BEFORE AND AFTER.

Every Year people are busy doing the preparation for Christmas, to feast, to share and also to organise the house, the places.  It's such an important event, to celebrate the birth of baby Jesus, especially in the Christian world and community.  Now it has become a common practice everywhere.  And why not, the message is so grand, love is born,  it is time to be together, to catch up with family and friends, feasting, giving, sharing and having a good time.  Wonderful and Beautiful!
Before Christmas and its spirits are very contagious, the anticipation for the Big Day is fantastic, everyone happy to be a part of.

Christmas to us is spending time with the family, often we have a grand feast with a Roast Turkey and the trimmings, but also we are happy enough only having a fancy and delicious meal for feasting. Both are a meaningful celebration for us as long as the family together.  However, there are times we could not get together on the 25 of December Christmas Day, so we are settled to celebrate the day just the two of us.

The move to the interstate for Mel, our oldest daughter, is a significant change, adjustment after the adjustments and to care for a family of six is a big task.
The plan to come in December around Christmas time and maybe we would be able to help was right.  We got there quickly, settled in the hotel our accommodation, which is a 35minutes drive from her house.  As we found out, there was no need to do work at her place, the house was right, and in order, the garden was done by the hired gardeners for that time. Indeed they had done a great job. The large yard was tidy.  The family and the children were excellent and well, and they greeted us with so much love.
How good it was a catch-up time, inviting them for a luncheon at our hotel, the chef was there to

Luncheon with Us

 cook for us, as Lunch is not usually open  A Sweet gathering, a simple Christmas celebration, the best thing was, the children had a good swim afterwards, to cool down of the hot Brisbane's weather.

With Melanie, It was a lovely time,
I enjoyed the delicious food.

Melanie and her husband were kind to drive from their home to our hotel every day, and the last day we were invited out.  The restaurant was friendly, loved the food, we were pampered, pleased to see the grandchildren and spending quality time with them. A joyful gathering and relaxed.
A great time to be with Melanie's family before Christmas and we were able to FaceTime with Jane's family who lives in the Netherlands.  Christmas Day was on our own, but looking forward to having Susan's family for Boxing Day.

A lovely time before Christmas with Melanie's family, and catching up with Jane's family on Facetime was great, after Christmas, we had a happy celebration of Boxing Day with Susan's family.

Sweet Christmas 2018 just the two of us, the breakfast was indeed fresh,
we had coffee and cake.  The Christmas dinner was short and sweet, a delightful food, healthy and delicious. It was a chicken dish, not a turkey.

Freshly Baked Christmas Cake 2018

Poached chicken fillet sprinkled with chopped sundry tomato, cranberry and pistachio nuts on top,  sliced to serve, garnished with potato and avocado salad, steamed whole cauliflower with herbs.  Finished off with the luscious trifle and berries.

Beautiful Dandy Poached Chicken for Christmas Lunch

The Cooking

 The Christmas Day

We had a Peaceful, Joyful Christmas 2018 and I wish You All did Too.



Boxing Day.

Cooking for the Boxing Day was fun, a turkey buffet and rice pilaf.  I was not sure what to do, as Susan and Tris just had a big feast with their in-laws family. 
Served lobster tails for entree, they were not perfect but okay. 

The Boxing Day Dinner with Pino Noir Chardonnay was a Success.  

Meringue served with honey and berries for the dessert and Susan's Panettone. This light and sweet bread have become a family favourite.  We do have one every year as well as the homebaked Christmas cake. Of course, we enjoyed the Piper-Heidsieck Champagne, thanks to Tris and Susan.
Tea and coffee were served after dinner, and for me has to take a slice of the Christmas cake to round up the day celebration.

It was a Pleasant  Boxing Day for Us All


The Cooking and Preparation
Forgot to take a picture of the entree, but the lobster tails were cooked well, could be better.  But Turkey was delicious to be served with the rice pilaf.  It's definitely very different, it was not very traditional.

It is a big responsibility to cook for Christmas, lots have to be done.  But we could make a choice what the best for everyone.  The Menu has to be simple, this is important.  The traditional dishes such as Turkey and Ham is easy to dress, you only need to be organised.  For a fancy and delicate roast duck with garnishes is excellent to serve for four, a small Christmas gathering. Mainly I learnt that we could cook the duck the day before, joint it when it is cold for easy carving, reheat under the grill for a crispy skin.
 Here it is the recipe for you, how to roast the whole duck.

Crispy Duck

 Beautiful, golden brown roasted duck in perfection.  Place the duck in a clean platter to rest.

Place the duck on a plater wrapped with foil and refrigerated
overnight before reheat to serve 

How to Roast a Whole Duck
Roasting the Duck

1. Preheat oven to 190C.
2. Dry duck with a paper towel for a crispier skin. (if possible leave duck uncovered in the refrigerator to dry skin out.)
3. Ensure the vent end of the duck is open to allow even cooking. Never stuff the duck as it prevents even cooking. Instead, place your favourite herbs, zest of orange or garlic inside the cavity for a beautiful aroma while the duck is cooking. If stuffing is desired, cook it separately.
4. Place duck on a rack in a roasting tray.
5. Season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.
6. Roast for 40mins per kg until golden brown then removes the duck from the oven and leave to rest for 20 mins.

To portion the duck into 4, gently cut out the 2 breasts and the 2 legs with a sharp knife.

Click here to watch Everyday Gourmet's video on how to cook a Luv-a-Duck Whole Duck: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffj3Ap1d7uU

Using Duck Fat

There will be quite a bit of fat in the bottom of the roasting tray (this is good). Pour this into a container and leave to cool. The fat will come to the top, and the juices will settle on the bottom.

Use the juices to make your sauce and store the fat in the refrigerator to cook the world's best roast potatoes.

Chef’s Hint

Duck reheats really well to cook it ahead of time or the day before, joint it when it is cold and then reheat the portions skin side up in a hot oven or under a hot grill. Always serve the sauce on the plate, not over the crispy skin of the duck.

The recipe is easy to follow.  I cooked the duck to perfection.  The meat was very moist, and the skin was crispy.

My family had a Good Christmas Celebration, here and also in the Netherlands. 
What was after the Do?  Fun to look at the place, a sweet memory, to put things back at the right place and all that jazz.  OH, it 's all good, we do it every year.


After Christmas.
The time that was able to take any pictures, no more important thing to attend to.  Any object or event around the house, inside and outside.
The star shining so bright, love the greens, flowers from white to colours.

Dishes and glasses have been washed, Christmas cake was tasted. The table, after dinner for another round, the flowers were wilted, indoor plant witnessed the event.

Empty bottles of wine and champagne, leftover sweets and fresh fruits just there, everywhere.

Christmas light, Christmas tree, Christmas cookies,  Chrismas cake stay.

Photos were taken, snapshots of the memory.

Family helped, children and  Alfie, the dog was ready to go, a bouquet of flower/herbs was made to take home.

The house becomes an empty shell, the guest room with a tidy bed.  A beautiful bouquet which never reaches Melbourne, it was forgotten.  A farewell is a sensitive time.

Gifts and presents told their stories, were consumed to be enjoyed, were too small and ready to be exchanged.  All were the beauty of Love, a sharing time.

We had an excellent time together on Boxing Day and After.
 Fixed the herbs-flowers put on a vase and thinking of you,  kids.

Will take two hours to get home to Melbourne, Alfie is a faithful passenger, a good dog.

See You Again Kids

Only two minutes after the children left, the house was so quiet, it rarely has people around.  But there are signs that the family was home, the Cooking-Javanese Dishes.

The fun for saving the leftover after Christmas.
Getting the right protein and the size is playing a big part for not having the leftover.  It is better to have a small quantity of everything, this way you would not have too much. Healthy Living!  
Small fresh turkey buffet, we had, indeed still a leftover, but only enough for one serve and sandwiches, no fuss.  Lots mix nuts were there, and here it is I baked muffins with five different nuts for the toppings, made a dozen standard cupcakes.

Any muffin recipe would do, I used oil instead of butter, and I added some honey.  The muffin was soft and moist.

The New Year's Eve, another feasting day for everyone.  After Boxing Day, we were relaxed, we welcome the New Year 2019 with easy. Remember, Christmas continues until the six of January, the Kings from the East - the Wiseman comes to visit baby Jesus with precious gifts. The Epiphany.

The Anticipation to Christmas was Good, and the Aftermath was Good Too.

And of course, we had welcomed the New Year.
To everyone for a Great Year 2019.




The first Sunday of the New Year
Susy