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A Christmas 2014 feast

December 22, 2014 5 Comments

Salted honey rosemary walnuts - to her core

I had every intention of posting another holiday-themed recipe before Christmas. I had the recipe ready to go – lightly toasted hazelnuts, chocolate. Something slightly sweet, with a touch of saltiness.  But as things go this time of year everything got too busy and I didn’t get round to making and shooting it, so instead I thought I would leave you with somewhat of a wrap-up of some of my favorite recipes doing the rounds at the moment.

Growing up our Christmas lunch was either an Italian feast with my mother’s family, or a traditional roast with my Dad’s. More often than not, we would go to my paternal grandparents for dinner, and lunch was spent with my mother’s family. Nan (with the help of my mother and aunt) would spend days preparing an incredible amount of food. First course would sometimes be seafood – crayfish if we could get it, or prawns, as a modern Australian addition to an otherwise very Italian menu. Next off we would have some simple soup that consisted of a stock flavoured with chicken, vegetables, a few herbs, splash of oil, and homemade pasta pieces. This would be followed by the creme de la creme of all lasagnas, which my Nan would spend days preparing and everyone would fight over who got the corner piece. Following this would be meat and roasted vegetables, plus a simple green salad. Then fruit for dessert with espresso, and perhaps some grappa for the adults. 

Unfortunately as grandparents get old, marriages dissolve, children grow up and people move away, I don’t see my Italian family on Christmas days anymore, and even if I did, the majority of the food I would no longer be able to eat as a non-meat eater. But the memory of this decadent meal cooked from scratch with home-grown ingredients and recipes passed through the generations is what great cooking is about. Good food does not need to be fancy, and though this particular feast took days to prepare, good food doesn’t necessarily have to be time consuming to prepare either. That said, as someone who loves cooking, I quite like the  idea of preparing a decadent feast for my family. So this menu below is perhaps something like what I would like to feed my future family for our Christmas lunch. A mix of wholesome, nourishing dishes, all seasonal and for the most part simple yet impressive. A few dishes that are quite healthy, with a few treats snuck in, and all deliciously mouthwatering. 

With Christmas only a few short days away, presumably you have all got your menus planned already, but just in case – or maybe one to bookmark for next year – these recipes all deserved to be checked out.

 

Appetisers/starters

Cheesy baked ricotta - to her core

Homemade baked ricotta – to her core

Baked brie with boozy fig spread and pecans – the Roasted Root

Ginger, pear and goat cheese endive appetizer – Naturally Ella

Fig, rosemary and goat cheese tartines – Will Cook For Friends

Salted rosemary and honey roasted walnuts – to her core

Cranberry-sage goat cheese crostini – Dishing Up the Dirt

 

The main event

cauli salad

Cauliflower avocado salad with pomegranate – the Smoothie Lover

Sweet potato gratin – Whole Nourishment

Sorghum pilaf with roasted brussel sprouts, cranberries and grapes – Golubka Kitchen

Chili + coconut brussel sprout slaw – What’s Cooking Good Looking

Winter vegetable and gorgonzola galette – Happyolks

 

Something sweet

chocolate hazelnut cake

Hazelnut chocolate cake – Rohkost

Pecan Crumble Pears – Renee Kemps

Satsuma + rosemary pignoli nut cookies – Dolly + Oatmeal

Dark chocolate pistachio torte – Laura’s Mess

Rosewater shortbread – 101 cookbooks

A wee little tipple

Christmas kombucha - to her core

Spiced Christmas kombucha – to her core

Fig and rosemary tini – A House in the Hills

Berry ginger cocktail – Sprouted Kitchen

 Party season pear cinnamon Earl Grey tea fizz – The Holistic Ingredient

Chai hot chocolate – Tasty Yummies

 

Filed Under: Mains Tagged With: christmas, menu, vegetarian

« Spiced pear and blueberry skillet cake
Farewell 2014, hello shiny new year! »

Comments

  1. laurasmess says

    December 23, 2014 at 2:56 am

    What a gorgeous round up of recipes Dearna! Love love the look of that baked ricotta… I’ve made baked ricotta a few times but not for ages. I definitely need to revisit the idea with your recipe :)
    I know what you mean about things changing as you get older. It’s the same for me, most of my grandparents have passed away now and being married, my family has fused with another… both a good and a difficult thing. Love the idea of creating new traditions and planning for future family nourishment. I don’t eat a whole lot of meat either these days so it’s hard to balance that with a very meat oriented network of family and friends. Thank goodness for a creative blogging network and heaps of inspiration during the holiday season! Merry Christmas lovely, hope that you have a beautiful break xxx

    Reply
  2. Josefine says

    December 23, 2014 at 3:34 am

    That Italien feast sounds incredible. We just have two courses on Christmas eve – sad huh? ;)
    This is a wonderful list of recipes. I am very honoured to be on it – thanks a million!
    Have a very mery Christmas.

    Reply
  3. Katie @ Whole Nourishment says

    December 23, 2014 at 5:45 am

    Yes, I know how it goes with recipe plans that we just can’t get to with the busy-ness of the holidays here! This selection looks amazing, and thanks for the shout-out! ;-) I hope you have a wonderful Christmas, Dearna!

    Reply
  4. Lauren says

    December 23, 2014 at 7:33 am

    Your childhood Christmas sounds so lovely. I love going back to when I was a kid and thinking how amazing Christmas was! Some fab looking recipes here! Have a lovely Christmas!

    Reply
  5. Angie Bond says

    December 24, 2014 at 11:14 am

    What a lovely story, and what beautiful memories we have of those days. But yes, things change and we move on. I now await for the Christmas to be able to sit at your table to savour all these beautiful dishes. Have a very Merry Xmas xoxo

    Reply

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