Boxing Day Traditions

I survived the big day and there were no hitches and I didn't panic, well hardly. I got up really early to prepare the turkey and vegetables and the grandchildren were very civilised as they didn't surface to see what Father Christmas had brought until about 7am. My sister-in-law popped in mid-morning for an hour to exchange gifts and there were lots of ooh's as we unwrapped presents from under the tree. I am only going to mention two of my presents and these are from Beccy and Sam.

Beccy had bought cream napkins and made me the most beautiful napkin rings that perfectly match my china. I've had it for over twenty years and I see it's now sold on amazon and ebay so no need to worry if I ever need replacements.



Sam sent me a copy of her favourite cookery book I think she is determinded to improve my cooking or turn me into a food blogger. I have been browsing through trying to decide which recipe I will try first.







A Boxing Day tradition in our family when Sam and Beccy were growing up was to play tennis to work off the excesses of the day before. Of course this also worked in reverse as it gave us a good appetite for what was to come, cold turkey , chips, salad and bubble and squeak (much loved by hubby). This tradition has now been replaced with a walk in the Blaise Estate about three miles from where we live but lunch remains much the same. I tried to get a family photo but the men were camera shy and turned their backs, however Beccy and Mollie did pose by this very old cottage.

Happy Christmas

Wishing everyone a very Happy Christmas and a Peaceful New Year.

Christmas Eve and 1 day to go

With the family due to arrive this afternoon I needed to get up fairly early to finish all the preparations. The first thing I did was to wrap some presents before prying eyes could see. The rest of the morning was spent in a whirl of tidying up, responding to text messages from Beccy who was checking I had certain vital commodities in the house, taking a quick trip to the supermarket (this was specifically to buy fresh warm doughnuts which my grandson and his dad really love) and of course a few other things found their way into the trolley, particularly once hubby had walked down the drink aisles. We returned home for a quick snack and then Mike went off to the airport to meet the flight from Dublin while I did some last minute ironing and vacuuming. The fog had disappeared and there were no delays expected so I only had a couple of hours and if I'd forgotten anything it was too late to worry.
I decided I had just enough time to make the cranberry sauce before they arrived home, but I didn't quite manage it. Still Dillon (eldest grandson) helped with the stirring, and he did the tasting after I had added the sugar and port. His verdict was delicious so that's good enough for me. Now confession, with all those wonderful cooks out there I am almost afraid to admit that I've never made my own Cranberry sauce before. Don't ask me why, I guess I thought it might be difficult but it is so simple and I am now eager to try other cranberry recipes.

I thought I would share this photo of our family meal (my mother is feeling better but did not join us), we had Sam's Toulouse Sausage which I have made before and I knew Beccy was keen to try it. I served some hot crusty bread with the meal and it was washed down with champagne (oh forgot to mention the Kir Royale to help the chef along during the preparation and cooking). Ice cream to follow and anyone who read yesterday's post, I will repeat Green and blacks organic choc ice cream is deliciously rich, why ever didn't I buy an extra tub as I can see it won't last long!!



In case I don't get time to post tomorrow. I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and like me I hope you enjoy the time you spend with your family and friends. We miss you Sam and Fred but will be thinking of you xxx

2 days and counting

This morning I was up collecting the daily papers at just gone 7am and out of the house by 8:15 for a visit to the hairdresser. I actually like being the first client of the day as I know there will be no delays, I was able to relax with a lovely cup of coffee and was out and on my way home soon after 9am.

I was back out of the house and down to my local supermarket by 10am. I had to buy a bottle of Vodka, as I understand this is now Beccy's favourite tipple and we didn't have any in the cupboard. The shop had opened at 6am so it was not particularly busy and I was very good just keeping to my list of mainly fresh produce and a few tubs of ice cream (some Ben and Jerry's which is a favourite with the grandchildren and green and black's. I can highly recommend their organic choc ice cream it's heavenly.

After a quick lunch I spent the afternoon cleaning and doing laundry. I took a break to watch the first part of the final of 'Come Dancing' cooked a quick snack while Mike delivered Christmas cards to the neighbours and now I am writing this before I settle down to see who wins the dancing. I love to watch ballroom and Latin American dancing. Back in the early 80's Mike, who was a good dancer, persuaded me to go for lessons with him, we enjoyed it and I still have the certificates somewhere to show we passed the basic exams. We haven't put it into practise for a very long time and I've probably forgotten all the sequences, not sure I ever really mastered the foxtrot that well. More recently Beccy has found some of my old dresses quite useful when they have 80's night dances. It's nice to know they're being recycled.

Although it's dull today the fog seems to be lifting so fingers crossed there will be no problems with flights tomorrow from Dublin. Family will be arriving at Bristol Airport around 2:30 pm. So see you tomorrow.

Last Celebration Meal

This post was really intended for yesterday but I had a problem with my server last night so here it is today.

I went out for my last Christmas meal on Thursday night with another group of ex-colleagues and friends. It's funny how I have been out more this year than on previous years when I was still working. There were ten of us in the party, including Cathy whose birthday bash I wrote about last Sunday. We re-visited Firehouse Rotisserie as we had enjoyed a meal there back in September. The following is an extract taken from sugarvine.com 'FR's bring a distinct and unique flavour to the dining scene with a real feel of California and its regional cooking. Not faux or homogenised, you can really buy into what is happening in L.A and the South West Coast'. Well I don't know if this is case but I have been there twice and enjoyed both meals.
I don't know what you feel but I often find Christmas Menus to be quite boring with little choice and the food is not cooked with any particular care where they are catering for large parties (or am I being too fussy). Well I needn't have worried as this was not the case at Firehouse where we had four choices for each course ordered in advance. I decided on Chinese Chicken Salad with Spicey Sesame Dressing Toasted Almonds and Wontons, this was attractively presented was not too spicey. This was followed by Slow roasted shoulder of Chew Valley Lamb Ancho Cabernet Gravy and Mint Coriander Gremolata. I am assuming the lamb is reared locally in the Chew Valley which is on the outskirts of Bristol. I suddenly remembered I should be taking photos and I quickly took the main course but it was quite dark and the flash rather ruin what was in fact a nicely presented meal (I don't think I will ever get the hang of photography). The lamb was very tender and full of flavour, the vegetables were just slightly overcooked for my taste (I was the only person to choose lamb) but as far as I am concerned I had made the right choice.




For dessert I opted for Sorbet with Champagne which had a lovely lemon tang and was quite light. I don't usually eat three courses and I was pleasantly surprised at the end of the meal to find I was not left feeling stuffed.