Welcome to Christmas
Office party booked? Sequinned sartorial selection on order? Bublé on repeat? It’s here people! We’ve mere weeks until the big day, so let’s embrace all the turkey, tinsel and trifle while we can.
Let us be your essential guide to making this busy period of entertaining and feasting go with a bang. So, get menu planning with our easy, crowd-pleasing canapés, starters and sides. For the main event itself, we’ve turkey two ways – a classic sage and onion butter-basted crown, and a jerk-spiced whole bird with stuffing and gravy – as well as a contender for the best veggie centrepiece we’ve ever done.
We know you love to experiment when it comes to the sweet stuff – and whether you like them retro (sherry trifle cheesecake), showstopping (thank you, Edd Kimber, for your After Eight cake) or giftable (Baileys dark and white chocolate truffles, anyone?), we’ve all the inspiration right here. Make-ahead fans, we’ve got you covered, too. Just flick to our handy recipe index on page 145, where everything you can prep in advance is clearly labelled.
There’s a bumper guide to stress-free midweek meals, for before and after Christmas Day, along with festive cocktails that will suit every Yuletide mood (be it a snifter for a cold winter walk, prebottled to offer at a party, or something decadent to bring the whole shebang to a close).
We’ve, of course, also got our usual travel features, from the Lake District to Paris to NYC and the Philippines – so make the most of your time off and indulge in some holiday planning. And, we reveal the results of our Christmas Supermarket Awards (don’t miss our new categories, including ready-made beef wellingtons) and our Chef Awards, which sees your local food heroes recognised.
So join us in all the joy and cheer, and get rosy-cheeked from too many Christmas godfathers. Here’s to a very merry Christmas.