Your holiday dinners?
 

I use to meet my parents on late afternoon 24th, and then we have a slow raclette all evening long: potatoes, French (not Swiss) Raclette cheese and for me medium old Gouda as well (Raclette for the creamyness :) , Gouda for the taste and a crispy surface), cherry tomatoes (which of course are lousy at this time of the year), Salami, and for my parents also ananas (which i absolutely hate), all this usually with a red wine, and afterwards a strong double Espresso. The nice thing with Raclette is that it is very social, and takes time. You can kill hours and hours.

Yesterday I ate nothing, it was my fastening day anyway, I skip eating every four days, and do 16/8 interval fasting on the three other days. Its now my life style.

Today, I had a feast for myself, alone. 2x 2 1/2 minutes fried Lamb steaks, marinaded in mustard with a bit yoghurt and fried with all the mustard, served in mint sauce (my style), with boiled potatoes and fresh green beans and bacon, and a Weinschorle (red wine spritzer). I do not cook the sauce the English way, but do an ordinary light (not dark) gravy, with only very mild seasoning of salt and pepper only, since I use plenty of fresh mint leafs, which I also do not chop. I also use three drops of mint oil per 250 ml gravy. 4 are too much, 2 are too little, 3 is just about right. My Mum almost dropped dead when I told her, but after she tasted it some time ago, she now drops others dead to get their mint oil. :D One of my most favourite meals. And kind of refreshing. :haha: No bad breath after eating.

No, the green stuff on the left side is no spinach :03: :)
https://i.postimg.cc/CL2DgJZc/IMG-2553.jpgupload picture

Looks kind of rude, but is extremely delicous. Several people have stolen the recipe from me now.

The nice thing with interval fasting is that I can eat like that as often as I want - and still lose weight. :up: From 90 down to 80 kg in two and a half months, still falling. :yeah:

What recipes do you have for christmas and special event dinners that are worth to be stolen?

My favourite holiday meal is the plain old Xmas dinner, chicken and stuffing, beef, lamb, mashed and roast potatoes, peas, carrots, mashed turnip, cauliflower and a rich brown gravy topped with a sprinkling of mint sauce.

https://i.imgur.com/KJDHCBy.jpg

We had leg of lamb with 'pigs in blankets' (sausages wrapped in bacon), Yorkshire puddings, all the usual veg plus leek sauce (which I absolutely must have) and gravy... also home-made cranberry & crab-apple cheese

We avoid turkey or goose, usually preferring to get a good deal on something like lamb, goat or ostrich. We have a gammon joint at Christmas as well, for Boxing Day

Looks like another painting of yours! :D Certainly more stylish a table than mine.

Steamed fish no trimmings better for your health. :03:

Forgot to mention the Yorkshires :oops:

Yup, I did the washing-up solo afterwards (we never yet got a dish-washing machine)

We've had one for years and I still haven't learned how to operate it :doh:

Pretty traditional Finnish Christmas dinner:
- Ham
- Potatos
- Brown sauce
- Various casseroles (potato, carrot, cabbage)
- Smoked salmon
- Rye bread/Karelian pie
- Home brew beer


Though this year it was at my mom's instead of grandparent's since they are getting a bit too old, so we don't want to put the burden on them. (My grandma worries a lot about the Christmas dinner, might not sleep properly etc.)

I was alone this Christmas so for me i had beans on toast cant beat it :D

I can't wait to see what Reece had for Christmas after his picture of what he enjoyed for his birthday :o

I just had a big breakfast by myself and then a friend sent her son over with a Turkey leg, dressing, sweet potato, celery, cheese, gravy and mashed potato's and a great pineapple/coconut pie and she even sent a can of whipped cream for the topping. :yep:

I try to avoid holidays, for personal reasons, but I( used to go to a local market that sold "Thanksgiving and Christmas Dinners for One". You'd go to their deli and select what you wanted. They'd box it up and you'd pay a single price and take it home. When I was homeless I'd go to one of several churches around town that hosted holiday dinners. The Greek Orthodox church was the best. I don't do it anymore just because it's no longer fun to eat a big meal (even a nice one) with a bunch of strangers.

This time I bought some frozen turkey breast (quite cheap) and some mashed potatoes and called it good.

.... wallaby

Oh boy I know what to have for lunch tomorrow. :DL

https://i.imgur.com/2FfLjsS.jpg Good enough to eat (a few minutes ago)

What you guys need is this..


http://images.ntpl.org.uk/hppa-zooms...s_kilh2460.bro

Good solid easy and will last longer than you when you snuff it. :) :03:

MOIRA'S TURKEY, ARTICHOKE & OYSTER MUSHROOM PASTA BAKE
 

This is something my wife invented and tastes fabulous; I hope you'll try it, with our compliments

INGREDIENTS:

150 gms Lasagnette (cooked al dente), turkey or chicken strips (cooked thoroughly), 1 jar drained "Sacla" artichoke lantipasto (these are in oil), a punnet of oyster mushrooms, 2 chopped tomatoes, 1/2 pint of home-made white sauce, one and a half teaspoons of paprika, 1 clove garlic, 1 teaspoon dried parsley, white wine, grated cheese of choice



Heat 1-2 tablespoons of oil (from the lantipasto); add garlic & turkey/chicken and fry until golden; add tomatoes and stir for 2 mins; add parsley, paprika, the mushrooms plus a dash of wine; stir well & simmer gently until the mushrooms are just cooked and the sauce has thickened; season

Put half of the cooked pasta in an oven-proof dish; cover with the mushroom etc mix, then cover with the rest of the pasta

Add chopped, drained artichokes to the white sauce, along with a dash of wine; season; pour this over the pasta and top with grated cheese

Bake 180 degrees C. for approx half an hour then serve with crusty bread and green salad


For an equally delicious vegetarian version just leave out the meat... the oyster mushrooms give the whole thing a fatty, bacon-like taste anyway


NB: the pasta needs to be cooked al dente before the baking, otherwise it may turn out soggy. Also, Moira says that 'SACLA' brand artichokes in oil are the only ones which seem to work

^ Now we are talking. :03:

I got a flask of - very, very aromatic - walnut oil for christmas. I am not the salad type of of guy, so wondered what I do with it, it tasted delicious, but walnot oil is no frying oil, AFAIK. Hell, that oil tastes fantastic.

I ended up today with creating kind of a Pesto: Walnot oil, freshly roasted and coarsly smashed sunflower seed, Parmesan (fresh), Basil, olive oil as well, garlic, salt, black pepper (coarse), roasted sesam seeds. This on spaghetti.

It tasted very different to anything I ever had done with pasta before, very nutty, and subtle in taste but strong in aromes you taste after you swallowed. Did not expect that it would be really good, just hoped it would be okay because I was lazy and worked fast in the ktichen - but in fact I found it to be delicious and will do it again, I miss the taste already now, just four hours later. Would not have imagined that pasta and nutty aromes and nutty oil would go so well together. Considering that this was just a lazy improvisation... I could imagine that some halved cherry tomatoes fit nicely in as well, or rosins, but tomatoes should not take over the taste, this should not be another tomato sauce. Key is to get a very, very good walnut oil. The ones I had in the past were from the supermarket, and they do not compare to the one I got as a gift now (from the wooden barrel, she said, filled in bottle live in the shop).


Great walnut oil. I need to find a supply source in my own town.