Coming back from the brink dinner.

When you've been ill, had your heart broken, been bereaved, you need good food. Sometimes, upset can bring a hearty appetite with it. Either way, we need to tempt you. Thus far, you've survived: can there be something to celebrate? How I hope so.

I tend to roast things when solace is required. You know: home and hearth. And I tend to come back to a roast chicken dinner -- but here is another idea which I will probably manage some time soon. It's what my mother used to cook for her Easter meal and sometimes for midsummer, too. I have a sweet memory of recovering from mumps as a child. Still in my nightdress, she took me out to the garden and there, inside the long feathery arms of the willow tree, were a table, cushions, four cousins and one aunt. And we ate roast turkey with all the trimmings. Me in my nightie, with sweet peas on it, aged eight. I'm not sure how much I ate but sitting there, in the summer warmth, it was seared in my memory. Being loved. Feeling better. Next to the willow was a hazel tree which my father planted on the day I was born. He was, for me --they both were-- of few words. But he was, like Thomas Hardy's hope for himself, "a man who used to notice such things."

Read on. The table in the willow's arms is not obligatory. But even now, I like to build a den. Try it.

Roast turkey
Stuffing
Carrots
Cabbage
Roast potatoes
Gravy

For your turkey, a Kelly bronze is what you are after. Like chicken, though, I won't touch it if it's not free range. Weight would be 5-6 kg. When you first get it home, remember to remove the giblets because you will use them to make gravy. Get the turkey to room temperature first. While this is happening, pop the giblets into a pan with water to cover, give the liver to the cat and bring to the boil (the giblets and water, not the cat) and leave to summer very gently. This will form the basis for your turkey gravy.

When the chill of the fridge has lessened, rinse the inside of the bird with cold water and then blot the bird dry (with a kitchen towel, she hastens to add: but you knew that!). Brush some melted butter over the turkey breast or just squish some pieces onto it, here and there.

Now, as with chicken, I cook the turkey upside down first. As with chicken, the fattest bits are in the back and, cooked this way, the fat bastes the meat, percolates down through it and keeps it all succulent. Now cook it at gas 6/200 for about forty minutes and then turn the heat down to 4/180 (I cannot honestly say that my mother or I would always have done this, though). I expect that the turkey will take about two and a half hours. For the last half hour to forty minutes, turn it right side up. That way, you get good meat and proper, sticky skin. The bird is done when the juices run clear. I test where the thigh meats the body. Use a meat thermometer if you lack confidence.

While the turkey is cooking, peel and parboil some potatoes. I'm thinking, as usual, for four to six with seconds. Allow two to three potatoes each. When they are a little softened, but the centre is still not yielding, drain them and then shake them hard against the sides of the pan. Put to one side.

Prepare some carrots. As I've said before, from the garden or organic. When the government suggested we always peel carrots some years back, I thought "Hmmm: time to switch to organic!" I just give the carrots a good scrub (unless they look a bit scruffy still) and cut them into long, thick strips. Put them in a pan and cover them with water. But don't cook them yet. I allow two medium carrots per person.

Prepare some cabbage. Overdo ye not the water. Having said that, I love all sorts of greens: overcooked, done to death, hospital and school dinner sprouts. The lot. I also like a nice perky savoy, well shredded. Pull off any tatty outer leaves, shred and put in a pan just covered with water. Leave to one side. When you've done that, check that the giblets don't need some extra water.

For your stuffing. Now here's a sea change. Our turkey was always stuffed. Because the man from Georgia lives with me (and also because it's easier to time the turkey cooking if the bird is unstuffed), I usually cook it alongside, as he likes it. In his vocabulary, then, it's dressing, not stuffing. Not that I am quite at ease with this state of affairs, I add.

2 large onions finely chopped
125g unsalted butter
1 small handful of sage leaves, finely chopped. Or dried, crumbled. But I do think that dried sage can be a little musty.
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 large egg, beaten
Approximately 120 ml water
500g breadcrumbs. Perhaps have a little more to hand.
A nutmeg to grate into the mixture

Melt the butter, sweat the onions very gently until they are soft and golden, add the sage. In a separate bowl, beat the egg well and add the breadcrumbs. Tip the onions in, add the water (you could add a little of the liquid from the simmering giblets to replace part of the water), season to taste and add a generous grating of fresh nutmeg. I cook this in well buttered dishes for about 40 minutes.

For your roast potatoes. When the turkey is about fifty minutes from done, put a baking dish of hot fat into the oven. Sunflower oil -- up to you. When it's shimmering and very hot, chuck in the potatoes. They will sizzle. Make sure they are coated with the oil (or fat of your choice: my mother used lard and I'm not dead yet). Ten minutes later, put in the stuffing.

The gravy. While that's all cooking, take the giblets from the gravy. Make a roux with a tablespoon or plain flour and a little of the giblet liquor. Now, add the rest of the giblet broth --you will need about 500ml in total-- and cook gently until smooth. Keep to one side.

About five minutes before the turkey has had its allotted cooking time, put the cabbage and carrot on to cook. You can now turn up the oven temperature to blitz the potatoes so that they crisp up. Be careful not to burn the stuffing, though.

When your turkey is done, take it out of the oven and leave it to rest on a plate. Pour off some of the fat from the roasting tin, then put the tin on the hob and scrape and scrape to get at all the good bits which will have stuck to the pan. These are the caramelised meat juices and you musn't waste them! Add the roux, cooking it very gently. Then add the broth from the giblets, making sure there are no lumps. By now, your vegetables should be done. Drain them and add a little water from the carrot pan to the gravy. Bring to the boil, stir well and check for seasoning.
Put your turkey on the table. Take the potatoes out, shake them well to dislodge any that have welded themselves to the dish (the best ones!), put the vegetables in three dishes (I like plain white ones), put the stuffing in a bowl and put the gravy in a jug. All is well. You might like proper English trifle for afters. Read on.