In today's Bite: Happy holidays

Chicken thighs, steak and mushroom and Ray McVinnie's salade tropicale. Photos / Bite magazine

Find all your favourite bits from today's Bite magazine online. Follow the hyperlinks in Jo Elwin's editor's letter and lose yourself in bite.co.nz.

I know you are all stuck in the middle of Christmas preparations right now but, for the last issue of Bite until January 18, we have moved into summer holiday mode so you have plenty to inspire you post-Christmas.

The Bite team took a trip to Hawke's Bay in November so we could set the scene for this holiday issue. No hardship staying at Poplars 7 - the newest home in the Black Barn Retreat portfolio. It was from this luxurious base in the Tuki Tuki Valley that we cruised back and forth wining and dining at many of the Food and Wine Classic (FAWC) events happening at that time.

FAWC ambassador, Ray McVinnie, served these chicken thighs stuffed with black olive and anchovy butter with roasted cherry tomatoes and steamed asparagus at a pop-up dinner that concentrated on using local produce and real food, in the tradition that American chef Alice Waters established back in the 1980s. He served his truly deluxe version of steak and mushrooms at a long lunch under the trees at the Hastings Farmers Market that was followed by Paolo Pancotti's dessert of fresh ricotta and honey cooked in terracotta pots on the barbecue - simply delicious.

Ray's salade tropicale will be featuring regularly on my summer holiday menu too.

Mushroom salad. Photo / Bite magazine

We also shopped for lots of produce from the markets, stores and roadside stalls, convening back in the kitchen to cook shared meals to relax over. Warren Elwin turned baskets of fresh veg and fruit in to a set of summer salads that you'll want to keep on hand for the holiday. Bistronomy is a hot, new Napier restaurant and chef/owner James Beck is sharing some recipes from his summer menu with us here.

Summer salads by Warren Elwin. Photo / Bite magazine

We have two new columnists starting with us this week. Kylee Newton is a New Zealander based in London running her company Newton & Pott - makers of desirable preserves. Kylee will be sharing recipes with us, starting with her cranberry, port and orange sauce that we can make here for Christmas using frozen cranberries. Will Eaglesfield, executive chef of No5 Church Lane and Eichardt's, is British-born, living in Queenstown and is a man of many talents. His world-wide search for traditional New Year dishes is an inspirational and entertaining read.

Don't forget you will find everything you need for Christmas in our Christmas recipe collections and we will be featuring more of our favourite recipes daily.