Christmas is fast approaching and with it the dilemma of the Christmas dinner.

But if you're getting tired of the same old turkey with cranberry sauce, then look no further – we've tried out two alternative festive spreads that are sure to wow your guests this year.

Turkey wasn't always the standard Christmas dinner choice. Goose was once the traditional festive bird.

It remained popular throughout the Victorian era as any reader of Dickens' A Christmas Carol can attest.

So for our first alternative food option, we suggest stuffed goose served with prunes in Armagnac, with a spicy red cabbage accompaniment.

As a starter, forget the old prawn cocktail with its limp lettuce leaves. Instead serve delicious grilled scallops, cooked in white wine.

And for dessert? Well, nobody really likes Christmas pudding since they stopped putting sixpences in it. After a full meal like the goose, you will need something lighter - a coffee bombe is ideal.

Alternatively, you may want to abandon tradition altogether, in which case we suggest you imagine yourself somewhere much warmer than England's freezing climes.

How about Jamaican goat curry?

Few people eat goat in this country, but after this meal you will ask yourself why ever not?

To keep the Caribbean theme going, do a starter of drunken jerk prawns, and a dessert of Jamaican mango cheesecake.

For this dish, set aside the Prosecco and wash it all down with a tropical rum punch. Perfect!

Though for the goose, a sparkling wine is still the best.

All the recipes that follow are for eight people, so adjust the ingredients accordingly if you have different numbers.

If you are doing the goose dinner, you can save time on the day by making the spiced red cabbage in advance and freezing it.

The goose dinner

Side: Spiced red cabbage

Heat your oven to 170C.

Melt the butter in a flame-proof casserole and use it to fry the onions for about 10 minutes - don't let them burn.

Then add all the other ingredients, stir and season. Pop it in the oven for two hours, stirring occasionally.

Remove the thyme, cinnamon stick and cloves, pour into a plastic container and cool it quickly in a sink of cold water.

Then freeze. On the day just warm up in a frying pan.

Starter: Grilled scallops

Slice the white of each scallop and set aside the orange corals for later.

Simmer the whites gently in the wine for about 10 minutes. (If you cook them too fiercely, they will go tough)

Strain off the liquid and reserve it.

Now cook the onion and mushrooms together in a saucepan with some butter for 15 minutes.

Sprinkle in the flour to thicken and add the scallop liquid a bit at the time, stirring continuously. You are looking to produce a creamy white sauce.

Season, add more butter, and cook for another six minutes.

Remove from the heat, stir in the whites, the coral pieces and the cream.

Return to a gentle heat - don't let it boil.

Meanwhile, mix the breadcrumbs and Parmesan together.

Divide the scallop mixture across 16 scallop shells, sprinkle over some of the breadcrumb mixture and a few flakes of butter and then brown under the grill. Serve hot.

Main: Stuffed goose with prunes in Armagnac

There are several stages to this and you will need to start at least four hours in advance of when you intend to eat.

Save hassle on the day by preparing the prunes in advance by soaking them overnight in cold tea.

Drain, then just about cover with water, add the sugar and simmer for 15 minutes

Drain, pour on the Armagnac, and set aside in the fridge.

For both the apple stuffing and the forcemeat stuffing, simply mix all the ingredients together.

On Christmas Day, pre-heat the oven to 220C.

Place the apple stuffing in the body cavity of the bird.

Press the forcemeat stuffing into the flap-end of the goose, then pull the flap down and secure with a skewer.

Season the bird and put it on a rack in the oven - it will exude a lot of fat - you will need to keep emptying the tray.

Cook for 30 minutes initially, then reduce the heat to 180C and cook for two hours and 45 minutes.

While it is cooking, make a stock with the remaining giblets by boiling them with a leek, a carrot and a celery stick.

'Goose remained popular throughout the Victorian era as any reader of Dickens' A Christmas Carol can attest'

Test the goose is cooked by piercing with a skewer and making sure the juices run clear.

Allow to rest for 20 minutes before serving.

Make a gravy using the giblet stock, a little of the drained fat and some white wine.

Heat your prepared prune accompaniment in a frying pan.

Serve with roast potatoes, the spiced red cabbage (warmed up) and carrots and brussel sprouts, or other veg of your choice.

Dessert: Coffee bombe

This requires freezing, which takes at least three hours, so you will need to start this maybe four hours in advance.

Dissolve the coffee powder in a little warm water.

Fold it into the cream and mix in the icing sugar.

Pour it into a lightly greased 850ml bombe mould or glass basin, and freeze.

Once it is firm, transfer to the fridge for 45 minutes.

Turn it out upside down onto a plate.

You can decorate the top with flaked almonds or chocolate buttons.

It's a great change from Christmas pud.

The Caribbean dinner

Starter: Drunken jerk prawns

(You can prepare this up to three days in advance if you keep it in the fridge.)

Remove the prawn shells, leaving the tails.

In a bowl, mix the jerk seasoning, lemon juice and bourbon, and then whisk.

Add in the prawns and stir to make sure all the prawns are fully coated in the marinade. Remove the prawns and place in the fridge for five minutes.

Put the oil and butter in a frying pan and warm to melt the butter,.

Add the prawns and the leftover marinade and cook for three minutes.

Most of the sauce will reduce.

You can reserve them at this stage for use later.

On the day, serve hot garnished with parsley, and offer brown bread and butter.

Main: Goat curry

Blend the onion, garlic and ginger in a food processor to a puree.

Heat the oil in a flame-proof casserole dish, add the onion mix and cook for five minutes.

Add the curry powder, thyme and two teaspoons of salt. Cook for three minutes.

Separately, brown the goat meat in a frying pan.

Then add it to the casserole along with the chopped tomatoes and stock.

Bring to the boil and cook for 10 minutes.

Reduce the heat and simmer for 2 1/2 hours.

Take the lid off for the last 30 minutes.

Add the beans. When they are warmed through (about five minutes), remove the pan from the heat and stir in the lemon juice, and coriander.

This is best served with Jamaican "rice and peas" - which is actually long grain rice and kidney beans (no peas involved!)

Complete the dish with fried plantain.

Dessert: Jamaican mango cheesecake

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Make the crust by mixing all the crust ingredients together and then pressing into the bottom of a spring-form pan.

For the filling, mix the sour cream, cream cheese, eggs salt and vanilla with the zest from one orange and the mango puree.

Beat well with an electric mixer and pour over the crust.

Place in a bain-marie (water bath). The steam will keep the mixture soft. Bake in the oven for 2 1/2 hours at 180C.

(If you do without the bain-marie, you will need to keep checking to make sure you don't burn the top.)

Increase the temperature to 200C for a final 20 minutes

Allow to cool. Serve with fresh cream if desired.

To drink: Jamaican rum punch

Easy! Mix all the ingredients except the fruit slices together in a large jug, add plenty of crushed ice, and finish with the fruit to serve.

Cooking tips

Always measure out all your ingredients before you start. It saves discovering you are short of something at a critical point.

Goose is available from most good butchers at Christmas time, but if you can't get fresh, then a frozen bird from a supermarket will do.

We bought ours from Southborough Butchers, London Road, Southborough, Royal Tunbridge Wells (01892 529757).

Goat is harder to come by, but Southborough Butchers also sell it, as does the Little Farm Fridge Shop in Loose, where Chris Woodhead and Zoe Colville rear and sell their own (07540 490561).