Sunday 18 December 2016

Seven sleeps

I'm braising red cabbage at the moment, which is filling the house with a very (for me) Christmassy scent. I make this recipe pretty much every year - unadulterated, unchanged and unfailingly good. It also has the virtue of improving with age (much like me) so preparing it in advance is practically mandatory.

Are you sorted for your Christmas dinner yet? We are on our own this year so keeping things easy, yummy and slightly non traditional. Smoked salmon roulade on spelt bread to start followed by confit duck legs with mash and braised red cabbage - with cold turkey, gammon and sausagemeat loaf if anyone requires additional protein. Cheese, of course. And, finally, Christmas pudding ice cream - a recipe that I must share at some point. Gorgeous!

2016 has not been the easiest year on a personal level - let's not even start on global events. Which is why I am especially looking forward to this next couple of weeks; this holiday that is traditionally about peace and goodwill to all will hopefully be a time to focus on all the bright, shiny things that sometimes get obscured. Family and friends, sparkly lights, the joy of sharing and, yes, a bit of self indulgence.

The cute cat picture of the week is as Christmas themed as I can get - Minx tends to save all her most photogenic moments for when my phone camera is out of hand, the gorgeous little bugger. Still, small mercies - she has yet to bring down the tree!


4 comments:

  1. Minx is looking very winsome there. Enjoy your Christmas break and have a wonderful Christmas Day.

    We're at home with Rich's Dad and stepmum and his fake grandad Frank. 5 is a nice and manageable number for our house. Lxxx

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    1. Sounds lovely Lesley - hope you have a wonderful time too (and that Santa remembers to pay you a sneaky visit!)

      The Minx can be very winsome indeed, although I expect that behind that innocent expression there is some mischief brewing!'

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  2. Christmas a deluxe? Sounds heavenly. We've only managed it twice in 21 years and I suspect the next time will be far, far in the future. It is wonderful - no timetable, no-one waiting for you to come up with the next food and/or entertainment. Deep breath.

    We're taking both mothers out for lunch to Hotel du Vin. We've never wanted to do this as I suspect that there's no restaurant that could match our own Christmas meal (husband is particularly amazing at roast potatoes and gravy). But given that we simply cannot fit 4 adults and 2 very unruly dogs in our flat (at least, whilst retaining our sanity), we'll be stepping way out of our comfort zone- and then delaying Christmas a deux until Boxing Day.

    And I adore spiced red cabbage.

    Have a wonderful one.

    Px

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  3. Sigh. My predictive text clearly can't even manage very basic French - & I missed it first time. That should read "Christmas a deux". Quelle horreur

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