How to have a stress-free Christmas in the kitchen
Five tips for peaceful, happy holiday cooking1 Keep it tidyIt doesn’t matter how many work surfaces you have, it is still possible to make a real mess cooking Christmas lunch. Clearing as much clutter...
View ArticleOFM awards 2014 best cheap eats: runners-up
Great food for under £15 a head: OFM readers’ best value choices from around the UKFranco MancaSourdough pizza with delectably chewy crusts and simple, well sourced toppings and daily specials. Eight...
View ArticleOFM awards 2014 best ethical restaurant: runners-up
Whether it’s for the fair traded food, charitable giving or community involvement, these are readers’ choices from across the countryGrain StoreVegetables are the star of the show at chef Bruno...
View ArticleFrom foams to foraging, food trends are as silly – and enjoyable – as any...
Here’s my prediction for 2015. There will be food. Some of it will be horrible. Some of it will be really nice. Just get on with itRecently a woman asked me, with a squeaky roll of her eye balls, what...
View ArticleChristmas gifts for food lovers: presents for the Bake Off fan
Guaranteed showstoppers, every timePhotographs by Katherine Anne Rose for Observer Food MonthlyContinue reading...
View ArticleChristmas gifts for food lovers: presents for the domestic goddess
What to buy the cook who has everythingPhotographs by Katherine Anne RoseContinue reading...
View ArticleChristmas gifts for food lovers: presents for the Master Chef
Add a professional touch to any kitchenPhotographs by Katherine Anne Rose for Observer Food MonthlyContinue reading...
View ArticleObserver Food Monthly: the best thing I ate in 2014
Contributors including Nigella Lawson and Jamie Oliver share the best thing they ate this year, from shiso-leaf noodles to live langoustineBanana peel ice-creamMassimo BotturaChef patron, Osteria...
View ArticleTaste test: Christmas cakes & mince pies
Traditional fruit cakes, stollen, gingerbread and more tasted and rated for Observer Food Monthly Ottolenghi Christmas CakeApprox 500g, £15, ottolenghi.co.ukI like that it’s stripped back. The torched...
View ArticleTaste test: Christmas cheeses
Cheddars, bries, stiltons and more rated for Observer Food MonthlyMarks & Spencer 3-Year-Old Cornish Cruncher300g, £3.75, marksandspencer.comThis is my favourite. The way it crumbles is nice. It’s...
View Article20 best red wines for Christmas
High street bargains and high-end marvels, chosen by the Observer’s wine writerAldi The Exquisite Collection Minarete Ribera del Duero, Spain(£5.99, Aldi)From the Ribera del Duero, home to some of...
View ArticleDavid Tanis’s Mediterranean winter feast
Moroccan-spiced lamb, pan-roasted parsnips, almond honey cake – these brilliant Mediterranean recipes add spice to the Christmas seasonIf you’re planning a holiday gathering, it can be quite nice to...
View Article10 best Christmas fizz and fortified wines
Sparkling wines, sherry and port, selected by the Observer’s wine writerTesco Finest Pignoletto, Emilia Romagna, Italy NV(£8.99, Tesco)In the same stylistic ballpark as prosecco – and capable of...
View ArticleIndia Knight: I’ve a deep mistrust of people who dislike cheese
The author and journalist talks about bonding with her father over steak tartare and how food plays an integral part in all her novelsI don’t eat while I write but I bung something in the oven and...
View ArticleTaste test: Christmas lunch
Turkeys, stuffing, Christmas pudding and brandy butter, rated for Observer Food MonthlyMarks & Spencer Pembrokeshire Free Range£10 per kg, marksandspencer.comLovely golden crown. Very moist....
View ArticleThe 20 best food books of 2014
Observer Food Monthly’s picks of the year – get one for the cook in your life1 Plenty More Yotam Ottolenghi(Ebury, £27; click here to buy it from Guardian Bookshop for £17)Like 2010’s global...
View ArticleNigel Slater’s Christmas fruit and nut recipes
Fruit and nuts are the essence of Christmas cooking. Try partridge with clementines or pie filled with dried apricots, peaches and prunesPhotographs by Jonathan Lovekin for Observer Food MonthlyAll...
View ArticleWelcome to part two of Observer Food Monthly’s Christmas special
In our second guide to the perfect Christmas, find even more brilliant recipes, plus a round-up of the year’s best food books and the most memorable meals eatenWhat was the best thing you ate this...
View Article20 best white wines for Christmas
From supermarket bargains to high-end treats, the Observer wine critic picks his festive highlightsMorrisons Signature Grüner Veltliner, Austria 2013(£6.99, Morrisons)A little green herb, and lots of...
View ArticleLen Deighton’s Observer cookstrips, Michael Caine and the 1960s
Novelist Len Deighton’s ‘cookstrips’ taught a generation of 1960s men to make minestrone, boeuf bourguignon and chicken paprika. To celebrate their return in OFM, he recalls what happened next“Dump...
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