MENU dorset issue 12 issue 12 | Page 3

MENU C is s ue twe lv e DORSET hristmas is a time for sharing. We recommend sharing this issue of Menu with the present buyer in your life. Why risk getting novelty socks when you could be opening something delicious from Dorset or a piece of kitchen kit that you lust after? Maybe leave your mag casually open at page 25 where our gift guide for food lovers kicks off. A similar strategy worked for me with an Atari VCS and the Argos catalogue in Christmas ’79. The festive season is also a time for cooking. Perhaps too much cooking, if you’re the designated chef in your household. The key is to reduce stove stress so you can actually sit down with your family 3 and friends and enjoy the big day. We have some alternatives to worrying about the turkey which will impress anyone sat at your dining table (see p45), plus the definitive guide to many’s Christmas dinner nemesis – the Brussels sprout (p8). Or relax instead with a tea mulled cider (p48), much nicer than that mulled wine which gives you a hangover even as you drink it. We also have a classy red champagne cocktail for you (p62) and our new Seasoned Drinkers continue the party on page 65. Food, drinks, presents? It’s beginning Robin Alway Group Editor to feel a lot like Christmas. Have a delicious one from everyone here at Menu! Contributors Nick Marshall Nick helped put together our gift guide this issue, tracking down expert’s Christmas lists without once enquiring whether they’d been naughty or nice. Two Thirsty Gardeners Tom East Meet Rich Hood and Nick Moyle, our new Seasoned Drinkers. They’ve arrived just in time to spread quality booze and good will to all men. A Brussels sprout lover, Tom goes all out to persuade the haters why it’s up there with pigs in blankets as classic Christmas dinner fare. www.menu-dorset.co.uk Alison Smith Alison has been eating out across the county and picking her perfect foodie gifts. The way to her heart? A day long fishing trip and a box of chocolates!