MrsN's Christmas Dinner
We had a lovely Christmas Dinner last night. Not that we celebrate the occasion, it’s just that I wanted a reason to dress up and be merry.
Did we have turkey? Yes we did! But it didn’t come from my kitchen. The thought of having to slog in the kitchen stuffing the bird and roasting it in the oven for 4-5 hours put me off from doing it myself. So, I simply placed an order at E’toile (Equatorial Hotel). All I had to do was to collect it and serve it on our dining table. Voila!
Cheating? Hee.. hee… cheatinglah tu, but it was worth it. The turkey was delicious!
The idea came about a couple of weeks ago. I said, “Let’s have a Christmas dinner! We do turkey. Dress up. Buy a Christmas tree, have presents, the whole works!” The kids bought the idea. They had never tasted turkey before. I had, so had MrN (when we were studying in the UK). But we both didn’t quite like the taste because turkey’s meat is quite dry and bland. You have to eat it with loads of gravy and cranberry sauce.
Nak prepare benda Allah tu pun bukannya senang. Kena thaw the bird (could take a whole night), do the stuffing, stuff the bird, roast it (depending on the size, it may take up to 4 hours), do the gravy… eeeh… lecehlah. So we tried to change their minds ~ roast chicken boleh? No!!! They insisted on having a turkey because “Tak pernah rasa…”. Kesian pulak I tengokkan budak2 ni. In the end, we relented and so we bought the turkey.
The turkey was 4.5 kg big. Now, that's a BIG one. It came with the gravy and cranberry sauce. We thought sure tak habis, but everyone seemed to love it. The kids, especially. Dua tiga round minta tambah! We were quite happy to see the turkey being wiped out within minutes! Nizzar pun suka! MrN's aunty said,"Selama 55 tahun umur aunty ni, this is the first time aunty makan turkey!" And she liked it!
The children helped a lot with the preparations and balloon decorations while I was out with MrNordin picking up the turkey. Ambil turkey sekejap saja... but we took our time and have our coffee there. E'toile used to be our favourite meeting place when we were dating. Sekarang dah jarang2ke situ. So when a chance like this comes along, might as well lah, kan? :)
However, we were interrupted several times by phone calls from home asking us, "Please buy oregano on your way back!!", "Shall we start steaming the vegetables now??", "Shall I ask k.Sri to start cooking the fried rice?" Hish... susah betul nak dating in peace these days!
Anyway, I'm happy it turned out well. Although we didn't have a Christmas tree (I thought, kalau beli pun, what am I going to do with it after that?) or Santa Claus to distribute presents for everyone, we had fun. Guests left at almost 1 am, and today I'm at work.
I hope you've had a good Christmas holiday too. Have a good weekend!
Satay (Aunty R bawak) and buttered rice
This is for dessert ~ fruit cake and pumpkin pie (with ice cream)
Raspberry cake
Guests at MrsN's Christmas dinner (same crowd lah...)
Melaram, jangan tak melaram!
MrN ~ Master Carver
My BIL's eldest son
Uncle R, Aunty R and Nabila
Mr & MrsN ~ happy the dinner was a success!
Did we have turkey? Yes we did! But it didn’t come from my kitchen. The thought of having to slog in the kitchen stuffing the bird and roasting it in the oven for 4-5 hours put me off from doing it myself. So, I simply placed an order at E’toile (Equatorial Hotel). All I had to do was to collect it and serve it on our dining table. Voila!
Cheating? Hee.. hee… cheatinglah tu, but it was worth it. The turkey was delicious!
The idea came about a couple of weeks ago. I said, “Let’s have a Christmas dinner! We do turkey. Dress up. Buy a Christmas tree, have presents, the whole works!” The kids bought the idea. They had never tasted turkey before. I had, so had MrN (when we were studying in the UK). But we both didn’t quite like the taste because turkey’s meat is quite dry and bland. You have to eat it with loads of gravy and cranberry sauce.
Nak prepare benda Allah tu pun bukannya senang. Kena thaw the bird (could take a whole night), do the stuffing, stuff the bird, roast it (depending on the size, it may take up to 4 hours), do the gravy… eeeh… lecehlah. So we tried to change their minds ~ roast chicken boleh? No!!! They insisted on having a turkey because “Tak pernah rasa…”. Kesian pulak I tengokkan budak2 ni. In the end, we relented and so we bought the turkey.
The turkey was 4.5 kg big. Now, that's a BIG one. It came with the gravy and cranberry sauce. We thought sure tak habis, but everyone seemed to love it. The kids, especially. Dua tiga round minta tambah! We were quite happy to see the turkey being wiped out within minutes! Nizzar pun suka! MrN's aunty said,"Selama 55 tahun umur aunty ni, this is the first time aunty makan turkey!" And she liked it!
The children helped a lot with the preparations and balloon decorations while I was out with MrNordin picking up the turkey. Ambil turkey sekejap saja... but we took our time and have our coffee there. E'toile used to be our favourite meeting place when we were dating. Sekarang dah jarang2ke situ. So when a chance like this comes along, might as well lah, kan? :)
However, we were interrupted several times by phone calls from home asking us, "Please buy oregano on your way back!!", "Shall we start steaming the vegetables now??", "Shall I ask k.Sri to start cooking the fried rice?" Hish... susah betul nak dating in peace these days!
Anyway, I'm happy it turned out well. Although we didn't have a Christmas tree (I thought, kalau beli pun, what am I going to do with it after that?) or Santa Claus to distribute presents for everyone, we had fun. Guests left at almost 1 am, and today I'm at work.
I hope you've had a good Christmas holiday too. Have a good weekend!
The turkey & accompanying vegetables
Satay (Aunty R bawak) and buttered rice
This is for dessert ~ fruit cake and pumpkin pie (with ice cream)
Raspberry cake
Guests at MrsN's Christmas dinner (same crowd lah...)
Melaram, jangan tak melaram!
MrN ~ Master Carver
My BIL's eldest son
Nizzar & cousins
Uncle R, Aunty R and Nabila
Mr & MrsN ~ happy the dinner was a success!
Comments
sedap nya....best kan makan ramai ramai ni...ada pulak roast turkey..satay,kek dan macam macam lagi..terasa rasa kat ujung lidah ni....mmg untung jadi rakyat malaysia ni...kita boleh sambut semua raya dengan cara kita..
I remember one Christmas when we were in the UK, and we decided to have a Christmas dinner, but nobody knew how to actually roast the turkey. So we decided to roast some chicken instead using two different recipes. One using the normal Mat Salleh's recipe, while the other one - Oriental. And we named the chickens "John" and "Ah Wong". Hehehe!
We had it at Ab*d's and Al*ng Fa*zah's house masa tu :)
I like this entry, coz it gives me an idea to do the same next year..hahaha, kalau boleh la, and kalau tak ada jemputan to attend christmas party elsewhere.
And congrats the dinner was a success. Your family is very sporting too.
Boleh Menjejaskan akidah. banyak lagi Hari kebesaran Islam. Awal Muharam Just around the corner
Wah, from the pics taken everyone was really enjoying the dinner. I think only in Malaysia you can find the turkey is served in one plate as the satay.
Our Christmas was just spent on the couch watching the movies on Hallmark.
I cooked twice Turkey... 5.5kg.. means 5.5jam kena masak dalam oven!!! This year, my sis-in-law punya turn and I ordered the turkey from my regular butcher, a Moroccan shop. Tak ada size besar.. 3.3kg aje.. so order 2 ekor.
Shana, oriental menu ke, western menu ke... janji ´sumbat´ aje dalam oven and ´menjadi´... sudah laa.. For sure menjilat jari punya... he.he.he..
now haq dah teringin roast turkey..hari tu i buat roast chicken took me a few hrs to prepare, also made croissant pudding wt anglaise sauce for dessert the same time...hmmm kena ngap tak sampai half hr....nxt year kalau buat turkey dinner ajak i, ok...loved yr portmeiron
it's nice when family & friends get together... tak kisahlah occasion apa kan?
like ms hart and kitchen guardian, I too lurrrve your Portmeirion -- lawanya... and you have all the lovely different designs... meleleh ayak lioq I tengok tauu!! hehe
Xmas..ahh my favourite time of the year - fun filled and overwhelmed by the spirit of giving and celebrating with our loved ones. Tak kisah lah Xmas ker, Aidilfitri ker, Deepavali ker or any other festivities.
Yummms the turkey looks so, so good. And all gone? Good for you as you need not worry about left overs.
Working the day after Xmas?? Tak pe, celeb pun celeb jugak. Kerja pun beres jugak, right?
Have a good weekend gurl :)
You know what, you can get the artificial prelit X'mas tree and re-use it every year - you can start a new family tradition!
I'd take the satay over turkey any day. . .
I'm very conservative when it comes to food, so i don't think i like turkey. Tapi tengok you punya feast, jeles jugak lah... happening.
As for me, macam kay_leeda, x-maas ke, deepavali ke, raya ke, a good "kenduri" is great for the family - mengiratkan silatur-rahim. It's a public holiday, so, why not!!
I wonder.
Ali A.S
Sorry lambat reply. Sibuk sikit.
Yes, in Malaysia we get to do all this since there are so many festivities to celebrate. Roast turkey ke, satay ke... as long as there's food, there's a reason to be merry.
I bet, "John" and "Ah Wong" were delicious! Quite innovative jugak ya, you all ni?
My first turkey was prepared by Mdm Tai Tai's husband. We all makan saja. He's good at cooking this sort of things!
The Portmeirion was a legacy from MrsN No. 1. I tumpang pakai saja... :)
You should! With your cooking skill, I'm sure you can come up with a lot of other things!
I don't think having a Christmas dinner at home with our loved ones boleh menjejaskan akidah seseorang. It doesn't make me any lesser as a Muslim, if that's what you're implying.
Kari turkey? Hmmm.. sounds interesting! Never thot of that. This gives me an idea for next year's Christmas dinner!
Angsa/goose is another favourite. At first, I wanted to order the goose, but someone told me goose tak banyak sangat isi ~ only at the thigh. So I changed my mind and stick to the turkey business.
Hope you've had a good Christmas break, too.
Turkey with satay... hee... hee... memang a weird combination. But we also had sos chili Lingam for anyone who wanted to bit of spice in their food! Sungguh tak kena!
5.5kg is indeed a big turkey! I can never take up the challenge to roast that big a turkey. But I'm sure you can do it with your eyes closed... :-)
Cheating pun cheating lah, janji sedap!
You memang terror masak, so I'm not surprised! Eh, husband awak pulak yang "teringin", ya? Do it lah... I'm sure your family would love it!
What is croissant pudding with anglaise sauce? Tak pernah makan lah. Teach me the recipe, ok?
Like I told Ms Hart, the Port Meirion came with the house. I tumpang pakai saja. Kalau nak beli sendiri, tak mampu babe!!
It's true. Any reason to be merry with family and friends is a reason to celebrate. I like entertaining (tho' I don't really cook that well). So normally nya, MrN yang masak, my children and I will organize everything else. And we all have fun!
I feel the same way about Christmas ~ loving, giving and sharing. Bukan ada niat lain pun, saja suka suka.
That's why I like that film "While You Were Sleeping". It's very christmas-sy and very nice. Dulu masa single, kalau boring2, I'll put on this video and get carried away with it. Nice!
True. While You Were Sleeping is one of my best films ever! They said, The Curve has one of the best Christmas decor in town. Siap ada "snow" lagi!
I hope you'll have a wonderful time during your Christmas dinner. It was your posting which gave me the idea to make ours, tau! So, credit goes to you!
On the christmas tree, I have a problem with storage space. That's why I didn't get one.
Wait until your husband come back lah... baru best!
There's New Year's Eve if you're looking for a reason to do one! *wink*
I didn't like it either the first time I tried it, but this time around, it really was very nice.
I agree with you. A "kenduri" for everyone at any occasion ~ Deepavali ke, CNY ke, Raya ke, Awal Muharram ke... is much anticipated for in our family. Holiday pun... what better way to celebrate it with family and friends!
It doesn't matter to me if other non-Muslims do not celebrate Hari Raya like I did for Christmas or CNY. It's entirely up to them. I'm doing it for my own reasons and NOT for you (or anyone else for that matter) to judge.
Have a Happy New Year.
u hv an interesting blog.enjoy reading your stories;)
Makan2 nilah yg seronok bila berkumpul kan? tak kira lah Xmas ker, Raya ker CNY or Deepavali as long as cuti2 coz thats the only times everybody is around....kenapalah some of our ppl nih singkat sgt fikiran dia orang...
btw, E'toile tu pun used to be our hang out place b4 we moved to Sban...i just love the ice capuchinno kat situ....
New Year is around the corner, another dinner do?? Happy New Year and cheers....
Thanks! 4 anniversaries and a birthday? Must be a BIG do! I'm sure it was great fun!
Shaine,
Thanks for visiting. I'm glad you enjoy reading my stories! Have a Happy New Year to you and family!
Thanks for your support :-) That applies to everyone else here too who share the same opinion as me & you..
E'toile is a nice place to hang out, kan? Very relaxing and the coffee is great. Sure we have not bumped with each other there??
I don't think we'll be doing anything for New Year's Eve. We did have our party last year and the year before, but this year, macam tak ada mood pulak. It'll be a quiet one.
Have a Happy New Year to you and family!!
Hi! Thanks for dropping by.
Exactly my sentiment ~ having a Christmas dinner doesn't mean I go to church, right? Some people are just so shallow, and I feel sorry for them.
I like your blog! And you're a really good cook! The light Japanese fruit cake looks delicious. Do you post recipes in your blog?
Dada
Thanks! I'm sure glad I ordered the turkey!