I have been a little absent this week, have had to lay low as I have had some unusual back pain. Am off to see my surgeon on Friday but in the meantime I have to rest as much as I can.
Yesterday I planned our Christmas lunch menu...sat on the sofa with a number of magazines & books. We usually do a lovely breakfast (croissants, smoked salmon and cream cheese, preserves, raspberries & cream and a fruit platter with juices, sparkling wine and lots of coffee) and then one main meal for the day, served around 3pm or so...there are lots of leftovers if anyone happens to get hungry.
This year our menu is...
Starter
Oysters with Wasabi, Soy & Sesame Dressing
Tiger Prawns
Moreton Bay Bugs
Lemon Aioli
Mains
Roast Loin of Pork with Apple & Sage Stuffing
Barbecues Salmon with Mango & Coriander Salsa
Roast Duckling with Sour Cherries
Ham off the Bone
Sides
Crispy Rosemary Potatoes
Roasted Tomato & Red Onion Salad
Asparagus with Lime Butter
Wild Rice & Cranberry Salad
Mixed Green Salad (greens from our garden)
Dessert
Poached Champagne Peaches
Christmas Trifle
To be served with the appropriate wines of course. I'll also probably make a festive punch for those not drinking alcohol.
It seems ridiculous to me to do the whole hot roast dinner when living in the sub-tropics. It will quite probably be around 28-32C (82-90F) here on Christmas Day so the meal needs to be adapted to suit the climate. I'll cook the pork, duck, salmon and potatoes in the barbecue out on the back verandah to keep the house cooler and to give me some space. It can still remain very festive & special. Many families eat outdoors or have a Christmas barbecue or picnic, a very sensible idea indeed.
After lunch we will quite probably either sleep or swim in the pool, possibly both.
Just once in my lifetime though I'd love to do the white Christmas thing in a cold climate.
Just as a side note...last weekend John was shopping and saw legs of ham that had been reduced in price. He thought they were very reasonable so decided to purchase one. When he got to the checkout the ham scanned at the original price so he was lucky enough to get it free of charge. Have to love the Scanning Code of Conduct, don't you...??? It was around $45.00 worth of ham, free of charge.
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6 comments:
Scanning Code of Conduct?! What?! You are so lucky! Here the checker just looks blankly at you and eventually sends a runner to go see what the sale price is as the line backs up longer and longer behind you.....
Do you have room for 3 more at your table? (I wish!!!!)
Sounds like a great menu.
Your dinner sounds exquisite! How many people are you serving??
Oh, and the word verification for this post is "flouch" - I like that!
Good grief! I wouldn't dream of tackling that menu and I didn't just have a major back operation! You are a superstar and please can I also come for dinner? ;o)
Karin - I'd love to have all of you for Christmas Dinner, come on up.
Lynda - there will be just the five of us this year, looking forward to a gentle Christmas too.
We will have to come up with a definition for "flouch" - it sounds a little like flaunt to me.
Penelope - Come on down...bring your swimming gear, it's warm out and the water is fine.
None of what I have chosen is difficult to prepare and given most of the sides are salads they can be prepared in advance, as are the desserts. All I will have to do on Christmas Day is cook the pork, duck and salmon in the BBQ (which John will most likely take care of) and prepare the potatoes (even they can be prepared the day before). I have excellent helpers though so it won't be too daunting a task.
DROOLING...
Enjoy that ham!!
Lissy
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