Christmas Dinner 2015

Saturday, December 26, 2015



Merry Christmas to all who are celebrating this holiday! And what a joyous, though nerve-wracking, occasion it will be to those who are hosting any sort of food-related gathering. LOL!


I can't believe I pulled this off in 18 hours ... not to brag but the last few days have been pretty hectic and I was seriously content with having takeaway and maybe 2 good movies for the night. Thank goodness for the 5 not-so-little elves to helped make this possible.


This turkey, for one, has an interesting story. So G went to Costco with a list, since I was at work. On said list was ham. Now, unfortunately for me, I didn't specify what sort of ham. What was in my head was the spiral ham that would take center stage in this dinner. What was in his head was ... sliced sandwich ham. And that was what I found in the fridge when I got home at 7pm and of course, Costco was already closed at this time. So ... ham was not to be. 

I dragged him off to another supermarket ... 3rd one for him for the day! Bear in mind, this was Christmas eve and stores were closing early and every place was crowded. It's interesting to note that people actually panic-buy when faced with the reality that the convenience of a supermarket not opening the next day becomes unbearable and hence, find themselves with the need to 'hoard' for the next two days. But I digress. Back to my main course, or the absence of it.  Browsing through the aisles, I assessed my options ... ham, turkey or salmon? Mentally figuring out what I could do with the minimum amount of fuss. LOL ... I chose turkey. Minimum fuss? Yeah, right!

This turkey, my 5th one, was the best one ever. Why? Because it's brined and cooked in beer. Tender and juicy, this is now Fueling with Flavour's official Turkey recipe.


To soak up all the juices and the gravy for aforementioned turkey, we had homestyle mashed potatoes, which is a fancy way of saying that 1) we didn't peel them (more iron for us, yay!) and 2) we just piled it on a plate and made a rustic look of this creamy and hearty side. Yes, homestyle all right. 


Surely, the civilized part of us does not consume meat and carb without some greens. This 'naked' salad of baby greens was accompanied by toasted walnuts, crumbled feta and stewed cranberries. 'Tis the season, after all. Naked? We believe salads are sexier without dressing ;)


Now that my elves have taken some responsibility of the meal, it leaves me with some time to dress up the table. For those who recognize the items on the table ... you know that I am the ultimate re-purposer! Thank you :) Oh, and for those who are in possession of the bottle in the picture ... drink it now, it's darned good!


The pièce de résistance is Enchanted's Cakery's Chocolate Spiced Christmas Cake with Orange Cranberry Creme Mousseline. A meringue wreath, fair-trade organic flowers and fir twigs complete the winter look.


And after every dish was given the attention it deserved in front of the lens, I am a food blogger after all, this is what I sat down to enjoy. Another holiday celebration done. Nerve wracking? Yes. But so so satisfying!












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