Mamta's Kitchen - A Family Cookbook
What are you having to eat for Christmas?
Dear All,
Kavey has had a discussion on her site about things people love or hate to eat at Christmas, but I am wondering what people are actually cooking this year.
My husband and I disagree about the ideal Christmas meal. His father was from Lancashire and loved to have roast pork for Christmas, and John still likes this best. I think it is often far too hot for roast pork, even with air conditioning (we are in Australia) and prefer a special Indian meal as it is my favourite and suits the climate better, and basically I don't care about tradition. (Last year I made butterfly leg of lamb with the Tandoori marinade no.2 and little chicken Indian-style sausage rolls, both from this site.) But this year I am stuck with roast loin of pork. I will make it as nice as possible by rubbing it with the dry salt and thyme marinade from Mastering the Art of French Cooking Vol 1. I usually make vanilla and chocolate icecream and the vanilla is served with a fresh raspberry sauce. For those who like tradition I have made a christmas cake and some fruit mince that will magically turn into mince pies before Christmas.
Well, why not make a little extra pork and make it into 'Pork Vindaloo' the next day? Left over vegetables can be made into a mixed vegetable curry and potatoes into Aloo Bhaji of some sort.
We tend to have traditional christmas dinner, brussel sprouts, roast potatoes/ parsnips, roast lamb (replaced turkey since last few years), pudding etc. While Boxing day is celebrated with Indian food with lamb curry cooked from the leftover roast lamb (if any left)/ chicken curry/ tandoori etc.
Pete and I are having:-
controversial but delicious, pan-fried foie gras that I bought whole from Borough market
Rib of beef (from our favourite Paganum, see Advice> suppliers for order code) with potatoes, parsnips, savoy cabbage and some other stuff
Not sure on pudd yet actually, but I'll be making some Xmas Pudding ice-cream which we can decide upon last minute
There will be copious very good cheese
And probably chocolate!
We're having:
Foie gras (cold, not pan-fried, alas).
Guineaufowl in cherry sauce.
No roast goose, alas.
Lots of good local wines.
Phil
So, we have got the foie gras out of the freezer... had hoped to be able to cut half off for now and put rest back into freezer but couldn't so we're defrosting whole thing.
Will devein tomorrow and then hopefully cut off a couple of pieces to fry for starter and rest make into a terrine the next day.
The ribs of beef came with bones in, instead of boned, as ordered. One has gone into freezer as planned, other we'll roast but have been advised to sear both sides in hot pan then oven roast for just 20-25 mins. It's a single bone rip so like a giant chop more than a roasting joint.
We have potatoes and parsnips we've grown ourselves.
A savoy cabbage (that we haven't, though we did for a few years).
No dessert but a lovely cheese board plus lots of chocolate in the house.
We just made some cheese biscuits so we have a savoury snack.
And there are grapes and clementines in the fruit bowl.
And, should we need it, though unlikely, I made christmas pudding ice-cream the other day so that's in the freezer.
:)
Well my plans have been turned on their head...
My new all singing and dancing double oven giving me the ability to cook several things at once without the usual dancing and swapping has gone faulty and only one oven is working... couldn't have timed it better !!... there will be words when the season of goodwill is over !...
Steve
try again !
Well I managed to cope with a lot of messing about, but got everything on the plate except for Yorkshire puddings but no one missed them...
I even managed to make some mince pies Jamie Oliver style
(make a long flat thin sheet of puff pastry, cover with mincemeat, roll up and cut through in about 20cm sections, line a bun tray with filo pastry and push the puff pastry rolls down into each of the bun spaces)
Steve
The dinner plate looks quite impressive to me, with your oven problems. The link didn't work, so didn't see the pies! Did you mean these ones; http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/fruit-recipes/mince-pies
Yes thats the ones.. very good they were too... ! Spotted them on one of his Christmas shows and thought they looked like they were worth trying.
my version of Jamie Olivers mince pies
Steve
Steve,
The oven thing is Sod's Law in operation. We cook mostly on bottled gas (though the oven is electric). Here's how Sod's Law works with this: the gas bottle (stored outside) will ALWAYS run out when there's no light left in the sky, and when the place we buy bottles of gas is closed.
This nearly happened on Christmas Eve, when I suddenly thought: check the gas, and sure enough, the bottle was nearly empty. Quick dash to get another bottle, before our Christmas Eve dinner was a gonner.
Good you got past that problem: are those electric ovens?
Phil