Boxing Day

It is the day after Christmas… and the house is quiet again. After the mad frenzy of cooking, baking and preparing for Christmas, and the whirlwind of eating and merry-making with family and friends, this is the short lull before the New Year celebrations start to kick in, in a few days time. The Holidays have been filled with lots of good food, great company, plenty of laughter, warmth, joy and happiness.

There has been so much food over the last few days, I’m not even sure where to begin… there were home-cooked food by both my mum and myself, there were contributions by friends and family, and there were store-bought food… some were Asian-styled, others were Western-styled, and yet others were “East-meets-West”… and all were generously topped with abundant love, warmth and well-wishes. That always makes everything all the more delicious, doesn’t it? I think it could be quite a South-East Asian thing, this mixed palate… it feels completely natural to have such a diverse mix of food at one table. East, West, North, South… it all comes together in a delicious alchemy of gastronomic delights. Everyone tucks in happily to rice and potatoes, curry and turkey, chendol on ice cream, even durian log cake and what have you…

Some of the food we had:

• Braised lamb shanks
• Simmered pork ribs
• Chilli lobster
• Salmon quiche
• Bruschettas
• Cucumber salad
• Glazed carrots
• Pommes persillade
• Mince pies
• Fruit cakes
• Yule log cakes
• Mini Swiss rolls
• Christmas cookies
• Fresh-made hazelnut gelato
• Petit Fours
• Chocolate truffles

There are some others that I cannot seem to recall at the present moment. And there are some I never even got to taste! I was so caught up with being with everyone and yakking away that some of the dishes were polished off before I got round to them… Which also means a lot of the dishes didn’t get their turn in front of the camera. LoL.

It will probably take me a few days to sort out all the food photos from the family photos, and so I’ll be posting the various dishes we cooked in stages.

But… first, I want to talk about desserts. Yes, my favorite topic, and my favorite part of the meal.

I was completely overwhelmed by these…

These were completely and totally sublime! They may look like just ordinary mini Swiss rolls, but believe me, they most definitely did NOT taste like just any ordinary Swiss rolls. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever eaten such a superlative Swiss roll before! The sponge cake was so cottony soft and smooth – light as feather but not airy. It just melts in the mouth – a sweet and smooth sensation. The fresh cream filling was equally light, and complemented by the lightest touch of strawberry jam. It was completely out of this world!

The only down-side… I only got to eat one. They were gone so quickly! Although I do know of some people who managed to wolf down 4-5 of these! (No names mentioned)

I really have to find out where these came from. A friend brought them over, and I haven’t had a chance to ask her where she got them from. Somehow I don’t think they can be found in Singapore. I’ve never tasted anything like it here before. But at the same time, I’m hoping they are available in Singapore. I’m already having a craving for them!

There were also mince pies, of course. Christmas wouldn’t quite be fully Christmas without some mince pies, right? These ones were from Marks & Spencer. And they were very good indeed. I really liked the crust – rich, crispy, light and flaky. This year, they also seemed a lot less sweet than previous years. (It would seem that M&S; has tweaked their recipe, perhaps in response to changing customers’ preferences for less sweetness in food).

Even the mini mince pies were chock-full of luscious spiced vine fruits… Yum!

We also had some mini chocolate yule log cakes, from another friend. These were very good too. Instead of butter cream, these were filled with a light, yet rich-tasting bitter-sweet chocolate mousse, and topped with dark chocolate. These also did fast-disappearing acts, and were enjoyed by both young and old.

Another personal favorite…

Dark chocolate covered almonds with a light dusting of powdered sugar. Mmmm... Perfect balance of the bitterness of dark chocolate, sweetness of powdered sugar and crunch of roasted almonds. (Sorry, I only remembered to snap the picture after most of them were gone, and they had started to “sweat” even though the air-conditioning was on full-blast, and were looking less than picture-perfect). These were from Royce Chocolates, a Japanese brand with a counter in Takashimaya’s Food Hall. I like their chocolate truffles too. Apparently made from Hokkaido cream, these are extremely smooth tasting. They are not quite shaped like the traditional truffles, and are also less sweet. Just divine!

There was also fresh-made hazelnut gelato from Venezia (Guthrie House or Centrepoint), served with warm chocolate sauce and chopped toasted hazelnuts. No pictures though, sorry. I forgot… I was too busy enjoying the gelato! I also forgot about snapping the myriad of other Christmas baked goodies so kindly brought by friends and relatives. But I assure you they all tasted yummilicious!

Yes, it was a sweet, sweet Christmas indeed!

Next up, lamb shanks and the other entrees and side dishes…

Copyright © 2003 Renee Kho. All rights reserved.
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