Occasions Planner
Meal Plan Occasions 3: Even More Special Occasions
Chapter 8 · Occasions planner
How to use this chapter. The occasions fall on different days, so there is no single weekly shopping list. Each of the 14 recipes has its own shopping list (follow the link on the recipe), and this chapter helps you plan: when each occasion falls, how much time it needs, what to do the day before, and how to scale the recipes up or down. Chapters 1 to 4 and 6 are written for 4 people, chapter 5 (the anniversary dinner) is for 2, and chapter 7 (the dinner party) is for 6.
When each occasion falls
Father's Day in the UK is the third Sunday in June. Diwali follows the Hindu lunar calendar and falls in late October or November, so check a current calendar for the exact date. The anniversary dinner, movie night and dinner party are whenever you choose.
| Occasion | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Patrick's Day | Wed 17 Mar 2027 | Fri 17 Mar 2028 | Sat 17 Mar 2029 |
| Father's Day (third Sunday in June, UK) | Sun 20 Jun 2027 | Sun 18 Jun 2028 | Sun 17 Jun 2029 |
| Diwali (late October or November: check a current calendar) | Varies | Varies | Varies |
| Christmas Eve | Fri 24 Dec 2027 | Sun 24 Dec 2028 | Mon 24 Dec 2029 |
| Anniversary dinner | Your date | Your date | Your date |
| Movie night | Any day | Any day | Any day |
| Dinner party | Any day | Any day | Any day |
The seven occasions at a glance
| Ch | Occasion | Serves | Main meal | Dessert | Time needed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | St Patrick's Day | 4 | Irish coddle with soda bread | Irish apple cake with custard | About 1 hour 30 minutes |
| 2 | Father's Day | 4 | Slow-cooked sticky BBQ pork ribs, corn and coleslaw | Strawberry Eton mess | About 3 hours 30 minutes (mostly hands-off) |
| 3 | Diwali | 4 | Butter chicken (or paneer) with pilau rice and naan | Cardamom rice pudding (kheer) | About 1 hour 30 minutes, plus marinating |
| 4 | Christmas Eve | 4 | Sharing supper: baked camembert, pigs in blankets, cured meats | Homemade mince pies with orange butter | About 1 hour, plus pastry chilling |
| 5 | Anniversary dinner | 2 | Beef Wellington with gravy, mash and green beans | Lemon posset with shortbread | About 2 hours, plus chilling |
| 6 | Movie night | 4 | Loaded beef nachos and sticky chicken wings | Chocolate chip cookie bars | About 1 hour 30 minutes |
| 7 | Dinner party | 6 | Slow-roast lamb shoulder with dauphinoise potatoes | Banoffee pavlova | About 5 hours (mostly hands-off) |
Make-ahead timelines
Almost all of the work can be done before the day. Here is what to do when.
| Occasion | A few days before | The day before | On the day |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Patrick's Day | Buy the sausages, bacon, buttermilk and apples. | Make the coddle if you like (it improves overnight). Bake the apple cake. | Soda bread in the oven 1 hour 15 minutes before you eat. Coddle simmering by then. Warm the cake and the custard at the end. |
| Father's Day | Order or buy the ribs. Buy the corn, cabbage and strawberries. | Rub the spices into the ribs. Cook the ribs in foil, if you want to finish them tomorrow. | Ribs in foil 3 hours before you eat. Glaze and finish them in the last 15 minutes. Coleslaw in the morning, Eton mess last. |
| Diwali | Check the date. Buy the chicken (or paneer), spices and naan. | Marinate the chicken. Make the kheer and chill it. | Sauce 1 hour before. Rice 25 minutes before. Naan at the last minute. |
| Christmas Eve | Buy the camembert, sausages, bacon, bread and cured meats. Make the mince pie pastry. | Bake the mince pies. Wrap the sausages in bacon. | Sausages in the oven 25 minutes before you eat, camembert for the last 15 minutes. Arrange the board while they bake. |
| Anniversary dinner | Order the beef fillet from the butcher. Buy the pastry and prosciutto. | Make the posset and chill it. Sear the beef and make the mushroom mixture. | Wrap the Wellington in the morning. Bake for 35 minutes. Mash and beans while it rests. |
| Movie night | Buy the wings, mince and tortilla chips. | Make the beef topping and the salsa. Bake the cookie bars. | Wings in the oven 50 minutes before you eat. Assemble and bake the nachos at the end. |
| Dinner party | Order the lamb shoulder. Buy the potatoes, cream and bananas. | Bake the meringue and make the toffee sauce. Rub the lamb with garlic and rosemary. | Lamb in the oven about 4 hours 40 minutes before you eat. Dauphinoise goes in after 2 hours 45 minutes. Assemble the pavlova just before serving. |
Scaling the recipes
- Scaling up (more guests): multiply the quantities by the number of people, then check the biggest limits: the size of your roasting tin, baking dishes and oven. If a dish will not fit, cook it in two tins or two batches.
- Cooking times: do not simply double the time. Roasts need more time by weight, and a bigger dish of dauphinoise or pie filling takes longer to heat through. Wings, sausages and steaks take the same time per piece, but need more space.
- The anniversary dinner for 4: use a 700 g fillet, 600 g of mushrooms, 8 slices of prosciutto and 1 sheet of pastry for one large Wellington (bake for 40 to 45 minutes). Double the rest.
- The dinner party for fewer: halve the lamb for 3 (a 1.2 kg shoulder, cooking for the same time), halve the potatoes and use a smaller dish, and make the pavlova with 2 egg whites.
- Desserts: the mince pies, cookie bars, apple cake and pavlova stretch to extra guests. The posset and the fondant-style desserts are best made to the exact number.
Equipment
- A large roasting tin with foil, two large baking trays and a meat thermometer (ribs, wings, lamb, Wellington, sausages)
- A large casserole or heavy pan with a lid, and a deep frying pan (coddle, butter chicken, nachos beef)
- A 20 cm round or square tin, a 12-hole bun tin, a 20 cm square tin and a large baking dish (cakes, pies, bars, dauphinoise)
- A large bowl, an electric whisk, a sieve and a rolling pin (pavlova, posset, pastry)
- Ramekins or small glasses for the posset, glasses or bowls for the kheer and the Eton mess
- Kitchen paper, cling film, foil and covered containers for the make-ahead steps
Food-safety reminders
The four rules for every occasion
- Cook pork, sausages, chicken, wings and lamb shoulder right through, with no pink and clear juices. Beef fillet, lamb and steak can be served pink in the middle if you like (the outside is the part that is seared). Use a thermometer for the Wellington.
- Cool leftovers quickly, within 1 to 2 hours, keep them covered in the fridge and eat them within 2 days. Reheat only once, until steaming hot.
- Keep raw meat on the bottom shelf, away from other food, and wash your hands, boards and knives after handling it. Use separate plates and tongs for raw and cooked meat.
- Defrost frozen joints in the fridge, allowing about 24 hours for a big joint, and overnight for mince and chicken. Never refreeze after defrosting. Do not leave food on the table for more than 2 hours.
Shopping across the occasions
Because each occasion is a different day, shop for each one a few days before, and order big joints (the lamb, the beef fillet and the ribs) from the butcher at least a week ahead. Cream is used in several recipes (the butter chicken, the dauphinoise, the pavlova and the posset), so check the amounts on each shopping list. Honey, mustard and spices keep for months, and a jar of mincemeat keeps until its date.