If the thought of flaming the alcohol is making you feel slightly ill at ease, just boil the alcohol in a high-sided saucepan with the garlic and herbs for half a minute. This will still burn the alcohol off but it is not so dramatic.

Apple and almond cake Serves 6 This great, versatile and very delicious cake can be served as a desert after a meal with vanilla ice cream or warmed up, with a cup of tea or coffee in the morning or afternoon. It can be frozen too.

225g self-raising flour 225g caster sugar One tsp baking powder Two eggs 150g butter, melted Scant 1/4 tsp almond essence 350g cooking apples, peeled, quartered and cored 25g flaked almonds Preheat the oven to 1600C, gas mark 3. Put a disc of greaseproof paper on the base of a deep 20cm loosebottomed cake tin, and grease the sides.

Put the flour, caster sugar and baking powder in a bowl and whisk to break up any lumps. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs, add the melted butter and the almond essence. Pour into the dry ingredients and whisk together until just smooth.

Spread half this cake mixture into the prepared tin. Thickly slice the apples and lay on top of the mixture in the tin, piling mostly towards the centre.

Then pour out the remaining cake mixture over the apples, covering the centre well. Sprinkle with the flaked almonds.

Bake in the preheated oven for about 1 1/4 hours, or until golden and coming away from the sides of the tin.

TIP Empty and cleaned-out plastic milk containers are great containers for freezing soup. When the soup comes out of the freezer you can cut open the container and pop the frozen soup straight in the saucepan and place on a low heat to thaw