Something a little special for you today – preview of the Good Food Australia special Christmas Edition coming out tomorrow featuring exclusive new Christmas recipes!
On the cover of Good Food with JB!
8 years ago when I started this website, never in a million years did I imagine I’d be writing a post like this. I mean, I started my career as an auditor of all things. PricewaterhouseCoopers alumni, right here!
And here I am today, a little embarrassed, a little proud, and very disbelieving that RecipeTin’s Chef JB and I are on the cover of Australia’s Good Food for a special Christmas Edition which will be published tomorrow (Tuesday 5th December 2023)!
The Good Food Christmas Edition
For those of you not in Australia, Good Food is the all-things-restaurants-and-food arm of the Sydney Morning Herald and the Age newspapers (Melbourne), considered to be Australia’s most respected food publication. I describe it as the Australian equivalent of New York Times Cooking.
The Good Food is a lift out in the paper each Tuesday and is also online. I contribute a recipe each week for a series called “SOS” (which, as the name implies, are quick recipes for midweek madness!) and once a month I do a cover story which involves a set of recipes.
And this month, it’s a big Christmas special!! A menu of classic Christmas recipes including a never-before-seen game changing turkey breast recipe created especially for Good Food by JB. My signature glazed ham, classic trifle and a sparkling new Christmas Roast Pumpkin Salad.
Here’s a little preview of the spread!
That turkey recipe is really special. The secret is a brine that not only locks in juices (turkey is notoriously lean) but also infuses the flesh with beautiful Christmassy flavours from edge to edge.
Then it’s roasted with a Christmas glaze that’s perfumed with holiday spices, so it comes out golden and sticky, and just everything you dream your Christmas turkey to be. The smell when it’s roasting is the smell of Christmas!
Behind the Scenes at the Shoot
And here we are on the shoot day. While I do all the photos for my website, the photos of our recipes for Good Food are done by a team of professionals in a food photography studio.
And… a familiar face!! You know I take Dozer everywhere with me….so is it any surprise I snuck him into a Christmas cover shoot? Of course not! 😂
He was an excellent supervisor for the day, ensuring the floor was impeccable at all times. Not a food scrap to be seen.
And though Dozer was not specifically part of the brief, there were were many, many photos taken of him (at my insistence) with a secret hope that there’d be a giant full-page photo of him in the paper……..
….but sadly, it seems a golden fur ball isn’t really on point for a food publication so his photo wasn’t quite full page. Rather, a smaller inset. But he’s still in it!!!
In hindsight now, it was quite wishful thinking that this photo would make the front page of a food publication…😂
I’m so glad I was wearing a white dress that day. Made for sliding around on concrete floors…..
Meet the shoot team!
I want to officially introduce you to the incredible team who’s been shooting our recipes all year for Good Food! Here they are:
We have:
Rob Palmer – One of Australia’s best food photographers, an award winning one actually! Rob also did the important photos (like the cover and Dozer) for my cookbook.
Emma Knowles (right) – Food stylist and recipe developer! I’ve been fan-girling Emma’s work for as long as I can remember, including her days when she was a major presence at Gourmet Traveller. In awe of her work. Makes food look effortlessly beautiful!
Theressa Klein (left) – Photo Chef. Impeccably organised, swans through the cook of enormous table spreads without breaking into a sweat and knows all the tricks of the trade to make food look amazing, naturally.
We love working with this team. I call them the A-Team, because they’re the best of the best at what they do, with the bonus that they’re an absolute hoot to work with!
Big shout-out to JB
And this post wouldn’t be complete without a big, public, splashy thank you to JB. Not only for his fabulous new turkey recipe (really, that brine is everything!), but his commitment and hard work all throughout this year for the contributions we made to Good Food.
In 2023, we produced over 50 recipes especially for Good Food. The schedule is big and complicated, with numerous stakeholders and tight turnaround times (print is hectic!). He’s been the driving force behind all our work with Good Food, managing our work with the editorial and shoot teams, and with everything else going on in our business, I know I could not have done it without him. He’s a gun with the knife, a machine in the kitchen and now he’s a cover-model Chef! It feels like a fitting way to close out our final issue of Good Food for 2023. 🙂
Where to get the Good Food special Christmas Edition
The Good Food Christmas Edition is a lift out that will be in the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age newspapers tomorrow, Tuesday 5th December 2023. The recipes are also online here on the Good Food website. Though…I love seeing the spread in print!!
If you’re planning a turkey breast this Christmas, I really hope you have a look at the recipe. It really is special. Turkey breast has never been so succulent!
And with that, we are officially kicking off a series of holiday recipes leading up to Christmas. I hope you love them as much as we do! – Nagi x
Life of Dozer
We had an adorable Christmas onesy for him. Sadly, it was little small for him. 😔 So we had to settle for a boring Santa Hat.
Big congratulations to you from a fan in upstate New York. You deserve accolades for your wonderful work. Happy holidays to you and your colleagues.
Nagi, Congrats to you, Dozer and your great team for this fun post. Love your recipes and the wonderful work you do for the less fortunate ones. You are like a breath of fresh air. Merry Christmas to all of you and a big hug ( and an extra treat) for sweet Dozer. All the best to all of you for 2024!
Just a question from a neophyte:
I saw that the following is required for the delicious looking Christmas turkey breast: 225g (¾ cup) cooking salt, NOT table salt. I have never heard of cooking salt. Would you elaborate?
Cooking salt would be kosher salt…it’s not as high in sodium. Also, if you can find Diamond brand, it’s lower in sodium than Morton. It’s the only salt I use for anything and everything. Never use table salt at all. If you have trouble finding Diamond, I’ve been ordering it from Amazon.
Your standing rib roast is on my dinner table every Christmas. Folks look forward all year. I hope you have a wonderful holiday season. Your cookbook was an early Christmas present. From Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
This looks wonderful, Nagi! Kudos to chef JB, too! Would you please share for those of us in the States what a “S” cup is as a measurement? I assume a small cup but how many oz/ml?. “S” cup is listed in the Turkey Breast Recipe. Thank you!
Wonderful news, enchanting article! So happy for you & your hard-earned success, Nagi. And we just ordered your cookbook as a Christmas gift. Your writing and recipes are The Bomb. Merry Christmas from SoCal!
Greetings and best wishes from up the Ottawa Valley way.
I was given your cookbook as an early Holiday gift. It’s wonderful. Thanks to Chef JB for the brine recipe. I am sure it will be a hit here. Keep up the great work. Give Dozer a hug.
Congratulations! You so deserve it. Love your recipes. Love Dozer. ❤️❤️❤️Uxbridge, Massachusetts
So loved that Dozer was involved! That’s really special!
Merry Christmas Nagi and Dozer !!
Congrats on your hard work and beautiful recipes from Ottawa, Canada. I have your cookbook and love it! Love to see Dozer pictures! Goldens are lovely dogs
Love everything you do Nagi ❤️❤️
You deserve every accolade. You and Dozer bring so much happiness to many people all over the world. Love from Atlanta, Georgia.
Congratulations to you ALL for your hard work! What an achievement. You can all breathe now!
Congratulations, Nagi! Your (and JB’s) front page appearance is well deserved. Best wishes to you and your team for the holidays!
Congratulations on your wonderful magazine appearance. And, for the success you are having with RecipeTinEats!! Happy you included Dozer in the pictures!
Congratulations Nagi from the U.S.! Very happy for you; I always look forward to your recipes!
Been watching your posts and trying your recipes for a long time. As much as I love the food, Dozer is infinitely better. I worry about him and his sweet greying face.
I finally bought your cookbook! I can’t wait to start making your delicious recipes. Love watching you and Dozer. Thanks for everything and MERRY CHRISTMAS!!
I really enjoy keeping up with you, your work family,.and Dozier. I display and use your cookbook on my kitchen counter. First cookbook I have purchased in many years. No replacing a hands on beautiful picture book for inspiration. Merry Christmas from Gloucester Virginia.
A huge Congratulations 🎊 to you and your team. I have been an avid fan if yours for quite some time and your website is always our go to. Love your work and wishing you and your team a very Happy Christmas 🎄 😊
Amazing all around: cover of Good food, Amazing Turkey Breast recipe; Photo shoot Team, and of course Dozer. But it would not be what it is without your driving force, Nagi. thank you so much. And all the best for your Home Delivered Meals Program this holiday season I am a fan from Seattle, Washington, USA. I do not like Turkey breast. I also do not like chicken breast. But I wonder, what about brining and then glazing a chicken breast with JBs turkey recipe? There are just two of us. The glaze sounds amazing, and might even be good on ham! Happy holiday season, and a hug to dozer for keeping the floor sparkling for your white dress!