Get festive with the Nov/Dec issue of TASTE!

The latest issue of TASTE is here and it’s our biggest issue ever! We share 82 recipes that will help make this festive season epic. As always, food director Abigail Donnelly shares her Christmas menu, which features air fryer gammon, a chocolate puff tower and much more. Other Christmas menus include deputy food editor Khanya Mzongwana’s veg forward selection, contributor Phillippa Cheifitz’s sharing a platters menu and a farm-to-table menu courtesy of the owners of Vygie Kitchen and Dining Room. Contributing food editor, Hannah Lewry shares salad recipes that work for every occasion and we share fantastic brunch recipes that will make your holiday mornings even more special.

You can get your issue at your local Woolworths, plus it is available for digital download via zinio.com and magzter.com. Whichever way you get your copy of TASTE, here is what you can look forward to in the issue:

SUBSCRIBE AND WIN

Subscribe to TASTE, save 25% (pay just R213 for six issues) and you could win a REN Clean Skincare hamper, worth R5 385.

SIX EASY WAYS TO SUBSCRIBE

1. Call 087 353 1300. This number can also be called for renewals.
2. For international subscriptions, call 021 065 0033.
3. SMS “TASTE” to 32361.
4. WhatsApp “TASTE” to 087 353 1333.
5. EMAIL subs@media24.com.
6. For digital subscriptions, visit zinio.com or magzter.com.

ALL YOU NEED FOR CHRISTMAS

Our gift to you this year? A sensational holiday feast with all the hard work done for you! This issue features four menus – a party buffet, casual family classics, next-level Christmas, and even a meat-free feast – each with a QR code. The codes will help you shop the ingredients for the WHOLE menu of your choice (already basketed on Woolies’ website), then visit the TASTE Christmas hub to get step-by-step hints, tips and a prep schedule leading up to the big day!

Go to the TASTE Chrismas hub here. 

TABLE TALK

Whether you’re cooking at home or heading out to explore, here’s what’s hot in the food world right now:

• French 75, but make it party-sized: Contributing food ed Khanya Mzongwana has nailed the brief with this fizzy, citrusy bowl of gin and Cap Classique punch. Get the recipe here.
• On our radar: Want to go the home-made gift route this year? You’re going to want to make browned coconut butter. Learn how to make browned coconut butter here and Download your readymade gift tag here.
• Old school cool: Not that it ever really went anywhere, but Neapolitan ice cream is the dessert world’s current comeback kid.
• Anatomy of a dish: Don’t have the confidence to throw together a festive cheeseboard on the fly? Cue Woolies’ expertly curated artisanal cheese stack and a selection of fresh summer fruit. Now you have yourself a party

DECK THE HALLS

This year, Abigail Donnelly’s signature menu has a touch of nostalgia (yes, even with an air-fryer) as she shares her most-loved family traditions – from a retro-cool chateaubriand to a semifreddo studded with Christmas cake and cherries.

JUST A TRIFLE TRIFLE

Is it even Christmas without a trifle? We think not. Abigail Donnelly ups the stakes with the likes of panettone and roasted strawberries, Chuckles ice cream with mince pies and wobbly red jelly with poached nectarines, just like her nana used to make.

FARM TO STABLE

This festive season, book a table at Vygie Kitchen and Dining Room, set on Oaklands Farm near Wellington, and treat the people you love to a true celebration of family-style food.

SALAD WAYS

Need a moveable feast for a beach picnic? Tomatoes and chilli crisp. Or to soak up sundowners with friends? Chicken burger salad! Hannah Lewry has six salads to suit every occasion this summer.

SHARE OPTIONS

If you’re hosting, Phillippa Cheifitz’s legendary crispy latkes, hands-off slow roast lamb and bright salad platters make for the ultimate sharing menu. Make it ahead (you hero!) or get each of your guests to bring a dish to the buffet.

GREEN DAY

A plant-forward Christmas menu? It can be done! From an all-veg Wellington to a new take on a corn bake, Khanya Mzongwana has created dishes even omnivores will love.

MAINS OF THE DAY

The easy way to feed a crowd when the oven is full? Fire up the braai for your second main. Try Abigail Donnelly’s stuffed rib-eye, masala snoek or retro beer-can chicken and you might find your gammon taking a back seat.

FAMILY SIDES

We all have that family member whose dish completes the festive table. The TASTE team delved into some dog-eared cookbooks and handwritten notes to find the dishes that conjure memories of Christmases past.

BRUNCH GOALS

You’re on holiday – so rise and shine! Whether you’re using up festive leftovers or have people coming over for Bloody Marys and brunch, this is the one time of year you can give breakfast the attention it deserves. Now do it.

FROM SANTA WITH LOVE

Who wouldn’t prefer a jar of home-made pickles or a batch of rum-spiked rusks to a pair of socks? Add a little personalised cheer to your stocking fillers this year with Khanya Mzongwana’s edible gifts – good enough to go viral.

THE BACK PAGE

Our host with the most (literally) Mogau Sheshoene, a.k.a. The Lazy Makoti is back on TASTETube over the festive season, showing us how to whip up a showstopping custard-and-strawberry cake and these individually served trifles. And why play it safe when you can raise your trifle game with Mogau’s very own ginger beer scones? Find the recipe here.