Back On Boogie Street!

Greetings food lovers, and welcome to December's Yuletide-ish Megabytes!

What you won't find here is anything like those God-awful time-charts which some food writers prepare for your Yuletide delectation, the assault-course school of Xmas cookery with its "15-minutes to sprouts time, for God's sake watch the chestnut purée and baste the bird right now it's 2.45 and buck up will you! come on! how else are you ever going to get through this, it's not meant to be fun, you know".

Nope, it doesn't have to be anything like that. Plenty of bubbly, West Cork smoked salmon by mail order, a pud from Peter Ward's Country Choice, Annie Bell's roast spuds with the bird, crunchy organic vegetables, a 14-week Cashel Blue from Iago or Sheridan's, and take it easy.

We are also taking the liberty upon ourselves to hand out some gongs to food folk who we feel have done a great job during the year, and whose efforts have enriched our lives. Please feel free to disagree with all our choices, and mail us your own choices to Megabytes: we look forward to hearing your favourites.

Send a Card and Refer A Friend to Megabytes

We know how much you all love the Ken Buggy illustrations dotted throughout Megabytes during the year, so why not send one to a friend this Christmas? Find out more

Megabytes Awards

Restaurant of the Year, Chef of the Year, Country House of the Year, Wine Person of the Year, Food of the Year, Producer of the Year, Artisans of the Year, Gadget of the Year. Find out who the awards have gone to!

Wine Republic

Martin Moran is one of the quartet of Irish Masters of Wine, and the jauntily-named and wittily logo-ed "Wine Republic" is his first book, indeed it's the first book by an Irish M.W. Read on.

Culinary Bibles

Elizabeth Field reviews Darina Allen and John McKenna looks at 'A New Way To Cook' by Sally Schneider

Megabytes Top Tips #1

The Roast Spud forms a crucial part of the Christmas meal, so you will need a failsafe technique for roasting the perfect potato (and you need them perfect for guiltily scooping up masses of left-over bread sauce late on Christmas day). We think the best recipe for the most perfect roast potato comes from Annie Bell's exceptional book, 'Living and Eating'. Find out more

The Joy of Cooking

Americans love their culinary bibles, and none more so than 'The Joy of Cooking', by the mother-and-daughter team of Irma S. Rombauer and Marion Rombauer Becker. Read on.

Recipe of the Month

Corned Beef Hash

Menu of the Month

Noel McMeel's cooking has long been one of the great signature styles on contemporary Irish food, and just look at what he is cooking up at Sammy Leslie's Castle Leslie, in Glaslough, County Monaghan. Find out more.

Stay Tuned

The Bridgestone Food Lover's Guides Update - Otto's Creative Catering, Cuisine de Vendage, The Spearman Bakery and Café, La Bigoudenne, Slow Food Convivium in Co. Kerry. Find out more.

Letters Page

Dear John and Sally