KEY POINTS:
Chefs and foodies offer some tips for a quick and easy Christmas dinner dish and imbibing experts recommend something to wash it down with.
1 Whole roast sirloin with pepper and cumin rub cooked on the barbecue is easy and feeds a crowd, says Cibo co-owner and chef Kate Fay. Serve with baby potatoes, rocket salad and asparagus. Start with dips, breads and duck liver parfait, and a simple fruit jelly or a cheeseboard for desert.
2 For something impressive it's hard to go past whitebait fritters, says Geoff Scott from Vinnies. Mix a pottle of whitebait with one whole egg, a pinch of flour, pinch of fresh herbs, salt and pepper and gently fry. Serve with extra virgin olive oil and a squeeze of lemon.
3 To guarantee a moist turkey, Peter Thornley of Bracu recommends soaking it in salted water (10g salt to one litre water) for five hours before cooking as do Italian chefs.
4 As an alternative to the traditional pud or trifle, combine your favourite berries and cherries in a bowl and top with brandy butter (whip butter in a blender, add icing sugar and brandy), says Tara Brogan, of West Lynn cafe Savour and Devour.
5 Pop a pork roast in the oven instead of a turkey or ham as it needs less attention during cooking, says Anne Thorp from Kai Ora TV. She recommends roasting the pork with thyme and fennel seeds and serving with crispy sage for a modern, easy Christmas dish.
6 Simon McGoram, at Mea Culpa, has devised the Princeton Smash as a Christmas afternoon cocktail. You'll need 45ml Plymouth gin, 15ml Aperol (or Campari), 6 lime wedges, 10ml sugar syrup and about five South Island cherries, pitted and marinated over night in port, cinnamon and star anise. Muddle cherries, lime wedges and sugar in a mixing glass, add alcohol, shake with crushed ice, pour into a tumbler and garnish with fresh cherries.
7 Josselin de Gesincourt, sommelier of Langham Hotel's Partingtons restaurant, recommends these wine matches. With lamb - pinot noir from central Otago or Marlborough. With ham and turkey - cabernet sauvignon or syrah, or a malbec or tempranillo. Go with rose, bubbles then still for Boxing Day.
8 Canvas magazine wine guy John Saker says bubbles are best served at 5-7C, so take them from the fridge 15 minutes before drinking. Top up half-empty flutes to keep them cool - it's what the French do.
9 Another day, another cocktail, Mea Culpa's McGoram's chooses the Pistoleer for Boxing Day - "a classy wee number."
Rim a flute by rubbing it with an orange piece and dipping it in apple dust (made by grinding freeze-dried apples with castor sugar). Put the sugar cube in the flute and add a few drops of bitters, then the Pommeau de Normandie, topped with bubbly.
10 When it all gets too much and you need a cup of tea and a lie-down, Frances Loo, owner of Chapter Ltd tea and books cafe in Mt Eden, suggests peppermint herbal, South African rooibos or honeybush tea, all of which help with digestion.
