Christmas 2015

The year I went crazy on my love for the British and European culinary traditions .
For the first time, I made steamed pudding in the pudding basin. With the roast duck dinner, it was almost a Dickensian Christmas. Almost, because there was no goose, just a duck.

mince pies

steamed plum pudding

American cinnamon roll ready for the oven

Swedish julbullar

French kouign amann

Austrian Linzertorte

For Christmas eve, a roast duck dinner with red cabbage and pear-cranberry relish and sambar and rice pulao/pilaf for mom

On Christmas day, a typical Nazrani dinner -- with fish, in coconut milk sauce and fried, Kerala style,  roast chicken, braised and fried beef,  beef croquettes, lamb stew and paalappam

Christmas 2018

Rum balls

Pecan balls

Christmas cookies

Mince pies

brioche

brioche

Italian biscotti/ British rusk

Swedish saffron buns

creme brulee

garlic shrimp on lettuce leaves with marie-rose sauce and tomato-onion garnish

Christmas 2013

It was around the Christmas of 2013 that I first heard of Springerles. I had to try my hand at making those. So among the sweet stuff for that Christmas I made those. Found a recipe and bought a couple of molds on amazon. 

Also, looked into  a couple of Goan specialties. Like the kulkuls and the layered Bebinca. and made those too, along with a few other cookies.

The Goan sweets

kulkuls

bebinca









And the rest of the sweets :

chocolate - cherry cookies

At the party place:

xmas cookies 2014

christmas plum cake 

Christmas centerpiece 2014

I made this centerpiece for the Christmas of 2014. Wanted to make a Yule log and also wanted to incorporate a gingerbread house and Frozen movie theme into it for my little niece.  Of course, Batman had to be there!

Yule log with meringue mushrooms, sugar paste elves and holly. Coconut flakes for snow. and then marshmallows, and gumdrops.Gingerbread houses were made in the Nordicware duet pan, using the recipe on the packing.

Frozen theme on this side going to the back half way

Before all that,

prep - elves ready

getting there

yule log close up

Sweet times!

plum cake 2014

macarons

cookies 2014