Tag: christmas
Christmas tree.. Done!
The tree is up. It is beautiful. It looks like John Lewis barfed on it :-) This is probably the last time we will get to see it in its full glory because, between the child and the cats, there’s no way it’s going to survive more than 24 hours.
Edit: See? This is why we can’t have nice things…
Christmas & New Year’s pictures are up
All pictures are here: http://www.flubu.com/various_pics/xmas_2012/
So, Katy’s birthday, Christmas and New Year’s have come and gone for another year. We ate too much (SO MUCH FOOOOOOD), drank too much (GIN and ESPRESSO MARTINIS) and were silly just enough. All in all, it was a good celebration. I got some cool t-shirts, a framed print, some smellies, a paella pan, a meat grinder and a new guitar case. Bean was really distraught on Christmas day when he thought that Santa hadn’t come during the night (because he hadn’t heard him) but his mood quickly brightened when he saw the mound of presents waiting for him. Stu got the best reaction ever though when Bean saw the remote-controlled digger Santa got for him.
The vacation was good, but I’m glad to be back at work so that I can take a vacation from my vacation :)
New Year’s Eve antipasti
I saw a picture online in a foodie magazine and it inspired me to make my own antipasti platter for new years. We had air-cured ham and bresaola (not show, it was put in a separate dish because Katy’s mum is Hindu), stuffed olives, smoked duck breast, marinated roasted red peppers, pickled onions, smoked sausage, gherkins and roasted artichoke hearts.
NUMMAY!
[Recipe] Chocolate panettone bread & butter pudding
INGREDIENTS:
for the egg custard
6 medium eggs + 1 yolk
500ml single cream
500ml full fat milk
180g castor sugar
1 Vanilla pod or 3 teaspoons vanilla essence
for the rest
200g melted butter
2oog castor sugar
300g dark chocolate broken into pieces or chocolate buttons
zest and juice of 1 large orange
And most importantly your Panattone.
1. First of all pre-heat your oven too 180c
2. slice your Panettone into medium sized wedges
3. Sprinkle half of the castor sugar over base of dish, and half of chocolate. Cover with slices of Panettone
4. Melt your butter in a bowl in a microwave or a pan on the stove
5. Pour your melted butter over your panettone base
6. Grate the zest of 1 large orange over your pudding
7. Then squeeze the Juice of the orange all over
8. Sprinkle the rest of the castor sugar and chocolate over the Panettone
9. For egg custard heat the milk and cream in a pan with 1 split Vanilla pod/vanilla essence
10. Beat your eggs + 1 yolk in a bowl with 180g of sugar, then pour over boiled milk&cream , continually whisking.
11. Sieve your egg custard then pour evenly over the panettone base
12. Press down the Panettone into the egg mix and leave to stand for at least 20 mins. place in pre-heated oven for 35 minutes until set
13. When its out of the oven, stick a knife in the centre, if no liquid comes to the surface then your pudding is ready
14. To finish off dust with icing sugar
Its now ready to serve :)
A proper Christmas dinner for the child.
This afternoon, Bean’s dinner consisted of raw Brussels sprouts, chocolate rolls, custard, a banana, a roast potato and a packet of crisps. I love my bean.
Office Christmas Party
Katy and I invited the office bunch on Saturday for an informal xmas potluck. We discovered that 17 adults and 4 kids is pretty much the maximum that the house can fit, when the halls are fully decked. I hope that people had a good time. I know that there was plenty of food and booze, so that’s always a good place to start ;)
All pictures, and more are here: http://www.flubu.com/various_pics/xmas_2012/
Christmas party @ Hidden Rooms
The EBI xmas party was tonight and I think it went off brilliantly overall. The buffet line was long and some people were unhappy about the music but personally I thought it was better than last year. The venue was a lot bigger so people didn’t feel as claustrophobic. The cocktails were good and the food was nice. The things I’ll take away for next year would be to hage two buffet areas to split the queue, a bit more food (as I heard comments of the hot entrees going quickly), more people and more control over the music.
Having said all of that though, I’m really happy at how we pulled off the organization and Katy and I had a good time with Stephane and the guys from the office. I even won one of the raffle prizes, even if people moaned about a fix :-)
Off to bed now… zzzzzzzzz
Rule #1
It’s snowing on my blog :)
I have been remiss, dear me! It’s less than 30 days to Christmas and I haven’t started the snow on my blog. Oh dear, shame on me! Still, fixed now!
Also, CHRISTMAS TREE!!!
