I have used the term ‘serial entertaining’ before in this column to describe the situation where a great deal of entertaining is fitted into a relatively short space of time, and accomplished with ease.

The thought of doing this in little more than the equivalent of a long weekend is more terrifying than the reality. With my plan of action, shopping can be kept to a minimum once you have decided on the main elements of the menu.

This is where creative planning is balanced with careful economy. With just three main ingredients, you can create at least four quite different menus that require the least possible preparation time, yet give the cook a great deal of pleasure. For instance, for summer entertaining I suggest duckling, strawberries and salmon.

My menu plans should be treated as no more than suggestions, however. You might want to use peaches or apricots instead of strawberries, but the same principles apply. Other ingredients readily suggest themselves for this treatment. For example, if you love chocolate, you might like to plan all your desserts autour du chocolat; mousses, truffles, individual warm chocolate cakes, pear and chocolate tart, chocolate sorbet and ice-cream, for example.

If you are someone who stocks the freezer with half carcases of meat, this is the way to use it; elegant noisettes of lamb for one meal, a lamb cobbler or Irish stew for another, shepherd’s pie for the buffet, spiced savoury lamb pasties or stuffed vine leaves for the drinks party. Chicken or rabbit might appeal more than duckling; the recipes can be adapted accordingly. The possibilities are endless and rather than being prescriptive, these suggestions form a blueprint for you to devise your own scheme.

With the three main ingredients I have suggested, you can produce two dinner parties for six to eight people, in which you either plate the main course or present it on a serving platter.

The puddings can be made into individual servings or dished up family-style. The soups, too, can be served in individual bowls, or from a large tureen. The third menu forms a buffet or more casual meal and the fourth consists of small items to serve at a drinks party. Alternatively, these too could form part of a buffet.

Buy four ducks. Use the breasts from three for dinner for six, and the breasts from one for the terrine. This will leave you with legs for a richly flavoured casserole as well as for potted duck to be packed into small ramekins, topped with clarified butter, and served with hot toast. From the carcases, you will be able to produce enough stock to make a large tureen of vichyssoise, borscht, or other vegetable soup to be served chilled as a first course.

A whole salmon produces a tail end with which to make gravadlax, as well as neat fillets to grill or fry. Left-over salmon can be potted, or you might have an alternative use for it. For example, I usually cut up any remaining gravadlax, and stir it into freshly cooked tagliatelle with a little mustard and dill sauce.

It makes a delightful supper. And keep the salmon head and bones to make stock for the souchy. Both it and the sefton are rather unusual salmon dishes, the souchy being an old English dish similar to the Flemish waterzooi, and the sefton not unlike a flan. You can, of course, serve simply grilled salmon fillets.

Strawberries, of course, lend themselves to a variety of different recipes, of which I have suggested four. And if in doubt, simply serve a huge basket of deliciously ripe but firm fruit, with, as accompaniments, a bowl of light muscovado sugar and one of cream.

Even nicer if you can arrange for everyone to have their own basket of strawberries and small bowls of cream and sugar. This turns a very simple idea into an elegant treat.

Menu suggestions for the first dinner party:

Duck consommé with vegetables and miniature herb dumplings or duck and pistachio terrine
Sefton of salmon, served with a large bowl of lettuce and herb salad
Strawberry tart or cheesecake

For the next dinner, serve:
Souchy of salmon with Parmesan crisps
Grilled marinated duck breasts with cherry and balsamic sauce, chive-mashed potatoes and grilled vegetables
Strawberry sorbet or ice cream with almond crisps

For the third meal, a buffet, serve:
Gravadlax or cured salmon
Duck and olive casserole with new potatoes
Eton Mess

For a drinks party, serve some or all of the following:
Miniature fish cakes
Slivers of cured salmon
Salmon tartare
Chilled brandade of salmon on hot toast
Potted duck
Canapés topped with grilled vegetables
Individual strawberry tarts, strawberry fritters or shot glasses of strawberry and raspberry fool