Christmas menu for 2 people

With drinks: Blinis, taramasalata and lumpfish roe; Beet, fresh goat cheese and walnut verrines. To start: Seared scallops, parsnip purée. For the main: Salmon en croûte with beurre blanc. For the cheese course: Oven-baked Mont d'Or with potatoes. For dessert: Gingerbread panna cotta.

For 2 guests, the big picture: sea scallops (6), salmon fillet (300 g), Mont d'Or (1) and cream (20 cl). The full grocery list, aisle by aisle, is right above.

In two trips. Three days before, the stuff that keeps (10 items: produce, meat and seafood, dairy and pantry). Then the day before, the fresh stuff (9 items, like salmon fillet, sea scallops and taramasalata). You'll dodge the last-minute crowds.

To sit down at 8:15 PM, the first step of the big day starts at 5:45 PM: put the salmon en croûte together, keep it in the fridge. The main (salmon en croûte with beurre blanc) goes in the oven at 7:25 PM. Every step of the game plan is timed backward from when you sit down to eat.

This menu is pork-free. It's not vegetarian: for a meat-free table, there's a full vegetarian menu. A kid counts as half a serving in the quantities.

Yep, from 2 to 12 guests: change the number at the top of the page, and the quantities, the grocery list, the budget and these answers all follow.