Christmas Menu has been Decided

Well its going to be a simple but filling affair this year:

Starter
Spiced Carrot soup, with brown bread

Main
Roast Turkey (of course), Honey Roast Ham, Roast Potatoes, Honey roast Carrots and Parsnips, Buttered Peas, Onion Gravy, Stuffing balls wrapped in bacon (saw this on RTE website this evening its Richard Corrigan recipe), Bread Stuffing & Potato Stuffing.

Dessert
Traditional Trifle - made by the venerable Mr. Chops!

The shopping list has been written and the agreement to keep the shopping sane has been made! The cleaning of the house has begun also, its gonna be a hectic week. And Doggie Chops needs a quick short back and sides as well for Christmas. More as the week goes on.

Prawn Salad with Dipping Sauce

Simple supper tonight. Prawns tossed in tandoori masala mix then quickly stir-fried. On a bed of crispy salad leaves including lambs lettuce and rocket. Adorning the middle of the dish was a little bowl of Hot and Spicy Sweet Chilli dipping sauce, I used Blue Dragon because I think its the nicest. Tasty and snack like supper, hit the spot though.

Freddies Bistro

It was my work night out on Friday and before the carnage, we had booked an early bird meal at Freddie's Bistro in Limerick city. Its been a long time since I was Freddies and to be very honest it'll be a long while before I go back. Loads of people rave about this restaurant being the best in the city but I found it disappointing on Friday. Now I grant you it was pre-Christmas party night combined with a Heineken cup match in Thomond park so it was going to be busy.

There was at least 35 people scrunched into the tables upstairs, all big groups and it was stuffy, noisy and slightly uncomfortable. We were ordering from the set Christmas menu (available until 6.30) priced at €26.95 and €3.95 extra for steak. We weren't offered the A La Carte as a choice. There's plenty to choose from, I went for the garlic mushrooms, I felt risotto would be too filling; I'm allergic to mussels; Caesar salad you can have any time; I don't consider garlic bread with cheese a proper starter; the wings would ruin my manicure (!) and soup is too heavy. The garlic mushrooms are stuffed with garlicky breadcrumbs, served with a few salad leaves and drizzle of mayo and pesto. They were nice but nothing exciting.

For main, I was in the mood for something meaty so I opted for the medallions of fillet steak with perigourdine sauce (peppery mushroom). There's also a choice of chicken with peppercorn sauce, baked salmon, pasta carbonara, fish with lime & coriander and Thai red veg curry. Two thickish medallions arrived, one was just over medium and the other was as I asked for: medium rare. Nice meat but the dish was nothing special. I'd asked for the sauce on the side and I got a tiny little bowl of it. The usual sides arrived: baton carrots with brussel sprouts, mashed potato, chipped baby potatoes (with skins still on and not crispy enough), boiled baby potatoes with butter and chives I think, and roasted halved baby potatoes with garlic.

While I can't fault the food or the price, it didn't really excite me and it didn't feel special if you know what I mean. It was like decent pub grub.

But the desserts were amazing, I went for the chocolate pudding and all I left on the plate was the sprig of mint!! The staff were also brilliant, attentive but unobstrusive. Maybe on a quieter night it's a special place and more deserving of its reputation, but I did feel disappointed and let down.

Thoughts are turning to Christmas

Only 10 days to big celebration and there's been a change of plans this year, Mammy Chops is joining us. My ma was going on about spending the day alone and we decided to invite her being the nice people we are! Anyway, now its got me thinking what will I cook? Being an elderly lady of 79 its not everything she can eat. So the recipe testing has started. Tonight I decided to try a carrot soup. I finely chopped garlic clove, 3 medium sized carrots, an onion, a small potato, good pinch of ground coriander and plenty of seasoning. I gently fried them off in oil and real butter until the onion was soft and translucent. Then added approx a litre of stock with a big splash of orange juice, you need to cover the veg completely. I let that bubble away gently for around three quarters of an hour, then blitzed it up with my hand held! It should be a nice smooth soup and you know what, it turned out quite nice, if I say so myself. So it looks like a runner for Christmas day.

There might be a few additions on the day itself - I was thinking finely chopped crispy chorizo sprinkled on, or finely chopped red chilli, red pepper & spring onion as a garnish. For the Mammy it'll be plain soup with some warm bread.

Now onto the dessert.....