I do love Christmas. Having four children and three brothers and sisters of my own, there are a lot of us when we get together - 23! We often celebrate Christmas at our house in France because there is plenty of room for dogs, children and general chaos!
It is difficult to believe that it is done and dusted for another year. Such a huge effort goes into the lead up to it and to making the event itself a success, but it is a wonderful time of year when I feel truly grateful for my friends and family. Looking back what seems to be an age ago, here is a little piece of Christmas spirit to tide you over until next December!
This year, we decided to throw a little works party for our friends and for people who helped us along the way this year. People keep assuring me that the first year in business can be tricky and positivity is key. We are very lucky to have lovely friends and people we can rely on to help us to get this new project off the ground.
The whole process of planning a party is pretty good fun. We spend a lot of time looking at ideas for the menu and I love taking the children shopping to choose lots of beautiful glittery decorations to make the house festive and inviting. The whole family gets involved and we make a mountain of cut-out snowflakes which we hang all over the kitchen ceiling to make our own little snowy wonderland, even if the chance of the real thing is not very likely! It certainly gets everyone in the mood!
The preparations began in earnest the day before: Michael Buble in the background, snowflakes hanging, fairy lights flashing, a glass of wine in hand and off we go. Food for fifty: sit down? Nibbles? What works best? I like a room full of people mingling, nothing too formal, plenty of delicious bites for people to get stuck into.
The starters could wait until the day itself, but my beautiful two youngest daughters were keen to help with all the desserts - of course! I wonder if the desire to hang out with their parents will wear off our younger children as it has with the older two....we shall see! Rosie made a red velvet cake which looked amazing. We also indulged in some scrumptious chocolate truffles that were coated in suitably Christmassy things - chopped pistachios, gold and white fairy dust - they looked so cute!
Matt made the most delicious spicy boeuf bourgignon to fill some little pastries with. Lots of sumptuous winter warming spices, including smoked paprika, cumin and chilli powder were added to shallots, garlic and carrots - all cooked for a day in copious amounts of red wine đ· and beef stock until really reduced and sticky. This was finished off with a mixture of fresh herbs and served on little toasts with baby spinach.
Some neighbours of ours had an amazing crop of butternut squash this year and, as there would be a few vegetarians and âfall off the wagonâ vegans, Matt rustled up a concoction of squash, potato and onion that was heavily spiced with harissa and Moroccan flavours to make a vegetarian option âsausage rollâ. Sausage rolls are one of the things I look forward to most of all with Christmas nibbles, just a mouthful of wonderfulness! But the vegetarian roll was definitely up there on a par for tastiness! With a good eveningâs prep done and the children sleeping peacefully, we enjoyed a couple of cosy glasses of wine and snuggled up next to the fire with the sleepy dogs.
The next day dawned a little dreamy, a lovely Saturday morning, with no 6.30 rush for the school bus. A last-minute shopping list was compiled and off I went to face the terrible crowds of the French supermarket. The trick is to go at lunchtime: everyone stops to go home for their big, three-course, family lunch so things are definitely a bit calmer. Half an hour later, trolley dash complete, the cooking could continue.
A crisp white cream cheese frosting finished off the deep red of the velvet cake and, sprinkled with a little magic dust and cut into bite size treats, these were ready to go, alongside the truffles.
I commandeered the help of six-year-old Sienna to help dress the table with candles, sparkles and glitter, so we could begin putting platters out for the evening. Rosie, the keen chef, worked so hard all day! Wearing her chefâs whites, she undertook instruction from Matt who had been suffering with a twisted ankle and was not as mobile as normal. The pizza dough was made early and left to prove, to be turned into a variety of calzone later, mostly for the children. The pulled pork was glazed and left to cook gently. In the evening, this would be teamed with a fantastic tangy homemade bbq sauce, another one of my favourites! It had a dry rub of a special blend of spices and was then marinated in the homemade bbq sauce. We started the meat over the wood fire to give it that lovely charred smoky taste and then it was roasted low and slow in a mixture of beer and more bbq sauce for eight hours. Painstakingly ripped apart by a less than willing teenager, it went back into the roasting pan with all the juices for a further hour. To go with this, we made a colourful little pickled slaw of red onion, carrot, red cabbage and apple all finely sliced on the mandolin, after the obligatory finger cut and swearing rant at the mandolin. The pickling juice was made with sherry vinegar, raspberry vinegar, limes, honey, sea salt, star anise, dill, tarragon, parsley, mint and a few other delicious ingredients discovered in the store cupboard. Along with mini brioche rolls and the homemade bbq sauce, these pulled-pork buns were a real hitđ
For the vegetarian starters, we offered up a cauliflower gratin and jazzed-up mushrooms on toast. Three whole cauliflowers were steamed and then whizzed up really quickly, mixed through a heavenly cheese sauce combining Gouda, Roquefort, Emmental and Camembert, and finished with Dijon mustard, salt, pepper and tarragon.
For the mushrooms on toast, chanterelles, chestnut and shiitake mushrooms were fast fried in a naughty amount of butter and crushed, salted garlic and then finished with soft herbs and seasoning. They were served on baguette toasts drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and rubbed with raw garlic cloves.
Finally, a little piece of Christmas heaven! Having made plenty of sausage roll stuffing, we rolled this out on greaseproof paper and roasted it for 30 mins until crisp. Once cooled, it was cut into perfect squares by Rosie. For the cream, the chestnuts were cooked with onion and garlic in butter then reduced with chicken stock and finished with cream, all whizzed up until a smooth thick purée was formed. The star of the canapé was thinly sliced turkey breast which had been lightly smoked over oak for 20 mins and then finished off in the pan with butter and continuous basting until just cooked. The last piece added to the tower was some reduced cranberry sauce. This mouthful of deliciousness was held together with a cocktail stick and looked glorious with all the different textures and colours to get the taste buds going!
The party was great fun and over too quickly! Thank you to everyone who came and to those who couldnât make it for your continued support. Happy New Year to everyone. May 2018 be full of promise!
This perfect Christmassy picture of my parent's house, tucked in the hills of Wales, couldn't resist sharing it!