After The most awesome Christmas eve dinner Christmas day 2011 will be a day to remember for so many good reasons. The food was outstanding. Breakfast was skipped even though we all know it’s the most important meal of the day. Snacking was avoided despite nice snack food being in abundance. The planning had been long in the making, the day was about lunch and the goodness a Christmas lunch can bring.
The entrée was centred around black figs and goat cheese. These were made from scratch and were perfectly cooked. The sweetness of the fig was nicely balanced with the cheese’s saltiness. It was a perfect start for a large meal.
Fig and goat cheese tart
The main course was centred around a roast duck. The duck was prepared with a nice cherry stuffing and the hope was for the abundant duck fat to provide flavour and crunch to crispy roast potatoes and parsnips.
A roast duck is a slippery “critter” on a non-stick surface and trying to turn it to rest in the oven in three positions was a loving challenge. I. Love. Duck!!!
Roasted duck and vegetables
Roasted duck and vegetables
As you can see the cherry stuffing wanted to emerge early. It tasted so good.
Plated up we had duck, ham, stuffing, potatoes, sweet potatoes, parsnips, snow peas, broccoli and asparagus spears.
Christmas lunch
Some twitter friends have commented that I don’t eat enough greens and that avocado is not a green. Well here’s some proof that there are green vegetables on my plate. You may also notice I was honoured with the choicest pieces of the duck. I was able to enjoy the neck, tail and thigh. I love the dark meat and the oily fatty goodness in the loose skin of the neck and tail. These pieces are so full of flavour.
Some readers may be grossed out but it’s worth presenting the finished plate for the reason of some anatomy. Notice I did not eat the trachea. It is a little too cartilaginous for my liking.
Duck bones and trachea
No Christmas meal is complete without dessert and to be fair we had to wait a while while our stomachs digested the main course. I’ve always maintained the œsophagus should be known as the dessert stomach because with some training you can hold down a full dessert despite a full stomach.
The dessert was a traditional Christmas pudding with homemade custard (made lovingly from scratch) and ice cream). It was delicious.
Christmas pudding
After some DVD watching it was time for dinner. After such a substantial lunch I only wanted something light. A salad. A pear and walnut salad with Gorgonzola cheese fitted the bill.
Pear and walnut salad
The only thing I could fit in afterwards was a mango.
Mango
The day was made more amazing because of the fabulous company and general happiness shared by one and all. We managed to fit in an afternoon walk and a final DVD viewing of the classic New Zealand scifi horror, viz., Black Sheep.
Related articles
- Christmas with my kids, parents and one of my brothers (garydavidlum.com)
- Gordon Ramsay cooks up DIY Christmas lunch guide for his pals the Beckhams (mirror.co.uk)
- Christmas lunch: roast potatoes (telegraph.co.uk)
