Fried rice in a moreish garlic and spring onion sauce, and an excellent way to use up cheeseboard scraps, crackers and all

With the Christmas menu largely planned, we can now all admit that the thing we really love about the festivities is the time after the day itself. Expectations return to planet normal and most of us revert to cooking much as we do for the rest of the year: a fridge raid here, a stir-fry there, home-cooked meals served up to friends and family who are more than happy just to be fed. So this is a time when cooking with food that has already been cooked feels like the biggest win of all. With most of the work pretty much done, it’s often just a case of assembly, stirring and reheating. Entertaining the easy way.