Ok I am resurrecting Christmas menu for uber food ponces discussion. Purchasers of Tesco mince pies and Bacardi Breezers need not apply.

[moondog]

I need details of Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and NYE food and drink.

I'm doing all sorts out of a bazzilion magazines

But

Here is my festive out-ponce trump card, this year I am doing a party on Twelfth Night where I will be making a Gateaux Pithiviers and a Twelth Night King Cake with the bean within ( they look pretty similar tbh, almond a-go-go)

AND

Wassail

God, I am awestruck.
Tell me more about Gateau Pithiviers.
I love that word. Pithivier.
Oh and wassail.
Is that the whole malarkey with stale bread in a cauldron that you stick in an apple tree or something?

Christmas Eve will start with foie gras and either fresh lobster or crab.
I prefer crab to be honest.

I am having fond flashbacks to first Christmas ponce thread when I returned from Turkey with my own body weight in quinces, honey and walnuts.

Not decided about Christmas, but Hogmanay (NYE) will be shellfish platter, with - hopefully - oysters, langoustine, smoked salmon etc, followed by a haunch of venison with a juniper berry sauce and gratin dauphenois. I'm going to make limoncello ice cream and serve them in the lemon skin (uber ponce!) and then have loads of ripe stinky cheese!

Sounds gorgeous.
I do love a juniper berry.
Where will you get your venison from?

Crab from your crab man?

The Pithiviers cake looks to be ground almonds and amaretto with butter and eggs etc all within puff pastry served warm.

I believe there are two types of wassailing. The general one with singing to ward off generic evil spirits and the orchard specific variety for apple tree protection. Both I believe include consumption of the warm cider beverage. I think you attach the soaked bread to the tree. We'll be doing a spot of both. I have an apple tree so it would be rude not to throw soggy bread at it.

Yes!
I had to cancel my order last year as he was snowed in for 2 weeks. He noble offered to drag them a mile on his sled to the main road but I wasn't brave enough to risk the drive.
I think wassailing involves flames of some sort.
Inebriation and fire do seem to go together.
I also have some crusted Port I haven't opened which i think needs airing.

Oh jolly good - was wondering when you'd do this Moondog.

I am a little bit disorganised and havent figured out what I'm cooking yet so need inspiration.

No poncery this year but a couple of years ago I had a lovely Italian Christmas Eve menu. I sourced various wonderful, authentic ingredients and put huge amounts of effort into it (to impress an Italian friend, who praise dit highly ).

I served:

Clams Oreganato (delicious Italian-style baked clams), followed by Linguini with Blue Crab Sauce, followed by Lobster, followed by raspberry Zabaglione and a huge platter of Italian sweets, candied fruit and nuts, chestnuts, figs, little honey pastries, and Italian fruit breads, followed by an Italian cheese board. It was the best Christmas Eve diner ever and had a high ponce factor.

Indian takeaway this year, methinks

AP, can I come? It sounds gorgeous

The more the merrier! There's 12 already - one more won't make any difference.

I'll be getting my venison from Simon Howie in Perth Some of our guests are coming from there, so they'll bring it. Of course, if the weather's like last year, I'll need to rethink!

Tinsel, were you in Italy? Are you Italain? What gave you the inspiration?

Oh come on.

OMG what is blue crab sauce? I want some whatever it is. Sounds utterly fabulous.

I am hoping to do hare on boxing day. Cooked it for the first time last year and it was very very good. Am waiting on my local butcher/farmer to shoot me one . Does that score ponce points?

arf at the foot tapping

[food ponce tic]

OOOh can i join? 'cos we are deffo poncey but not in a Blumenthal way. Okay menu for Christmas Late lunch

Starter; organic foie gras, caviare, best smoked wild or org farmed smoked and steamed salmon. With best org brioche and org. thinly sliced rye bread and sea salt butter
served with a cold glass of Sauternes.

Main; Organic goose, turkey roll (made to order at our local butcher stuffed with ceps) Goose fat roasted potatoes, parsnips, pumpkin and brussels sprouts (ordered from our greengrocer in our local market on the stalk). Goose gravy. Also onion gravy for the non goose eaters.

Served with Veuve Cliquot Champagne, Org Pinot Noir and a fabulous no sulphites organic red wine that we discovered in a vineyard in Saumur .

Pudding; A zabaglione christmas pudding ice cream served flambe with an Eiswine (sp)? Chocs etc.

Okay an admission here. We do live between mid west France and London so have the best of both worlds for food.

The best chocolate in the world has to be the french homemade. Anyone else agree?

We cop out on Xmas eve by doing the french thing of going to our fave restaurant. It's a wonderful tradition because you can clear the decks for prepping for Xmas Day.

I like Bisto gravy

DP's and my present to my folks this year is the preparation of The Dinner as DP and I are both keen cooks. Main course will be Rib of Beef (from proper local butcher who will tell me the name of the cow if I ask, is that poncey enough?) in some form of traditional roasted format.

We then need to decide on a fishy starter (smoked salmon based will go down best) and a light lemon-y alternative pudding as we can't completely ditch the Christmas pud even though no one eats it

Slubber they sell the Pithiviers gateau in our local town but yours would probably taste better; they load sugar into their gateaux and macaroons here but NOT their chocolate if you know where to buy it!!

ppeatfruit - you cannot serve caviar with Sauternes, it would be a crime, have the caviar before with a glass of ice cold vodka, then you can have the Sauternes with your foie gras.

More courses, more booze - what's not to like?

Yeah the sauternes IS for the foie gras but we don't DO vodka (well DH would but he has to carve and serve up the goose so needs to be able to walk so will champagne be alright with the caviare and the salmon do you think?

Go on then ppea, I'll let you off, champagne would be fine.

Why don't you DO vodka BTW? It's bloody good stuff.

Because I care for my liver !!!! the only wine i'll drink with the xmas feast is the sulphite free red it's amazing because all other alcohol gives me a nasty hangover.