Recipes

"When my parents were just married and the first joint was placed on the dining table, my father looked at my mother and my mother looked at my father. In his house, his mother carved; in her house, her father carved. Neither knew what to do. My father soon learnt."

Carving takes skill, patience and a sharp knife. Here are Henrietta's foolproof steps for tackling the turkey or goose to ensure that everyone gets their fair share of white and dark meat.

• Hold the leg by the end knuckle. Ease it away from the bird until you can see where to make a cut. Cut close to the body and twist it off. Carve the dark meat off the leg
• Similarly remove the wing. If it is too large, cut it in half
• Slice the breast meat from the half from which you have removed the leg and wing. Cut in thin slices, starting from the outside and working towards the centre
• Repeat with the other leg
• Repeat with the other wing
• Repeat with the other side of the breast

And one last piece of advice. If you have stuffed your bird, don’t forget to spoon out the stuffing from both ends.  I did once and no-one had any until I came to dole out second helpings.