Christmas Eve, Geoffrey, Amanda and I made a big dinner for just us to enjoy. Everything turned out beautifully, despite many dishes being made for the first time. Each of us was in charge of a dish, which made the tasting much more exciting, because we got to eat each others' cooking.
 |
| We treated ourselves to sparkling cider on sale! |
 |
| Geoff, in charge of salad. |
 |
| Cranberry chicken. |
I made cranberry chicken. Chicken was marinated in balsamic vinegar, olive oil, garlic, cloves and Italian herbs. Threw on some rosemary and fresh bay leaves before popping it in the oven.
Geoffrey wanted kabobs, so he looked up a recipe and marinated some steak pieces and mushrooms. We all had fun stringing together bits of zucchini and onions and steak.
 |
| Kabobs before being wrapped in tinfoil. |
 |
| Putting the kabobs into the oven. Amanda mashing the potatoes. |
I also made a cranberry compote to go with the chicken. It was stir-fried onions with cranberries boiled in chicken broth until it reduced to a more sauce-like consistency. Flavoured with sugar and lemon juice for tang and a bit of chili powder to provide contrast to the sourness.
The final spread, from left to right:
Cranberry Compote Chopped Pecans
Kabobs Bread Pasta Salad
Mashed Potatoes Wenslydale cheese with cranberries
 |
| Oven-warmed bread with classy cheese. |
 |
| Amanda, about to dig in. |
 |
| The chicken, with carrots and bay leaves to garnish. |
Pasta salad, dressed with apple vinegar, olive oil and olives. Mashed potato with Wenslydale. Cranberry chicken with the cranberry compote, with a sprinkle of chopped pecans.
 |
| Geoffrey, opening the sparkling cider. |
 |
| The fizz. |
 |
| You can see the cranberries popped, here. While boiling, you hear the popping under the lid, one by one. |
 |
| Trying to stuff down a kabob. |
 |
| All the bits of the kabob maintained a lot of flavour. |
Merry Christmas!
I made cranberry chicken. Chicken was marinated in balsamic vinegar, olive oil, garlic, cloves and Italian herbs. Threw on some rosemary and fresh bay leaves before popping it in the oven.
Geoffrey wanted kabobs, so he looked up a recipe and marinated some steak pieces and mushrooms. We all had fun stringing together bits of zucchini and onions and steak.
I also made a cranberry compote to go with the chicken. It was stir-fried onions with cranberries boiled in chicken broth until it reduced to a more sauce-like consistency. Flavoured with sugar and lemon juice for tang and a bit of chili powder to provide contrast to the sourness.
The final spread, from left to right:
Pasta salad, dressed with apple vinegar, olive oil and olives. Mashed potato with Wenslydale. Cranberry chicken with the cranberry compote, with a sprinkle of chopped pecans.
