So, how was it for you? I can honestly say that for us, as a family of 8, this was the best Christmas yet. With so much build up to the meal, it is nice to be at a stage where they can all cut their own meat and mash their own spuds and this year there were no tears. There was one minor strop where one (who shall remain nameless) temporarily withdrew from celebrations as the allocated seating wasn’t to their liking! The strop involved stomping round the kitchen, a bit of cupboard door banging and finally the wielding of the electric carving knife – “I’m cutting my own ham”. Strop eventually subsided probably because everything else was already on the table. The kids had made the desserts and the youngest ended up standing on the chairs (I don’t know what that’s about) but overall it was a very enjoyable day.
The turkey was hardly touched and the duck was scavenged. I chopped up a lot of white turkey meat and froze it in sandwich bags for school lunches. Since Christmas Eve we’ve been eating huge meals every day. Ham, turkey, duck, spiced beef and yesterday roast beef. The last of the ham will be used up today in a quiche. It has yet to be made so I don’t have any photographs yet. Imagine a partially baked pastry base, line it with a good smearing of leftover cranberry sauce, then fill it with chopped ham, eggs and cream and sprinkle over with some hard cheese. I’m making two and will freeze one. If you do still have turkey leftovers at this stage you will need to heat it really well to ensure that it is safe to eat. Safefood recommends that you eat any leftovers within 3 days so. For some great leftover recipe ideas like Turkey & Leek Pie, Turkey Rocket & Pinenut Pasta and Turkey Ham & Potato Pie see www.safefood.eu.
I will be hitting the city for a bit of a workout in the sales today and will try to eat some fruit! (and no, sadly Terry’s Chocolate Orange doesn’t count.)
Til next time, Sheila.