It is 16 days to Christmas.
This year I am aiming to get by with a little help from my friends.
Sometimes it’s quite fun to send yourself into a panic because, let’s face it, some drama in your life is great for an adrenalin rush.
Nowadays, though, I have discovered the world of Korean Drama. Handling Christmas is going to be easy because here are some of the things I don’t have to deal with: thugs, drugs, spies, blackmail, unrequited love, personality disorders, memory loss, adoption, shareholder meetings, political corruption, parental disapproval, institutional bullying and going-back or going-forward in time.
I only need to cook the turkey, serve a few vegetables, open some bottles of wine and do the washing up afterwards.
With this healthy and positive attitude in mind, I invited six friends round for lunch today. Half the work was done by Gails whilst I concentrated on clearing the surfaces, setting the table and making a few simple dishes.
From Gails: sausage roll, roasted vegetable and feta cheese quiche, broccoli and ricotta crustless quiche, lamb roll, goat’s cheese and cherry tomato brioche, cranberry and pecan bread and candied cherry amaretti
Here’s what I made: baked parmesan chicken with gochujang mayonnaise, red cabbage and apple salad, and banana and walnut cake. The recipes will follow in the next post.
This is my strategy moving forward because Christmas need not be a stressful time, if you get some help from a few choice friends. These friends are your neighbourhood delis who can help you entertain friends and family by providing a few ready-made dishes. My personal list include: Gails, Melrose and Morgan and Sally Clarke.
It was a really good day to have lunch with friends because Mr Gochugaru had a company Christmas lunch and the children are all out tonight with their own friends. With ample leftovers, we have to decided to have a chilled night…with some K-Drama.