Wishing you a joyous, peaceful and fun festive break.

	This is my last communication before I put the pans away for a few weeks and have a break at the beach. Although I usually say this the pans are never really far from reach - but this year they truly will be left on the shelves as I will be experimenting with my brother Colin's wood-fired oven, and we'll be looking to do more than pizzas. I'm hoping for blue skies and sunshine, and just a few splashes of rain to keep the garden green, and plenty of fish. It's what I ask for every year but given the track record (especially with the latter) I'll just make do with whatever I'm dished up. In this part of the world January will see the start of the fresh sweet corn season. Stonefruit will be in full swing, as will berries (strawberries will be past it and asparagus quality dropping). It's the time to get creative with salads – sometimes all it takes to lift a salad is a squeeze of lime and a handful of fresh herbs. Our garden patch is pretty full at the moment and it looks like we will have a small crop of potatoes for Christmas day. There's loads of tarragon this year and all the thymes and sage have taken off, too. And I'm keen on my new salad greens, especially one called 'drunken woman'; and another called 'speckles'. Both have splashes or tinges of red which liven up an otherwise green salad. The tomatoes are just starting to turn red, so I guess our 'house minders' will profit from our hard work as they look after the garden while we are away. The pine tree is up, the lights twinkling, and my family of elves, small white velvet deer and large wooden reindeer from my local Trade Aid shop, are in place ready to greet any visitors to the house. The countdown has begun! I'm serving a Freedom farm free-range ham for Christmas this year, and baby poussins – I've cooked several turkeys for magazine shoots the last few months and fancy a change. The rest of the menu is traditional though as my 97 year-old dad likes his fresh peas and garden beans, and everyone loves meringues and berries. I've put some of my favourite Christmas recipes on the site – including the ham that I cooked for Luciano Pavarotti. He raved about it and asked for the recipe, so take it from the big man himself, e molto buono. I should also mention that NZ residents can tune in to National Radio this Friday at 3.05pm on Jim Mora's show Fresh Fast Food where I'll be doing more Christmas recipes (international residents can catch it on this site on the following Monday), and that on Friday 19th December I will be on TV3 with John Campbell on Campbell Live cooking up a feast with the cast of Outrageous Fortune (a multi-award winning local show). All that's left to do is to wish you and yours a truly joyous, peaceful and fun festive break. Thanks for spending the last few months with me. Please feel free to contact me with any suggestions for this site and newsletter. I'd love to hear from you. See you in 2009! Cheers, Julie
	Recipe Stash
			Pavarotti's Glazed Ham with Seville Oranges This is the very ham I served to Luciano Pavarotti when he visited Auckland in 1999, the one which he pronounced 'magnifico!', and the very one he devoured with such delight after which he hugged me and pleaded for la ricetta (the recipe).
			Turkey Breast in Verjuice with Green Grapes and Almonds The match of tarragon and chicken is a classic, and it works a treat with turkey too. Lemon, verjuice, cream, grapes and almonds are the main flavours in this dish.
			Quick Mince Pies These are just the ticket for those who find commercial mincemeat mixtures too sweet and glaggy. Get yourself ahead and make the fruit mince 2-3 days before making the pies, but hold back on the almonds as they'll soften, and add them when you make the pies.
			Cucumber & Pepper Salad This colorful salad has quite a chili kick which livens up ham, turkey, pork and fish. If serving it with spicy food, leave out the chili.
			Green Beans with Cashews Thyme, cashews and beans may seem an unlikely combination, but they’re delicious. The shallots and beans can both be cooked ahead; just reheat them gently before serving. More Christmas recipes
			Appearances: Fresh Fast Food Listen to prior appearances on Fresh Fast Food.
			Julie Biuso's Sizzle Wins "Best Of The Best" At Gourmand Ceremony Sizzle Named Best BBQ Book In the History of the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards