I’m not quite sure why time seems to get away from me, but it does!
The lead up to Christmas was, as I recently said to someone, frantic! There were cooking classes/knowledge sharing sessions to deliver throughout the region, cooking for a local café to be done, trips to Melbourne for family gatherings, an unexpected medical issue, hampers to prepare and get into the post for family up north, gifts to purchase and our preparations for our contributions to the Christmas Day Family Feast!
This year in the Christmas hamper I included a few new items, coffee liqueur, flavour bombs/simmer pot pouches and a new biscuit (cookie). The coffee liqueur was a recipe given to me by a host at a B&B in central France, the flavour bombs/simmer pot pouches were made up of my dehydrated citrus, some spices and a little candied ginger (I think that I will dehydrate ginger for them in future), and the new biscuit is based on a commercially available biscuit available here in Aus, but made using a recipe from my mum’s recipe book.
Our contribution to the family feast included the plum pudding, custard (no brandy sauce, as there were young children coming along), Irish cream (this is where the alcohol made an appearance with a good splash of Irish whiskey liqueur added). I also made a large cauliflower cheese, blanched broccoli and carrots, roasted pumpkin, roasted pumpkin and tomato salad with a pesto dressing, and, a cherry, dried fig and goats cheese wreath drizzled in honey and a fig vinegar reduction. For Christmas Eve I made Salmon Terrine – I don’t think I’d be allowed to set foot on to the property without it! The final contribution was to assemble loot bags which contained mini jars of homemade preserves, some chocolate treats and a homemade biscuit – I alternated with my new biscuits and my crisp coconut biscuits to which I had added cornflakes and sultanas. Fortunately I had the majority of the work done before we loaded the car and traveled to our son’s home, in the Yarra Valley, on the morning of Christmas Eve.
Christmas Eve afternoon was spent working with Olivia, Chris and Olivia’s parents, to set the scene for Christmas Day. We did have to head out for a few hours in the evening though. Our grandson, Cooper’s other grandparents were hosting Wigilia (Polish Christmas Eve), I am very much in favour of keeping such traditions alive, and was humbled as Chris (Christine/Kryshia), had ensured that I could take part in the traditional blessing and exchanging of the bread, to the point that she had even purchased a delicious gluten free bread for the occasion. While we couldn’t stay for the feast prepared by Mike, we were so grateful to have been welcomed into their home on this significant evening. Now with Cooper on board, it was time to head back to our Chris’s home for some relaxing family time, and so that Cooper could get everything set for Santa before he went to bed.
Preparing the bread for Wigilia
This year Christmas day was, as my son’s father-in-law, David, called it, a “Beautifully Blended Family” Christmas with everyone contributing to the feast, and hosted by our son, Christopher, and his wife, Olivia. Tables were set up in a shed overlooking stunning landscape in the Yarra Valley, and we were seated at a long table that had been beautifully set by Olivia, and her mum, Bernadette.
With everyone arriving around midday Christmas morning was busy. Of course the there were gifts to exchange and the excitement of seeing what Santa had filled the stockings with while everyone had slept. Then it was action stations! Christopher was in charge of the meticulously prepared and smoked beef brisket, roast pork, rotisserie chicken cooked over coals, and garlic prawns, as well as setting up the new waterslide for the children, and Gary was in charge of assembling toys that needed it. Olivia was in charge of mixing the punch, and keeping the punch bowl topped up, and together with Chris, ensuring that their four children were having a fantastic Christmas – it was quiet clear that together they were going to be the perfect hosts to their family, of which we numbered 20!
My role on the morning was to manage the kitchen. So with Lacey in one arm I set to work – she wouldn’t settle in her basinette, but quickly drifted off to sleep as I worked one handed, gathering, assembling, and preparing the food for the table. Once guests arrived Lacey found other willing arms and I was left to finish the prep with Ra, Olivia’s sib, assisting and keeping me on track, my sister, Jan taking her station – you can always rely on Jan to head to the sink to clean as we go, and Sonnie at the dining table dressing up the beautiful pave wreaths that she had prepared, as Amy, Olvia’s sister prepared the food for the children. Finally as I had carved the last of the meats prepared by Chris, and David had finished carving the ham, it was time to eat
So what else was on the menu? As mentioned above, everyone worked together to add to the incredible spread. Olivia’s parents prepared a succulent baked ham that had been glazed with Bernadette’s homemade marmalade, a ducken (chicken cooked inside a duck), prawns on ice and a vibrant, delicious, gluten free couscous Christmas Salad. Olivia’s sister prepared a beautiful kids platter, a huge fresh fruit platter, and a salad; my nephew, John, who is a baker, provided the crusty bread rolls; Olivia’s sib, Ra, provided perfectly roasted potatoes two ways; and my sister Sonnie brought along two stunning pavlova wreaths, her much loved potato salad, and the ever popular bean salad. Together with what Chris, Olivia and I had prepared, let’s just say, there was actually enough food to feed an army and one table was not enough to hold the spread!
We tend to hand out gifts between the main meal and dessert, with the hope that we can do justice to the desserts on offer. Personal gifts are given out, and then it is all in for Silly Santa, always done with much fun, anticipation, and great humour. I think, by far this year, the star gift was contributed by John (it took him over an hour to wrap it!) and won by Olivia – it was a spinning wheel! Our silly santa rules state that the gift must not cost more than $20 and must be purchased from an Op Shop/Charity Shop. There is the opportunity to steal another’s gift if you have a high enough number, but this year there was only one theft! Amazingly we were all happy with the gifts we randomly selected!
Finally with full tummies, gifts given, children having played themselves to extreme tiredness, and adults quiet weary too, it was time to divvy up the food, send packages home with those who would like, and raid Olivia’s plastics drawer and load their fridge up with the leftovers – maybe a few days reprieve from cooking for this amazing family!
With everyone else gone, we bid our farewells, packed our car and hit the road for a 2 1/2 hour drive home. Tired but enormously grateful for this very special day with the people who mean so very much to us.
While Christmas 2024 may be all wrapped up, there’s no reason to stop cooking! So here is the recipe for my Butternut Chocolate Cream Biscuits – they are crisp, delicious and joined together with chocolate, and they are a bit of a hit! And for those of us who must go gluten free – they translate beautifully to gluten free – see the notes in the recipe.
Based on a commercial brand of biscuits, using my mum's recipe for butternut snaps. These biscuits are cooked smaller than normal and then joined together with either milk or dark chocolate, the choice is yours.
- 2 tbsp butter softened (see notes)
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp golden syrup
- 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
- 1 cup coconut
- 1 1/2 cups self raising flour see notes for Gluten Free Option
- 1 packet of chocolate melts
-
Place the butter and sugar into the mixing bowl, and using a wooden spoon, cream the butter and sugar.
-
Add the egg and beat to combine, then add the golden syrup and vanilla essence.
-
Finally add the coconut and flour and mix until well combined.
-
Preheat oven to 160˚C (fan).
-
Line two baking trays with baking paper.
-
Using a small coffee spoon, take spoonfuls of dough and place on the lined baking tray, ensuring that you allow space between each for spreading.
-
Bake for 17 minutes, or until golden.
-
Remove from the oven and turn every second biscuit upside down, revealing the flat base of the biscuit.
-
Place a chocolate melt onto the flat base of each turned biscuit and top with one that has not been turned.
-
Place on a cooling rack and allow the heat from the biscuits to melt the chocolate and then set. (I like to check the biscuits after a couple of minutes, to make sure that none of the top biscuits have moved as the chocolate melts.)
-
When cold store in an airtight jar.
- 1 metric tbsp = 4 tsp = 20 ml
- The temperature shown is for a fan forced oven, if using a non-fan forced oven you will need to increase the temperature by 10-15˚C
- This recipe translates easily for those on a gluten free diet.
For gluten free biscuits, replace the self raising flour with 1 1/2 cups gluten free flour blend and 1 1/2 tsp baking powder - I use both dark chocolate and milk chocolate melts, generally doing half with dark and half with milk. I believe that white chocolate would make the biscuits overly sweet, but in your kitchen you might like to try white chocolate..
So from our home to yours, we hope that you had a fabulous festive season, however you celebrate, and we wish you a new year filled with hope, love, peace, and kindness.
Until next time…
Bon appétit!
Links:
Recipes:
We had such a special time thank you Julia for your plentiful savoury food dishes
as usual it was a hit the Charlie’s looked amazing at Christopher and Olivia’s
Happy New Year, Mike, and thank you for your kind words.
It was a beautiful Christmas Day. The setting was delightful, festive decorations, delicious food, family, and the joy of children running around. Everyone had gone to so much trouble. Beautiful memories.
Happy New Year, Jan!
Thank you, it truly was such a special day, and you are correct, we are all left with beautiful memories.