Food

Christmas Food: seriously good tucker

January 4, 2009 / 20 Comments

We hosted Christmas for Mr Incredible’s family this year… you may recall?
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And among the many challenges for this “laid-back” housekeeper was the food.
The prospect of feeding 21 people for 3-4 days, with an additional 20 on Boxing Day, freaked the heck out of me. After having a minor mental meltdown as I tried to add up and plan for such numbers and work out how that amount of food would cram into our fridges, I did one massively smart thing: I hired a coldroom. This is basically a refrigerated room on wheels. I loved that coldroom. And not just because it was a great place to retreat to when the temps hit the 40s and the noise levels in the Granite Glen house hit ear-splitting…
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Mr Incredible’s family are foodies. I always thought I loved food until I met him. And them. Really, I had no idea. These guys take the gastronomic appreciation to new heights. You can actually measure the time since I met my hubby by the kilos I have gained… antipastos, Spanish tapas, authentic Asian curries cooked from scratch, rich Indian dishes and excellent English pub food. It was courtship by dining. Seduction by tastebud. And I loved it.
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So having this family here for the Festive celebrations meant that some seriously good tucker was needed. Essential actually. So I called on each of my guests to help – Gwen brought the fruit: succulent mangoes and cherries, sweet nectarines and grapes, kiwifruit and massive watermelons.
She also did the magic plum pudding and accompanying rum cream sauce (is it any wonder my hubby forgot he hated sultanas momentarily?).
SIL P brought a city array of cheeses, crackers, dips and nibbles. And excellent biccies (cookies for you Americans!). Oh, and she did the ham too…
SIL K provided some fresh vegetables & salad items as well as some outstanding themed sweet items.
And SIL A did the incredible cheesecakes, provided five dozen fresh eggs and whipped up innumerable delicacies during her stay. I actually DID cook a little – my pesto sauce for everything was a hit.
Hey, I take my victories where I find ’em people!

This coral trout (isn’t she gorgeous… even dead!)

provided a great foil for the other rich food. We baked it in the barbecue with lemon and dill. Divine.
And this is my brother-in-law R. He is a fisherman. He was therefore in charge of dividing fish and bones.
We all loved him for taking on this job.
And here is just part of the Christmas Day smorgasboard.
Smashed potatoes, steamed green beans, cauliflower and broccoli cheese (foreground), roast pork, crackling (the crunchy rind from the pork), glazed ham and baked fish (background).
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Of course, there was Boxing Day (for 41) to cater for next. We had to move to the carport for that feast… and from the coldroom (and kitchen) we produced:

Salads galore!

And seafood, baby! Prawns and Moreton Bay Bugs.
Mmmm. Moreton Bay Bugs are my all-time favourite seafood.
My mouth is watering just looking at this photo…

Every single morsel got eaten.
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Of course, while the meals are a major part of my Christmas memories, I’m not sure the same can be said for our son…
Methinks this could be one of his mental pictures of the Festive Season…
And this…
For a six-year-old all the Moreton Bay Bugs in the world are no match for a Nintendo DS.
*sigh*
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What was your Christmas highlight?

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20 Comments

  • Alison
    January 4, 2009 at 11:56 am Reply

    OMG – This vegetarian is gagging at the dead fish. lol – sorry… I really wanted to say something celebratory but I was so stuck on the dead fish…

    Moving on… I have some very similar pics of one of the kids in our extended family completely absorbed in his brand new (pink) DS. And some funny follow ups of the 20 person search for the little poker thing you use to operate it. lol

    My highlight though was the girls waking up on Christmas morning and preferring to go for a walk to the park rather than open Santa presents.

    Happy Sunday 🙂

  • Leslie
    January 4, 2009 at 12:04 pm Reply

    Oh my gosh – you never cease to amaze me with what you can you do. Wow! All that cooking!

    Um, the cats ended up with the turkey breast I cooked. Oh dear!

  • jeanie
    January 4, 2009 at 12:04 pm Reply

    Wow – we loved the reindeer looking cake – all cracked up here.

    purvort is my word verification – what do you think that may mean?

  • Bush Babe
    January 4, 2009 at 12:24 pm Reply

    Al – terribly sorry love. Does this blog need a general warning at the top for all vegetarians? “Live and dead animals ahead”?? Heh.

    Leslie – I had some seriously amazing help. Actually, I think I was the one helping!

    Jeanie – aren;t they groovy!
    🙂
    BB

  • Mom L
    January 4, 2009 at 12:25 pm Reply

    OMG, I’m drooling here! I cannot imagine people preparing all that food! Afraid I’m hung up on the Bug things – what the heck? Explain it to this Yank living in Georgia! Something like Louisiana crawdads? Nancy (Diane’s Mom)

  • Portia
    January 4, 2009 at 12:46 pm Reply

    Hey, cut that out. I’m trying to be on a diet over here. It all looks delicious.

    What’s a coldroom and what’s crackling?

    My Christmas highlight was having everyone together having fun.

  • Natarojo
    January 4, 2009 at 1:35 pm Reply

    The food looks absolutaly amazing! It looks like good times were had by all.

    My Christmas was good, but I really wasn’t well, i’m still sick actually. So it was a little hard to get full on into the festivities. Hopefully next year I wont be ill!

  • Andrea
    January 4, 2009 at 1:38 pm Reply

    Holy Smokes girl!! That food looks delicious!! I am so drooling over here!! YUM!! Can I come to your house next year?? That ham looked so good. And my son wants a DS too!! Boys and their toys.

  • Debby
    January 4, 2009 at 1:49 pm Reply

    Oh my gosh! The reindeer cupcakes were adorable.

    All that food! All that family! I’m in awe.

    I understand that boxing day is the day after Christmas. How, exactly, is it celebrated?

  • Jayne
    January 4, 2009 at 3:19 pm Reply

    Scrumptious spread there, BB!
    That trout looks divine, as does all that yummy food 🙂

    Ahh, you’ve entered the world of DS.
    Might have to time limit play during school hours, they can be very addictive 😉

  • Mom L
    January 4, 2009 at 4:56 pm Reply

    Thanks, BB, for adding the educational info for your American friends! I can now stop having nightmares about Bugs on my holiday table. And an entire portable coldroom? What a fantastic idea. At least I knew some things, like biscuits and Boxing Day, from my 3 years working at the British Consulate-General in Atlanta.

    Happy 2009 to all! Nancy

  • rhubarbwhine
    January 4, 2009 at 8:06 pm Reply

    Bugs are also my very, very favourite seafood. I will do anything for a bugtail. That looks yum, and such a wonderfully celebrated family closeness. I am glad you photographed.

  • Lydia
    January 5, 2009 at 12:36 pm Reply

    I just bought a home that I love, and was able to have friends and family over for Christmas day.

    The best parts were playing the game “Apples to Apples” while the food was cooking. We were having so much fun, everyone was upset that we had to stop and eat! So we were going to return to the game after dinner.

    As luck would have it, we loved the food so much we were too full to sit up to the table to play. So we retired to the livingroom, opened gifts, and laughed until it hurt. (We had some pretty silly gifts.)

    I was most grateful to my son (22) who gave me the book “Dating for Dummies”. I have very recently become single, and he has identified the fact that I am clueless and need all the help I can get. He is a good boy.

    I think it was the best Christmas I have had in decades. What a wonderful time.

  • I'm Julie
    January 6, 2009 at 3:15 pm Reply

    Need another American explanation – what exactly is Boxing Day??

    I’ve heard different rumors – it’s the day you box up Christmas leftovers and give to the poor?

    I’d love to know. And your food looks fantastic. How fun it must be to have big outdoor parties on Christmas!!

  • Diane L. Dodd
    January 7, 2009 at 1:10 am Reply

    ‘Foodies’ is my new favorite word. I need to start a notebook of your cute little aussie words. like ‘cheeky possum’. 🙂

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