It's never too early to start planning your Christmas dinner – frankly, Monkey is worried we haven't already started. Which is why it was such a relief to hear that Lisa Faulkner, winner of BBC1's Celebrity MasterChef 2010 – what do you mean you don't remember she won it? – has perfected her festive recipe which she'll be showing off at the BBC Good Food Show Winter. Lisa's Poached Pears in Mulled Wine with Mascarpone sounds like a winner – Monkey's uncle is a sucker for any recipe that involves a bottle of red wine. Given what happened to her character in Spooks, while cooking this you might want to be extra careful when you go anywhere near the hob.
