I've had a fun Christmas season this year. Whilst not as manic as previous years, there have been good friends and fun nights for which I'm very thankful.This photo was taken in Oxford Street after cocktails with BoyWonder at Molton House. I love the London Christmas lights, though not the crowds! Glad I got the iconic taxi & bus in this shot.
I took a couple of days off work to organise the food for Christmas Day. After visiting Neals Yard Dairy for our Christmas cheeses, I did a mammoth shop for the bulk of our food for the day - while the venison & pates were brought at Taste of Christmas (see previous post). I spent the rest of the time baking shortbread. Whilst shopping I took the opportunity to do some BookCrossing, dropping the first book in the oil & spice aisle, one I left in the trolley (suitably bagged to avoid the snow) and one in the coffee shop, where I enjoyed a festive hot chocolate!
Our Christmas Day started with Skype calls to our families in Australia - it was lovely to see them all and we even got to "show" them around our house! We then kick-started the meal with smoked salmon, philly-cheese, rye bread, drizzled with lemon and cracked pepper, accompanied by the first of three bottles of Champagne for the day! Our next course consisted of pigs in blankets accompanied by a very spicy Bloody Mary. BoyWonder then did his amazing Champagne Prawns (accomanied by more Champagne of course!)... Time for a nanna-nap before the "main" of saddle of venison, this stood for 12-hours in olive oil and a white peppercorn crust.
Our wine of choice for this course was Black Tempest Sparkling Shiraz which was delightful with rich blackberry & liquorice tones... a great combination.
The venison was absolutely delicious, with the "fillet" melting like butter in our mouths. It was coated in duck-fat and basted every 5 minutes for approximately 35-40 minutes - due to the lack of fat in venison it cooks very quickly. It sat while the jus (gravy) was made from the venison juices deglazed with brandy and white wine, mixed with stock and reduced before adding double cream... this is not a low-fat day after all!!! Our meal was completed with roasted duck-fat potatoes that BoyWonder cooked to perfection, along with Brussel Sprouts (don't tell my Mum!), spinach, pumpkin, sweet potato and carrots.
We have yet to tackle the Christmas Pudding with a choice of Brandy Cream or Cointreau Butter nor the cheeses and pates, let alone the mince pies and shortbread... there's always tomorrow!Happy Chrisnukkah to all!
Cheers, KangaRue
Sounds like a fantastic Christmas!
ReplyDeleteAlthough I've recently eaten, that made me hungry again. I can eat again and resolve to lose weight *again* in a few days...
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