Thursday, January 1, 2009

Feast for Five




No, we have not been starving. I've just been preoccupied with the kind of food writing that pays the bills. But I had to share our Christmas dinner. I got this beautiful fresh young turkey on Christmas Eve, and thanks to my mum's turkey tips (see below), my sister (and her reciting from Nigella's Feast), I managed to not overcook it. Along with the lovely bird we had stuffing (again, my mum's recipe - but I realised that I'd forgotten to buy fresh mushrooms, so I pulled out some dried portobellos and used them), mashed potatoes, homemade gravy (I did it - I have finally overcome my fear of making gravy!), cranberry sauce, squash casserole, carrots, broccoli, and dinner rolls (I admit - from frozen). For dessert there was apple pie and tiramisu (both made on Christmas Eve). Miraculously, all the children behaved for a decent amount of time and we all sat together and enjoyed our first solo family Christmas meal. We enjoyed a civilized conversation and even a couple of parlour games. It occurred to me that they are actually, indeed, growing up a bit. However, if I am to be honest about "what they ate", I must confess that the youngest, who had been sucking candy canes all day, filled up mostly on fizzy lemonade and dinner rolls. I didn't try to change that, because he was was actually sitting nicely with us, not racing up and down or chasing the cats or screaming about anything, which is something to be appreciated in itself. Now I must return to my casseroles, but I wanted to wish you all a very Happy New Year, filled with many delicious feasts of your own.

1 comment:

Happy Farmer said...

What a magnificent spread.I am so relieved to hear that you are not starving! The plate looks so attractive and beautifully presented. Enjoy the leftovers !