Family Christmas Feasting 2012 - Lunch

I vividly recall the photos of the family feast that A purposely taunted me with back in the Christmas of 2011. That image of lobster, oysters and other yummy stuff has never really left my mind ever since.
I briefly thought to myself, I must make myself a part of this family (feast) one day.
A year later, I really did :)

So when he messaged me that my awaited #EventOfTheYear was happening on Christmas Day at his sister's house, I am kind of embarrassed to admit that it's not even a joke.
I had been anticipating this family feast for an entire year.
I just don't let him know that this is one of the reasons why we are together.

We had started driving when we realised we forgot our fuel for the long drive. Doing a detour back home, we loaded up with enough chilled flavoured kit kats to fuel us for the road trip down south to our destination, on a stinking hot 40 degrees Celsius day.

Sushi that wasn't for us

Having a toddler in the house who only eats certain food and occasionally his iPad, A's nephew  has access to his own private sushi buffet that get played with more than they get eaten.

Smoked Salmon platter

Things kicked off with a large platter of juicy smoked salmon, which we ate dipped into wasabi and soy sauce or with a squeeze of lemon.

I don't like being deceived by looks - if my salmon looks raw, as it does when it is smoked, I'd much prefer it actually being raw. I love my sashimi and to me, smoked salmon is just a tease.

I was pleasantly surprised however, by how moist and fresh these were, and how close they resembled raw fish because they didn't have that strong salty characteristic of smoked salmon. I drowned these in soy sauce and wasabi and happily pretended I was in sashimi heaven.

Mango Prawn Salad

When A told me what was going to be featured on the day's menu, I salivated so hard in my mind (most likely physically, too). The words Mango Prawn Salad rang in my head loud and clear, and I knew that with 2 of my favourite foods working their magic together, things could only go right.

The sight of this was magnificent and ever so unique, and I was ridiculously sad when I realised there was only enough for 2 per person.

Each mango was cut in half, the sweet golden flesh scooped out and refilled back into the now empty mango bowl, with the skin still in tact. Already refreshingly juicy on its own, the chunks of mango are added with whole prawns and tossed through a creamy mayonnaise dressing.

That sweet fruity taste and creamy texture go wonderfully well together, like a strawberries and cream thing.

There were also oven-cooked sausages, that were just too big to fit in (my stomach)!

Crispy skinned oven-roasted chicken

As we gobbled down through our starters, the chicken was quietly roasting in the oven and filling the air with its distinguishable mouthwatering that's-gotta-be-roast-chicken aroma.

These hefty chicken thigh and drumstick pieces were initially pan-fried to seal in its juices then finished off in the oven, and basted all over with a juicy sweet celery, carrot and onion mix after caramelising in the fry pan.

So tender, so juicy, so damn crispy.

Not just any potato salad

This was made by A's sister, and is enough to make me say this is probably the best potato salad I have ever tasted. Halfway between mashed potato and your normal chunky potato salad, it features your usual egg, bacon bits, cucumber and mayonnaise ingredients.

But bashing the potato chunks down into mash, takes it to a level of creaminess that goes beyond the already-creamy level that normal potato salad can ever provide you with.

Espresso shot

I'm not a coffee drinker let alone espresso shots, but with the words coconut flavoured, I was sold right then and there.

Fruit platter

Absolutely bulging at the waistline by now, but nobody passed up the fruit platter that served up refreshingly sweet grapes, cherries and rockmelon.

It is very entertaining to watch A's nephew interact with fruit he is given, as on one incident he dropped a watermelon, rubbed it on the floor a few times and picked it up to feed his dad.

Growing a little older now, there is slight improvement, as he now rubs it on the table then eats it himself instead.

Chocolate selection

The eating continued with an ongoing passing of the chocolate plate around, loaded up with assorted Lindor chocolate balls, Ferrero Rocher and coconut coated chocolate rum balls.

Christmas is really just an anagram for chocolate!

I was secretly wishing that A's dad would serve up his delicious Cherries Jubilee - spiced cherries flambéed in port wine syrup, which we savoured over an orange, pineapple and coconut ice cream on one occassion.

That amazing bittersweet flavour was My Perfect Ending. The best bit however, was seeing the kitchen go up in flames, just momentarily!

Merry ex Christmas!

Yet another reminiscent Christmas tree, to painfully remind you that the wonderful, short lived, unrestrained consumption, health unconscious festive days are all, over.

Now to start the countdown towards the next Event of the Year :)

Housewarming/Christmas Party 2012

Just 2 days before what seems like the biggest day of the entire year, K and S had the brilliant idea of hosting a get together and combining both their housewarming and Christmas celebrations.

It is the congregation of seemingly endless food, drinks, family, friends, receiving presents (and maybe giving them) all over the world that makes this short, yet so big part of the year just so special.

K and S are newlyweds themselves and using their prime honeymoon time to help all the other couples getting hitched during this period, they barely had any down time to enjoy their Just Married status in between.
So a big thank you to them, for taking time out of no time at all to organise such an enjoyable day for everyone who probably deserves it so much less than they do :)

Lamb Spit Roast

This was a sight to behold for guests who s-l-o-w-l-y trickled in, as I waited as patiently as possible as my starvation levels hit climax.

A slightly charcoal, hazy meat roast smell lingered teasingly in the air as the whole lamb rotated slowly on the rotisserie; a continuous motion that gradually cooks the meat and crisps up the craggy surface as the skin turns to a glistening brown.

Oops, better stick to societal norms...

P had a glance at the carcass's ass and thought we were having pork that day, which triggered this response from K. We definitely did not have a deformed pig roast, haha.

If only all misassumptions had explanations as clear as this!

Slow, almost TOO slow cooking of the lamb

This meat show is really an audible process, with the slight spitting sounds and almost robotic like movement of the rotisserie as it rotates the lamb.

Standing even a small distance away, the blasts of heat from that strong invisible flame is intense (I'm probably just feeling the sun, on this 35 degree Celsius day) as it slowly transforms the outer skin into a crisp and crackly layer.

Not a giant sausage

The body of the roast; lean, tender and basted in a mixture of herbs coating every inch of flesh in every mouthful.

Before the party on the lamb roast started, everyone snacked on much tamer food at the table.

A big plate of assorted breads fuelled me early on, with mini toasts, sliced turkish bread and bread sticks. I couldn't stop eating those bread twists! I think I had a mild addiction to their slight spiciness and salty flavour, with specks of what I think were bacon and chives.

The essential salad component of party food was delivered with this smashing pumpkin salad, with sweet pumpkin cubes, crumbled feta, and toasted pine nuts atop a bed of baby spinach leaves.

"Caesar" and "salad" were just meant to be

Caesar salad is a most popular choice when it comes to salads, probably because there is just nothing that salady or healthy, especially with the heavy pouring of creamy salad dressing before giving it a thorough toss. And NOTHING is left uncoated, ever.

There's just something so indulgent and enjoyable with a big plate of crunchy cos lettuce leaves, boiled egg, salty bacon strips, parmesan cheese and crunchy croutons, laden with calorific dressing on top.

Yes, loads of bread left over at the end of the day, even after enthusiastic scooping of all the tubs of dips provided. The amount of products made into dips these days is mind boggling!

This simple antipasto platter was a winner among guests, with an assortment of semi-dried tomatoes, thin crackers, marinated olives and salami twiggy sticks, paired with a creamy onion and bacon dip.

A surprisingly close winner also is the raw vegetable platter in the background, with sticks of raw carrot, zucchini and celery - collectively termed "rabbit food", and should probably be everyone's diet after the festive season.

A very simple cheeseboard on the day, featuring a small mix of cheeses.
This was barely touched; just not anybody's cup of tea or slice of cheese that day!

Dangerously moreish are these party platters with small snackable sized food items, which I realised after making a huge dent in the plate.

Roasted with a lime and sweet chilli flavour, all the salted peanuts, almonds, cashews, macadamias, brazil nuts and crisps are just too easy to pick up and pop into the mouth, and just too hard to stop.

Party helpers did a wonderful job of dessert duty (with the aid of the miraculous Thermomix - maybe, maybe not? ;)) and made bowls of refreshingly sweet mango pudding and almond jelly (not pictured) for all the [now plump] guests.

Lets eat!...and eat, and eat some more...

Deep fried spring rolls was also on the crowded table, with a choice of vegetable or taro fillings.

And I haven't even mentioned the rolls of buttery garlic bread, mountains of fresh fruit, L's box of delicious moist chocolate brownies, the hot dog station cranking outside the house, the big box of party junk food that didn't end up being opened, and the aromatic batches of grilled marinated chicken wings that definitely warmed the entire house up with delicious smells at this housewarming event.

And a special mention to the burnt red velvet cupcakes that never made it to the party.

Ready for some Dirty Santa action

A fun and playful method of gift giving is a game of Dirty Santa and all the rivalries created from gift snatching.

The only dirty thing about this game is the right to steal (and the mind of the person who decided to buy a revealing French maid costume as a present).

Indoor spearfishing

Note: NERF guns - always popular with the male species, no matter how old you are.

Evidence?

The boys trekking to the nearest shops, buying 5 new guns and turning the new house into a battlefield.

Take a break (from plain old red and white packaging!)

I came home heavier than I had expected! (Not the extra food baby I was now carrying. Obviously.)

It was this very beautiful and enticingly packaged box of assorted kit kats that L had generously lugged back from Japan, the land where kit kats exist in more than just their brown and white chocolate forms.

Kit Kats: Strawberry, Green Tea, Rum & Raisin and Wasabi flavours

Even though I was stuffed and in a horizontal position on the couch straight after lunch, the moment of kit kat distribution was the kick I needed to realise there was still room in my stomach.

These are still resting in my fridge, reserved as my "break glass in case of emergency" sugar fix for when urges arise unexpectedly. I'm still working my way through, slow and steady, one flavour at a time.

Hello, my name is Antisocial. If you ever need me, I'll be in the corner.

So before I do a few rounds and forget, I hope you all had a magical Christmas.

May you all be merry, laugh lots, eat as much as you want to, get fat, then lose it all after the new year again.

Yeah, I wish too.