Christmas is a time of internal struggle within my soul, due to the inescapable fact that what may have started out as a sacred celebration by Christians has been turned into a circus, and we’ve all bought into it. We've been indoctrinated by the irresistible forces of culture and tradition, sucked into the retail world’s annual feeding frenzy and brainwashed into accepting a version of a holy festival that’s so convoluted with humanism we can hardly recognise it...
Now, before I get too high horsey and the drama becomes overwhelming, I enjoy and embrace the superficial aspects of Christmas as much as the next Joe, which therefore makes me a hypocrite.
I know - we need to have an ‘Xmas’ and a ‘Christmas’ instead of trying to pretend they’re the same thing. Xmas can stay December 25th so we can get all worked up about happiness together, and Christmas can be in July, say July 25th to make it easy to remember. Done.
Now that’s out of the way, let’s focus on the food.
I’m privileged enough to indulge in four fine feasts each Christmas, and this year they all happened to fall within five days of each other. The idea that there is such thing as too much food did cross my mind at about 7pm on Christmas night, but the food was a joy, and the company, the best. Happily, I can appreciate my nearest and dearest not just because they’re there and they love me, but because they’re also great people.
Feast the first was a tradition we have with a group of school buddies – intelligent, wise-cracking straight talkers and the people I laugh the hardest with. Whenever we congregate from our corners of Melbourne, whether for monthly world food dinners or special events, there’s never a shortage of fun or debate fodder (ie. arguments) and there’s always that priceless feeling of homecoming. The chemistry that’s kept us coming back for more all these years always lends itself to a merry Christmas, and a merry one it was…
We started with antipasto, before a decadent seafood spread breezily prepared by our host on a half-functioning stove and presented with her trademark flair. Market produce, fresh flavours; very Aussie.
Dessert was a meringue stack made by my husband from a recipe they serve at my old work, Werribee Park Receptions. Meringue discs alternating with layers of fluffy chocolate and strawberry mousse, finished with passionfruit pulp and a berry coulis... this is top three desserts stuff, right here.
I’m not going to say there were times when my manager at Werribee Park may have squirreled away two of these drool-worthy desserts in his office, which we consumed with great gusto during our break between whispered sweet nothings and stolen kisses… I’m not going to say that. But I will say my manager was my husband so you can un-raise those eyebrows and put down the phone to your sister.
My contribution to this feast was Turkish Delight and Pistachio Truffles, which can be seen in the photo as the little white Christmas-pudding type things at the front. Fiddly, but amazing flavours if, like me, you're into Turkishy Delighty sort of things. The recipe is from Taste.com.au.
0 Thoughts:
Post a Comment