Christmas cheer
I have just had the nicest weekend! I'm still recovering from the insane amount of activity. The Parents-in-Law (with brother-in-law) came up to stay and I don't think I have laughed so much in ages. It was made more special because there is the festive vibe in the air, Newcastle was lit up with the prettiest array of lights, blues, whites and flashing snowmen hung over the streets. We saw Clementines, just like Nigella mentions in her Christmas programs, and men selling French fancies, Dutch pancakes, waffels, sweets, olives. It was a feast for the senses, which made us all the more hungry for our meal.
My husband had decided to book a table at a teppanyaki restaurant that he'd been to before. Teppanyaki is a form of Japanese hot-plate cooking, very bizarre indeed, but the floorshow was definitely worth seeing! You are seated around a hot-plate and the food you've chosen is brought out and cooked in front of you, with the chef usually doing something funky with sharp implements! We had a ball!
We walked past Fenwicks in Newcastle, which is a shop I love. If nothing else for the cookware department, where I could happily spend many hours trying to decide between silicone baking sheets vs. non-stick. We laughed some more, at inappropriate things (silicone turkey basters, come on!) then went outside and wowed at their Christmas window display. In previous years it has been A Christmas Carol (I think) and The Snowman, this year it was the turn of Gulliver's Travels. It is a sight to see, as you walk past the many large windows, different parts of the story is read out to you over speakers.
On Saturday we all ventured out to Corbridge, explored the scenery, the shops and the food, had a wonderful time then made our way home for a home-cooked meal. I got to test my hostess skills when our oven physically couldn't fit two chickens, a tray of roast parsnips and a large potato dauphinoise (which turned out to be a masterpiece!). It did all work out well in the end, and the christmas puds were, to my extreme delight, far tastier than anything a supermarket could churn out! We all fitted around our table, lit by candles and it was a really special time for all. I still keep saying to myself "I can't believe I got it all on to the table, on time, all together, perfectly cooked!". I am very pleased with myself.
Our pudding, flaming gently.
My husband had decided to book a table at a teppanyaki restaurant that he'd been to before. Teppanyaki is a form of Japanese hot-plate cooking, very bizarre indeed, but the floorshow was definitely worth seeing! You are seated around a hot-plate and the food you've chosen is brought out and cooked in front of you, with the chef usually doing something funky with sharp implements! We had a ball!
We walked past Fenwicks in Newcastle, which is a shop I love. If nothing else for the cookware department, where I could happily spend many hours trying to decide between silicone baking sheets vs. non-stick. We laughed some more, at inappropriate things (silicone turkey basters, come on!) then went outside and wowed at their Christmas window display. In previous years it has been A Christmas Carol (I think) and The Snowman, this year it was the turn of Gulliver's Travels. It is a sight to see, as you walk past the many large windows, different parts of the story is read out to you over speakers.
On Saturday we all ventured out to Corbridge, explored the scenery, the shops and the food, had a wonderful time then made our way home for a home-cooked meal. I got to test my hostess skills when our oven physically couldn't fit two chickens, a tray of roast parsnips and a large potato dauphinoise (which turned out to be a masterpiece!). It did all work out well in the end, and the christmas puds were, to my extreme delight, far tastier than anything a supermarket could churn out! We all fitted around our table, lit by candles and it was a really special time for all. I still keep saying to myself "I can't believe I got it all on to the table, on time, all together, perfectly cooked!". I am very pleased with myself.
Our pudding, flaming gently.
posted by VintagePretty at 11:41 am
5 Comments:
Oh well done you! That sounds a scrummy feast indeed. It does feel so...NIgella!...when it all comes together.
Much tastier than what dear Carl cooked the other evening- the slowcooker! I had been keeping it in the oven, out of the way...! Oops!
It sounds like it was a wonderful time!
It sounds like a wonderful weekend. The market looks great and the store windows. I wish one of the big shops here would do something similar.
Thank you for showing the photos of Fenwicks Christmas Windows, I didn't, with one thing and another, get over this year to see them, and I go every year. Trust me to miss a great one, because I wasn't impressed with last year's for the first time ever.
Your meal you cooked sounded fantastic. Well done.
Glad you had a great time! Enjoyed your pictures too :)
Have a wonderful Christmas!
tea
xo
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