Ed’s letter
CHRISTMAS IS THE MOST intriguing dichotomy of tradition and dining anarchy. Of excess, then penance (if FebFast is not reparation, then I don’t know what is). It is a charming mishmash of rituals that demand you break all the rules you set all year; moderation is a dirty word and anything, almost, is acceptable. We spend all year trying to save time and do things quickly; at Christmas, when we eat, drink, cook and prepare, we’ll spend hours, maybe months on customs like turkeys and puddings. For the most part, I find this time of year so very pleasurable. Eggnog on the eve that leads into Champagne breakfasts; seafood, ham and rosé for lunch; and the good whisky for dinner is really my kind of life.
However, while this issue should help make your (Christmas) day, it should also take you well into the months of summer entertaining and beyond. The hardest thing you will have to do is make a decision: Matt Preston’s menu or Matt Moran’s? My solution is to do both, just on different days, of course. The delicious. team has sorted mains, sides, meringues, trifles and leftovers, with a helping hand from Shannon Bennett’s family favourites and Jamie Oliver’s seafood selections.
Summer is, of course, the season of entertaining and travel. David Moyle, just back from Mexico and manning newly opened Longsong in Melbourne, gives us his fresh and inventive take on seafood and seasonal flavours, perfect for casual dining, while Matt Wilkinson works chips and dips in his inimitable way. We piggyback on Silvia Colloca’s tour of Tuscany, and scope out hotspot Beirut as well as some major redevelopment on the Gold Coast, which is not-so-patiently awaiting its time in the sun hosting the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
What will I be doing? Dragging out that punchbowl (or, more likely, enjoying the excuse to buy a new one) and filling it with one of Phoebe Wood’s recipes on page 146, particularly the rhubarb, pomegranate and kombucha punch. Kombucha and gin – the ultimate contradiction; one cancels the other out. How very Christmas!