Toast the walnuts in a dry shallow pan.
Grate the lemon zest into a bowl, then add the lemon juice (to flavour and stop the pear discolouring). Using a vegetable peeler, remove thin slices of the pears and drop into the lemon juice. You can either peel the pear first, or work around leaving a thin line of skin on one side of your slices. Discard the first slice though :)

Crumble the cheese into large pieces by scraping it while chilled with a fork or the point of a knife. Separate the leaves of the chicory - you will need 16 medium to small leaves. Place the leaves, closely together, on a board or serving plate. Add pieces of the marinated pear, cheese and toasted walnuts to each one.

Set the oven at 160C/gas mark 3.
Peel the onions, then slice them very finely. If you want to avoid mouthfulls of tangled onion skeins make sure they are sliced thinly and perhaps halve or quarter the onions first. It might be a good idea to blanch the onion - take the edge of their slight stringiness. Halve the butternut squash, peel it, scoop out the seeds and stringy stuff, then slice it up across the long axis into about 1mm - as if you were making a potato dauphinoise. Quarter the squash if the halves are very wide.

Layer the onions and butternut slices in a large baking dish, slightly overlapping. Put the cream in a jug or bowl, thinning it down with milk if your cream is very thick, season with salt and pepper, nutmeg and the mustard then pour over the squash and onions.

Bake uncovered for 2 hours or more till tender to the point of a knife - cover lightly with foil if the top starts to get too crisp. The slices should be al dente rather than soft as in a potato gratin. Serve with plenty of the juices from the baking tin.

First, make a light stock with the reserved bones and trimmings, the stock ingredients and 1 litre/1¾ pints cold water. Bring slowly to the boil, skim off any scum then simmer gently for an hour or so, half-covered.
Strain through layers of muslin, then simmer uncovered for a further 15-20 minutes until reduced to 250ml/½ pint.
Cool, skim off the fat and reserve.
To make the stuffing, melt the butter, add the onions and stew gently for 20 minutes until softened but not coloured. Remove from the heat, stir in the whole oysters, or the smoked oysters and crab-meat, then add the watercress, anchovies, lemon peel, and nutmeg. Add as much lemon juice as necessary to form a thick paste, but not so much as to make it sloppy. Season well and mix thoroughly.

Place the lamb, skin side down, on a flat surface and open it out. Scatter with the thyme leaves and the slices of garlic, then spread the stuffing evenly down both sides. Keep most of the filling away from the edges as some will be squeezed out. Carefully fold up the outer flaps of meat, roll together and tie securely with string - taking a turn lengthways around the joint, then repeatedly looping the log to hold it closed. Thoroughly pat dry the outside of the roll moisture will definitely hinder crisping and then give it a rub with olive oil, salt and pepper. Get a heavy frying pan very hot and sear the fatty skin of the roll as well as you can, turning it to get every bit of skin nicely browned and crisped. Throw in a knob of butter to help build up the colour and flavour. I wouldn't worry about the ends of the roll as they're probably too wet from the stuffing to sear without cooling down the pan.
Place the joint, with the join in the folded skin down, on a roasting rack. Add a little water (or stock, oyster juice, lemon juice or any other liquid you have about) perhaps a generous tablespoon, herbs too if you like, to the pan to stop any early leaking juices from burning and tainting your jus.
Mix together the mustard and port.
Gently heat the redcurrant jelly until melted - add a tablespoon of water or Chambord! to the pan to prevent burning. Stir into the mustard and port then smear the lamb with some of the sauce. Keep the pan warm.

Cook in the oven at 200°C/400°F/Gas Mark 6 for about 1½ hours for pink lamb (25 minutes per lb) I would say less - check after little more than an hour to just over 2 hours (35 minutes per lb) for well-done meat.
Baste with the remaining mustard and port sauce every 20-30 minutes, and add a little more liquid to the roasting tin if the jus is starting to dry out or burn. Turn down the oven, or loosely cover the joint, if the crust looks worryingly dark or burned.


Remove the joint to a warmed platter to rest 10-20 minutes covered with tin foil. Ideally until the internal temperature cools back down to at most 120°F (49°C). Scrape up the sediments in the roasting tin, pour off any excess fat then add the stock and boil furiously for 3-4 minutes to reduce slightly and heighten the flavours. Pour into a warmed sauce-boat and serve with the lamb cut into thick slices.

Throw everything in a pan, cover and braise on a low heat until the peas are cooked. Which, for frozen peas, means hot.
Serve.

Peel and cut your potatoes King Edwards/Maris Piper/Desiree into reasonable chunks - not too small - smaller than a tennis ball, larger than a squash ball.
Par-boil in a large pot for about 5 minutes until fairly soft, though perhaps not to the point at which their surfaces begin to crack (unless you follow Heston Blumenthal). I've also heard it said that it's good to throw in the peelings too, so that's something to consider.
Drain, return to the pan and give them a gentle shake, then let them steam dry. Meanwhile put in a plastic bag a few tablespoonfuls of flour, season well with salt and pepper, and a generous dose of mustard powder. Shake the potatoes in the bag until their surfaces are well dusted.

Take out that jar of leftover goose fat marked 2009 from the back of your fridge don't worry - it'll be fine and pour about an inch into a heavy roasting tin.
Heat until almost smoking in the top of a very hot oven or on the stove top, then carefully add in the potatoes, baste, and put in the top of a Gas Mark 7 oven for about an hour until they are just crispy and golden.
Serve immediately.