christmas in the heart of france

we spent a peaceful christmas day after a fizzy christmas eve !
we had a drinks party in our farmhouse here in the heart of france on christmas eve...champagne and nibbles - tapas style.
smoked salmon, caviar blinis, patés & charcuterie, cheeses, and luscious food like that.
set out on our old comptoir cupboard...out of the reach of lewis our french scenthound !

here he is dazzling in a tinsel collar...ready for the party !

we had the fire roaring and candles lit everywhere and tealights peeping out from holly and fir tree branches on our big old mantlepiece.

it was such fun preparing the house for christmas.

bringing in holly from our fields...

gathering mistleoe...

we hung a great big ball of mistletoe at the entrance to welcome our friends...

...sooo christmassy.

as darkness fell our friends arrived, everyone was in great form.
champagne and kir royale made for a buzzing and happy atmosphere, stories were told and gifts exchanged...a delightful way to start the season.

hope your christmas season is full of fizz, fun and most importantly family and friends. 
wishing you joy.
a bientot...







 

cranberry sauce

as promised, further to my mini christmas at mum and dad's last week...
 
i have always loved cranberry sauce and for the last long number of years have enjoyed making my own. 
normally i add fresh clementine orange segments and zest for added zing, liberally adding port also.
this year, i decided to do something a little different as dad had all sorts of goodies in the fridge. 
my punnet of cranberries and a couple of spoons of water were heated until the cranberries popped, then i threw in lots of sugar (i never measure anything - must be about a small cupful). to this wonderful red concoction i added blueberries and cherries, then a generous glug of amontillado sherry.
i tasted it and thought it deeelish. the cherries were especially good.

served up in a heart dish....

my theme for the table was black and white with touches of crimson

the dinner, complete with the sweet chestnut stuffing...

and for dessert, christmas pudding. i can't give you the recipe as it is my grandma's and is a bit of a secret. it is rich and dark, full of fruit and so moist.
we served it in black bowls for a bit of drama.

the meal was accompanied by chablis and a fine cotes du rhone villages....
a little bit of france in ireland. we really enjoyed it.

how are your preparations for christmas going ? are you having a mini christmas ? whatever you are up to i hope you are filled with the excitement of the run up to christmas. 

i can feel something special in the air.
a bientot...

sweet chestnut stuffing

as the song goes,
'it's beginning to look a lot like christmas....everywhere i go'.

i am just back after visiting my parents where we had a mini christmas which was delightful.

my memories of christmas as a child are magical and the highlight, after the mountain of presents, was the christmas dinner...all made by my dad. 

we always started with escargots, snails in garlic butter - unusual in ireland ! main course was, of course, turkey, ham studded with cloves, roast potatoes, brussel sprouts and honey roasted carrot and parsnip. the turkey was accompanied by five different types of stuffing !

i really enjoyed helping dad prepare the meal last week and i'd love to share the recipe for his chestnut stuffing, our favourite, with you.

it comes from his beloved, well read and slightly battered, good housekeeping's cookery book, dating from the 1950's.

 and here is the chestnut stuffing recipe...

it is sooo easy. dad uses a tin of puréed chestnuts as that is easier and quicker.

here he is mixing away...

he makes it all look so easy, after stuffing the neck of the turkey he covers it with a layer of streaky bacon to keep the moisture in.

here is dad posing proudly beside 'the bird'.

i look forward to sharing some more of my christmas at mum and dad's and will continue it in my next post. 

is it beginning to look a lot like christmas where you are ? i hope so.

a bientot...