Taste Magazine December 2009 issue

This Christmas, Taste has the perfect celebration for you and your family. For those of you wanting to eschew the traditional, chef Luca Villari has created an Italian-inspired garden lunch that is stylish and delicious, while food editor Julie Biuso serves up a tropical feast. The Taste team swooned over Julie’s prawn nibbles which are served on watermelon cubes enlivened with a sweet/sour/salty sauce. There’s also Asian-flavoured barbecued lamb and a divine ice cream cake.

Food writer Sarah Bowman offers two elegant menus (beef and duck breasts) for smaller groups not wanting to be left with mounds of turkey and ham on Boxing Day. Then again, when there is lots of visiting family, leftovers can be a godsend. We cater for that, too, with our 14-page special section of must-have Christmas recipes, tips and techniques. It’s the sort of guide that you’ll want to bring out each year. It includes three recipes for the big bird: roasted and barbecued and stuffed turkey roll. There are other mains, ham, Christmas pudding and fruit cake (both last-minute versions) and even a recipe for your own marzipan. Banish thoughts of the overly-strong, fake yellow stuff and cloak your cake with this instead! Still on the traditional track, we have baked festive treats and dishes to make-ahead to have on hand for when friends pop in over the holidays.

No Kiwi Christmas would be complete without berries and you’ll want to make our desserts all summer long. Look out, as well, for our foodie kits to assemble for kids — they are the perfect gift and will ensure you have a keen helper in the kitchen in years to come…