Christmas Eve in the Gourmet Goddess Kitchen

Well, Christmas Eve is here and I have finally settled on the Christmas menu! Don't know why, but I found it hard to choose what to make this year as I had lots of ideas, but it was a matter of working out what would work together - always the challenge in putting together any menu. I never do the traditional turkey/ham/pudding thing - although I love both, I prefer to eat these kinds of dishes in Winter, not the Southern Hemisphere Summer. So, Christmas lunch this year will be a 5 course degustation style affair with a bit of an Italian vibe to it, featuring seafood, pork belly and quail - along with plenty of seasonal fruit and vegetables and the luxurious addition of Tetsuya's truffle salt (which contains beautiful Italian truffles) served with one of the dishes. I will be posting the full menu with pics in the coming days.

I like to have most of the preparation done well ahead so that I can relax on the day, so I will make the dessert this morning and prepare as much as I can ready for tomorrow. First task this morning though, will be a visit to the grocer and fishmonger to pick up the fresh produce I need (all the non-perishable stuff was purchased last week - much easier than doing a big shop on Christmas Eve) Because I shop locally and avoid anything that even looks like a large shopping centre, I find that I avoid the crowds and a lot of the Christmas agro that seems to be rife in the shopping malls. I figure that this time of the year is meant to be enjoyable - why torture yourself? I do realise that I am very blessed with a fantastic local shopping strip, which gives me the choice of saying no to Westfield and Co. Which I do - frequently!

Well, I had better get organised and grab my shopping bag so I can start preparations. To all of my readers I hope that you have a wonderful day tomorrow, no matter where you are or how you choose to spend it. Most of all, I hope you get to eat something delicious!! Thank you for sharing my food adventures with me this year and all of your fantastic feedback. It has been an absolute pleasure.

Big Christmas Love
From the Gourmet Goddess
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