This past weekend Keenan’s family were in town, and since we won’t be seeing them this Christmas (we’ll be in Melbourne with my family), we decided to have a very early Christmas lunch. We also invited my favourite aunt and uncle, so we had a full house.
You might think that it wouldn’t have felt like Christmas, what, with it being the middle of November and all, but you’d be wrong. We had our Christmas tree up and we decorated the table with a festive theme and with a house full of people, it really felt like the most wonderful time of year.
I love cooking and especially cooking for other people, so it was lots of fun putting together a festive menu. I had a few issues, to begin with as my oven decided to break, but as I had a home warranty from websites like https://homewarranty.firstam.com/homeowner/home-warranty/tennessee I was able to get this easily fixed and ready for the festive celebrations! I did a gammon, a roast chicken, and roast rainbow carrots and our family brought sweet potatoes, a green veggie salad, and dessert.
Obviously, the kitchen goes through a hell of a lot at Christmas time. Ideally, we need about ten ovens! Whilst we unfortunately don’t have the space for that many ovens, one thing you can do is redesign your kitchen to make it more efficient. Efficiency is key in the kitchen, especially when you’re cooking for a large group. Time efficiency is vital because you don’t want to be wasting time waiting for your ancient oven to heat up, and energy efficiency is important too if you don’t want to be slapped with a huge electricity bill when the festive month is over. If your kitchen appliances are in need of a Christmas upgrade, you can click here to get a qualified electrician to come and replace them for you. Once your kitchen is ready to take on the task of Christmas lunch, you can get going on the next part – eating all that food!
The best part was the edible Christmas wreath, which doubled as table decor and the starter. I was inspired by the cover of this month’s, Food & Home Entertaining Magazine. It’s super easy to make, so check out the how to below.
How To: Edible Christmas Wreath
The ingredients are really up to you. Any selection of cold meats, cheeses, nuts and fruit will do. Try to select green, red and white foods. I went for a selection of cheeses and cold meats, with red fruit.
Ingredients:
- A big platter. I used a wooden one cause I like the way it looks.
- Baby butter lettuce or rocket. I used baby butter lettuce.
- Selection of cold meats like salami and parma ham. I used an ostrich and orange cured sausage from Pierre’s Charcuterie at Saucisse Deli in Woodstock, which tastes like Christmas and some parma ham from Woolworths.
- Selection of cheeses. I used a mixture of hard and soft cheeses from Saucisse.
- Raspberries and pomegranate jewels.
- Nuts if you have them. I didn’t but I’d use them in my next one.
- Micro herbs for garnish.
Method:
Lay the butter lettuce in a circle around the platter. Place the cheese and meats around the lettuce and place the red fruits around the wreath. Sprinkle with micro herbs. Serve with a selection of preserves, pates and crackers.
It’s stupidly easy and a total showstopper. I mean, if you’re going to spend money on table decor, you might as well eat it, right?
I’m hosting my friends for a Christmas lunch with Krone in December and I can’t wait! I’m planning a menu of tiny traditional foods, with another version of this edible wreath for canapes. I’m also Pinning away, looking for decor inspiration. I’ll be sharing the details soon, so keep an eye out if you’re looking for festive menu inspo.
