Yes, the countdown has begun. The world’s biggest birthday party is just days away. It’s time to start the hunt for a perfect tree, to polish the silverware one more time and to stock the larder with mouth-watering goodies. Just take a look at the wispy mists that cling to the streetlights so in the wee hours of the morning, feel the warm sunshine as you take a walk across the city in the afternoon, and most certainly stop to take a look at our suddenly unfamiliar Park Street decked up in a million fairy lights in the evening — and you just know it’s Christmas.

A well-laid table, the poison of your choice, mellow music and that special Christmas movie playing on the DVD: the day is just waiting to be made perfect.

And if you are short of ideas, fret not. Just borrow a few tips from the experts as they drum up their favourite Christmas treats.

On the table

A roaring good Christmas lunch is just the second best part of Christmas — getting presents from Santa is but the best. People associate food with memories of good times and they are ever so ready to share both:

Thomas Marchi,
Italian Head chef,Hyatt

Every Christmas we’d go out to our family home in Valtellina in North Italy. We’d go snowboarding and skiing with my father. My mother used to cook pizzocheri — a type of tag-liatelle pasta — for Christmas lunch, along with other dishes.

Pizzoccheri

Ingredients 80gm garlic 200gm butter 150gm white flour 350gm wholemeal flour from buckwheat 400gm low-fat cheese from Valtellina (Fontina cheese) 3 potatoes 15gm salt 250gm Savoy cabbage

Method

For the pasta: Mix the two types of flour, add salt, water and mix to a smooth dough. Roll out and cut into strips 1cm wide and 5cm long. To a large saucepan of salted water, add the potatoes cut into pieces and the Savoy cabbage cut into strips. Cook for 25 minutes, then add the pasta. Cook for seven to eight minutes. Cook the garlic in the melted butter till it browns. Drain the pasta and the vegetables and place alternate layers of the pasta and vegetables in a serving bowl, scattering each layer with thin slices of cheese and melted butter.

Suggested wine pairing: Valpolicella Superiore Doc

Saurav Banerjee,
Executive chef, Oberoi Grand

I grew up in Asansol and I remember my father coming over to Calcutta to buy a cake from The Oberoi Grand each Christmas! A Christmas pudding is another thing you can’t do without. And for the time-starved, there’s an easy recipe. Soak the fruits in brandy for a few days before making it.

Christmas plum pudding

Ingredients 50gm flour 200gm fresh breadcrumbs 200gm black currants 400gm sultanas 100gm dates 100gm candied mixed fruit peel 20gm chopped almonds 250gm butter 250gm brown sugar 2 eggs 1 grated nutmeg 1 fresh orange rind and juice 1tsp cinnamon powder 1tsp mixed spice powder 1tsp baking powder A few drops of vanilla essence

Method Cream the brown sugar and the butter till the sugar dissolves and the mixture is light and frothy. Slowly add the eggs. Add the other ingredients and lightly fold in. Butter the baking mould and sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Chill for 30 minutes. Add the pudding mixture into the mould. Cook in a slow steamer at 140° C for four hours or till cooked. Serve warm with Brandy Sabayon.

Raising a toast

Christmas isn’t complete without the Christmas spirit (pun intended) weaving its magic on you. The mixers and shakers have the perfect recipes to make your day even merrier.

Rajnish Rao
Senior Captain, Tantra, The Park

I have spent five years here and each Christmas has been special. December 25 also happens to be Tantra’s birthday, and every year something different is organised to celebrate this day. I chose this cocktail as it looks festive and uses ingredients that go perfectly with this merry season.

christmas royale

Glass: Pilsner/Cortina/ Collins

Ingredients 90ml hot chocolate 30ml gin 20ml strawberry crush 2 fresh strawberries 30ml Smirnoff raspberry

Method Blend the hot chocolate and gin with crushed ice (first blend). Blend the strawberry crush, the fresh strawberries and the Smirnoff raspberry with the crushed ice (second blend). Now make a layer of the first and the second blends in a tall glass. Garnish with chocolate flakes or chocolate chips and strawberry slices.

Nicholas Hawkins
Manager East, Zara Tapas Bar

I haven’t spent Christmas in England for nearly six years now and I do miss being there at times. My fondest memory of Christmas is eating a hearty meal around a big table with my family. I chose the Strawberry and Basil Martini because strawberries are typically a winter fruit and it befits the season. The cocktail is a little dark and a little sweet while the spice makes it warm too.

STRAWBERRY, BLACK PEPPER & BASIL MARTINI

Glass: Martini

Ingredients 50ml strawberry infused vodka 10ml crème de fraise 2 basil leaves 6 strawberries muddled Black pepper, strawberry and basil leaf to garnish.

Method Muddle the strawberries in a Boston shaker and add the other ingredients. Shake and double strain into a Martini glass.

Tuning in

Piped scores playing in malls, TV commercials and people humming under their breath — the music sets the mood for the season long before the day arrives. And everybody has a favourite tune they carry in their pockets as they do the Christmas countdown. Take a look at the popular playlist:

Luke Kenny
Musician/actor

Christmas carols are very special by themselves. They are all happy melodies written so many years ago and sung by so many great musicians. They are all great songs but I especially like Jingle Bells and White Christmas.

Shibani Kashyap,
Singer

My favourite Christmas song is a hymn actually. It’s called When a child is born. It’s a beautiful song and I simply love it. Of course, I do enjoy Jingle Bells and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer too, but hymns are a special favourite. December 25 is also my mother’s birthday, so Christmas is always a huge event for my family and it’s complete with a Christmas tree and presents on one hand and a birthday cake on the other!

The big picture

The silver screen has but added to the magic that sights, sounds and flavours weave around Christmas. A comfy chair, a cup of hot chocolate or wine if you please, a light rug thrown across your knees and your favourite movie playing — what more could you ask for? The perfect Christmas viewing means different things for different people. Here’s a peep:

Sandip Ray,
Filmmaker

My favourite Christmas movies are Michael Curtis’ White Christmas starring Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye and It’s a Wonderful Life by Frank Capra, starring James Stewart and Donna Reed. I watched them as a kid. That’s not to say that I didn’t watch them when I grew older! They’re very entertaining films, fun to watch and they have a distinct Christmas flavour to them that is irresistible. I always remember these films whenever it’s Christmas.

Wendell Rodricks
Fashion designer

I just love Home Alone. But my all time favourite is Dr Zhivago — and all that snow. It’s beautiful and I watch it as often as I can. It was the first film I watched with my partner. So it’s very nostalgic that 25 years later it still has a romantic angle to it.

A list for Santa

With just days to go till Christmas Eve, here’s what people are putting on their list for St Nicholas:

Indrani Dasgupta,
Model

Peace and happiness for everyone, especially my near and dear ones top my Christmas wish list this year. It’s a special day and I’d like it to be that way each year to come.

Raghu Rai,
Photographer

I believe in a supreme energy rather than in the concept of God. I believe that Christ, Mohammed, Buddha and the others that we worship as gods, were rare human beings who through their purity, were available to the supreme energy to work through them. We fail to do so because we’re lesser human beings. I wish that everyone would try to connect with this supreme energy this Christmas, so that we can make this world a beautiful place to live in.

Maria Goretti,
Actor

Safety is primarily on my Christmas wish list this year. I want my babies, aged four and one-and-half, to be safe. I want my parents to be healthy and safe. I just wish for simple happiness this Christmas.

Jerry Pinto,
Author

This Christmas I would wish for the same thing I wish for every year — peace on earth to men of goodwill.