Merry Christmas!

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your nose, lalalalalala... I'm bad with lyrics but that has got to be one of my favourite carols apart from Mariah's All I Want For Christmas. I love this time of the year. If tis the season to be jolly and all fat people are jolly, its double the jollinity with a capital J! I think I've put on a kilo or two from Christmas Eve dinner at Hunky's and the big feast at lunch today. Last night we started off with a lovely tomato soup that had just a hint of cream so it wasn't too filling nor rich. Then it was roast beef with bernaise, roast potatoes, snow peas and pickled cucumbers. I helped myself to two portions. The potatoes were so moist and flavourful from all the beef fat, mmmm! I liked the cucumber pickle which help balance the richness of the beef. To top it off, we had a traditional rice pudding dessert with a hot cherry compote. My gawd, it was so rich. At the same time I couldn't stop eating the darn thing! And just when I thought I could eat no more, Aunty brought out (my favourite) her fruitcake in a biscuit and chocolate eclairs. The biscuit is basically a very thin and crisp biscuit with candied orange peel, nuts, fruit and spice. "Ugh", my stomach groaned as I continued stuffing my face.

This morning when I woke up, my stomach was no flatter than it had been the night before! And the only thing I could think of was, "Oh no, how am I going to eat some more today?" I busied myself with roasting vegetables and making the sauce for my homemade gnocchi. I made a tomato cream sauce with a good swig of brandy. I had also made chicken liver pate the day before. It was quite a fire hazard as I watched the saucepan of brandy catch fire. Oh the smell was lovely! Thyme, onions, bay leaf and brandy bubbling away. It definitely put me in a festive mood! There were presents, tears from children who had misplaced presents, food, food and more food. My mother's roast pork with pineapple sauce and mushroom sauce was a hit as usual. The turkey from Larisata was devoured within two hours. For dessert Cuz brought my favourite peanut butter cake from Le Meridien and Sis had made a delicious fruit cake which she has been lovingly dousing with alcohol for the past six months. I normally don't like fruit cake but I really liked the one this year as it had just the right amount of sweetness for me. As the day went on, people started to leave until there was just six of us. Rain started falling and the heat gave way to a cool evening. Some napped, the rest of continued talking and eating in between. Merry Christmas eveyone!