Summertime and the livin' is easy

Fashion designer Adrian Hailwood. Photo / Glenn Jeffrey

Five of our favourite Aucklanders share what they have planned for the holidays...

Geoff Scott
Vinnies Restaurant

I'll be spending Christmas ... having a huge Kiwi summer lunch with my wife Jane and her extended family, followed by an even bigger Scott family get-together.

I'd love to find under the Christmas tree with my name on it ... a decent pair of gardening gloves - you know, that will last the whole year!

This Christmas I'll be serving up ... my grandmother's meringues - she was the unmatched queen of meringues. It's my first attempt and I have huge shoes to fill. They'll be served as one of the pudding offerings, best with whipped cream sticking two halves together, vanilla ice-cream and perfectly ripe strawberries.

I'll be decorating the tree with ... our boys Sam, 5 and Oliver, 3, who got on to this on the first of December; Zara, 1, was looking on. We have a huge brown paper bag with all the tree decorations, old ones and new ones, the old ones all have stories to them, we can't throw them out even though some have been super-glued and are chipped.

My Christmas Day outfit will be ... very child-proof: shorts, matching T-shirt and flip-flops.

My family traditions are ... presents, church, lunch, more presents, I get asked to play carols on the trumpet, everyone sings, now the kids join in and we have quite a band going, laid-back dinner, evening outdoor games, reflective chat and a drink, bed!

How I'll be spending the holidays ... I'm cooking at Vinnies, Dec 29-31, then we're closed for two weeks, camping for the first time ever with my boys, then joining Jane and Zara for a good old fourth-generation family bach, beach holiday.

I'll be packing ... heaps of insect repellent, Havana cigars, single malt, windsurfer and a large Spanish salami for the fridge.

I'll be cooking ... outdoors and hopefully fresh scallops, if I can free-dive for some at low tide, any fresh fish, and I love adding a few manuka twigs to the barbecue when I'm cooking. (See recipe below).

Games we always play ... Go Home, Stay Home - the ultimate kids' outdoor game, played on the grass verge and into one or two of the neighbouring gardens - find a suitable "base", define the boundaries, one person counts to 20, the others hide. Once caught, the person "in" shouts "go home, stay home" and you return to base. But ... you can be "freed", and it all starts over again! My favourite night-time adult game is "Cranium" - just don't ask me ever to hum John Lennon's Imagine.

Books I'll be reading ... Nancy Wake by Peter Fitzsimons - I'm fascinated about what New Zealanders went through in the World Wars, this is the true story of one of our heroines.

Greg Murrell
Ryder Salon

I'd love to find under the Christmas tree with my name on it ... a Vena Amoris - the hand candle by D.L. & Co from Black Box Boutique, which is a stunning candle replica of a human hand. Vena Amoris is Latin, meaning "vein of love". Traditional belief established that this vein ran directly from the heart to the fourth finger of the left hand.

I'll be serving up ... I've recently become obsessed with the book Living and Eating by the famed minimalist architect John Pawson and food writer Annie Bell. Available from Flotsam and Jetsam. My favourite recipe is Tomato, Red Pepper and Anchovy Salad. (See recipe below).

I'll be decorating the house with ... I generally like my home to look as un-Christmas-like as possible. It's a refuge from the commercialisation of it all. As a small concession, I do like to spread "Kivi" candleholders by Iittala around and light tea-lights in them. They create a nice mood.

I'll be buying last-minute treats at ... Sabato. Flamigni chocolate-coated nougat is the most delectable guilty pleasure that seems just right for Christmas time.

I'll be giving ... bottles of Dada1 wine, books, fragrance. World Beauty stores have an amazing collection of fragrances.

Hmmm, somebody in my family must want the new book on Maison Martin Margiela by Rizzoli like I do! I'm also thinking that my mother must by now be really wanting a new pet budgie.

My Christmas Day outfit will be ... a white beard and a red hat.

I'll be spending the holidays ... To kick things off a big day is planned at the Boxing Day races at Ellerslie.

After that, the mission of learning to surf as an adult will be continuing. In January I'm going to Nelson to spend time in the countryside with good friends. Ahhh, the good life.

I'll be packing ... a bottle of Tanqueray 10 Gin, plenty of books, sunscreen and a few pairs of shorts. I love the simplicity of life during summer holidays. Don't we all?

These holidays I'll be cooking ... from Living and Eating again, Chicken Breasts in Vinaigrette with Pine Nuts and Raisins. I would serve this dish for dinner together with a tomato salad recipe.

Games we always play ... a good one is called: "How long does it take to empty that bottle of Gin". It is a perfect game for a languid lazy summer afternoon.

Books I'll be reading ... American Rust by Philipp Meyer. The story of the tarnishing of the American dream, this has been sitting in a pile waiting for my attention for a while.

Jacqui Dixon
Sabato

I will be spending Christmas Day ... at home with various friends and family, cooking, eating, drinking and wearing those fabulous Christmas cracker hats.

Under the Christmas tree I'd love to find ... anything really. A pile of books and foot massage vouchers - by this stage of the year foot massages are a necessity!

My Christmas makeup essentials are ... a lively shade of M.A.C lipstick, eye pencil and studiofix foundation. They seem to cover most signs of battle fatigue.

I'll be decorating the tree with ... an assortment of decorations we have bought or been given over the years, including a fairy for the top. The kids (not so little now) are the chief decorators and are big on lights so we have a couple of sets with twinkly patterns. Our rather large tabby cat seems to enjoy the personal challenge of clawing any he can reach but hasn't managed to topple the tree yet (though he is working on it).

I'll be buying last minute treats at ... Sabato. Of course! Happily we have a huge selection of artisan confectionery people love, including nougat, gianduja and rhum nougat (to name a few) - and in our freezer we now have some great cocktail food like little smoked paprika and cheese gougeres which you pop into an oven and are ready to serve minutes later with the moreish piquillo pimiento dip or white bean dip we make. Easy entertaining.

My Christmas Day outfit will be ... something beautiful from Wallace Rose on Jervois Rd. I love her clothes. Feminine and very wearable (often for years).

My family traditions are ... Flamigni or Fiasconaro panettone in the morning with a drop of Adami Prosecco - sometimes made into a proper Peach Bellini using the red peach nectar from Alain Milliat, followed later by a traditional Christmas dinner, which I love. As there are quite a few of us, everyone brings something: we do the turkey and ham, another does lamb, another a large fruit salad and the pudding is my 84-year-old father-in-law's job. It's all very communal and lots of fun.

These holidays I'll be cooking ... lots of fish - which, of course will be freshly caught! Delicious splashed with Forum chardonnay vinegar. And salads dressed with our oils and vinegars - a splash each of the Colonna mandarin-infused oil and Giusti balsamic is delicious over tomatoes and a bit of rocket.

Games we play ... "possum" is my favourite one at that time of year.

Books I'll be reading ... I intend to start with Peta Mathias' latest, Just in Time to be too Late - I enjoy her social commentary. And despite all the fuss about Witi Ihimaera's The Trowenna Sea, I hear it is a very readable history, so that is on my list too. Otherwise it is whatever is amusing but not taxing.

Angela Redfern
Ripe Deli

I'll be spending Christmas ... with family, and meeting friends later at the lovely Pt Chevalier beach.

I'd love to find under the Christmas tree ... my nieces from England.

I'll be serving up ... some Ripe salads, we are having a pot-luck lunch getting everyone involved and keeping it simple.

My Christmas beauty essentials are ... using a great tinted SPF 30 moisturiser Emergin C Face cream from Jess at The Beauty Room.

I'll be decorating the house with ... not much this year - my beautiful puppy is eating everything.

I'll be giving ... everybody at Ripe a gift to say thankyou for all their hard work, and all the favourite kiddies in my world a wee pressie, too. This year we have been supporting Mercy Hospice with food parcels, a great organisation with some very special people working and volunteering there.

My Christmas Day outfit will be ... hopefully shorts, Jandals and a singlet because it's going to be hot!

My family traditions are ... presents in the morning, a lovely big lunch followed by a summer afternoon siesta.

How I'll be spending the holidays ... sailing with good friends, which I'm very excited about.

I'll be packing ... one of Lynn's Ripe Christmas cakes, and a nice bottle of sherry.

These holidays I'll be cooking ... Peri Peri Chicken from Westmere Butchery - so delicious and easy with quinoa and summer roasted vegetables. Hopefully lots of fresh fish that we'll be catching, serving it ceviche style, It's still my favourite.

Games we always play ... a good game of 500, that's on the cards

Activities we'll be doing ... lots of walks and floating on a Lilo.

Books I'll be reading ... The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood, Running with Wolves and Baking Cakes in Kigali, all from The Women's Bookshop.

Adrian Hailwood
Designer

I'll be spending Christmas ... flying home on Christmas Eve to Lower Hutt where I spend a week with Mum, Dad, the sister and her family. I spend the week eating, reading, eating and more eating. (Starting jen4men in my New Year's must-do list.)

I'd love to find under the Christmas tree with my name on it ... a box of dark chocolates and a book that tells a good yarn.

I'll be serving up ... Dad does the seafood barbecue brunch (scollies and cray), mum does the beef eye fillet or Chrissy ham for dinner and I add the rest: Maddy Richards' roast spuds (see recipes below), and for Christmas pud, trifle.

If you can be trusted, make it the night before but it's always a challenge not to eat it before it hits the deck for Chrissy day.

My Christmas beauty essentials are ... all about the sun block for my slightly albino tinged skin.

You can't go wrong with Dermalogica's men's face block 15. I also use their men's shaving series, of calming balm, shave cream and moisturiser. It's the best. And Kiel's pineapple and papaya face scrub will make your skin zing.

I'll be decorating the house with ... fresh cherries and loads of pine needles trampled about the place by the kids, dogs, cat and parrot.

I'll be giving ... some fancy as clothes from my store for the grown-ups and I found a cool as tepee/tunnel tent for my 7-year-old nephew.

My Christmas Day outfit will be ... navy Ralph Lauren T-shirt, white dockers and pink boat shoes ... not!

My family traditions are ... dressing the tree with old decorations (mangled half-dog-eaten paper mache ones I and the sis made when once young). I used to buy a full set of wigs for the whole family to wear in the morning and haven't done it for a while so it's time to bring that tradition back.

Mum does a great Diana Ross and Dad does an okay Isaac from The Love Boat, the sister will be hating this - ha.

I'll be spending the holidays ... a week in Wellington and a week in Auckland (Waiheke having a tipple with friends, etc) and then Hong Kong and China for work. New Year's Eve party at Tania Louise's and Cory's.

I'll be packing ... a good sweater, some slacks and more boat shoes, and Bassett's licorice all-sorts.

Books I'll be reading ... I love re-reading anything by Roald Dahl for light-hearted reading in the hammock.

Get cooking

Barbecue scallops with pineapple & mint salsa

½ cup diced fresh pineapple
¼ cup finely chopped red onion
½ fresh red chilli finely chopped
2 Tbs chopped fresh mint leaves
2 Tbs olive oil
18 scallops

Gently mix the pineapple, onion, chilli and mint together. Just before serving, season with a little sea salt and mix in the olive oil.

For the scallops, heat the barbecue until very hot. Toss the scallops in a bowl with a good pinch of salt and oil. Cook on one side till caramelised, then flip over and take care not to overcook.

Serve with a simple green salad dressed with lemon vinaigrette. The scallops may be substituted with prawns, snapper or any other fresh seafood or shellfish.

Tomato, red pepper and anchovy salad

450g cherry tomatoes on vine
Extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt, black pepper
3 red peppers
1 large avocado
100g green olives, pitted
75g salted anchovies
50g rocket leaves

Preheat oven to 220C, fan oven 200C. Place tomatoes in a small roasting dish, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Put roasting dish in oven and lay the peppers on a rack underneath. Roast for 20 minutes. Leave tomatoes to cool for an hour.

Place peppers in a bowl, cover with cling film and allow to cool. Working over the bowl to catch any juices, remove cores from peppers, slip off skins and remove the seeds.

Tear peppers into wide strips and return to bowl. Remove tomatoes from the stalk using a fork, leaving them sitting in juices in the dish. Quarter avocado, peel off skin and slice flesh.

Toss peppers, tomatoes and avocado with olives, anchovies and rocket leaves in bowl. Include tomato and pepper juices.


Maddy Richards' roast spuds

Place peeled and cut spuds pre-boiled in a deep roasting dish and pour half a cup of fresh chicken stock and half a cup of olive oil over them and season. (Works well with vege stock, also.)

Cook on slow for 1-2 hours. They are the best roast spuds ever, serve with fresh baby peas and parsnip whip (mashed with butter and milk).