Christmas Fabulousness

Christmas day has come and gone.

I LOVE CHRISTMAS!

I love the browsing of catalogues by the kids in the weeks before Christmas as they wish for things that Santa might deliver.

I love that we make time to catch up with people that we may not have found enough time for during the year.

I love the chatter about what might be on the menu.

I love the decorating of the tree- this year it is what I needed to get me into the spirit after the most challenging of years .........

I love the writing of notes to Santa & his team of fluffy four-toed friends & the careful choosing of food & drink to sustain him on his 24hr ride.

I love the checking on the road out the front of our house on Christmas morning to check for evidence of the reindeers!

I love the wonder & excitement of the kids as they discover their bounty from Santa under the tree.

I love the mess on the floor after the whirlwind of present opening & then the way the day slowly goes on as the kids continue to visit their little bits & pieces of treasure that Santa has so dutifully and silently delivered in the quiet of their sleep!

But most of all what I love is that it brings people that love each other together.

Often it involves a shared meal.  Sitting at a table that is festively decorated, wearing paper hats & telling bad jokes from the bon-bons!

I am always a little sad to close my eyes at the end of the MOST magical day of the year.

This year it was no less fabulous.

Watching our five littl'uns opening their bounty was just utterly joyous.

And at the table was something I have been planning on for a while as I thought it looked so delicious, simple & festive!  Perfect for the Christmas table.

It was my take on a Karen Martini recipe she calls Moroccan Mess.  It is her take on the classic English dessert called Eton Mess.

I am going to share mine below.  If you want to check out hers click here.

There are a few ingredients in this recipe that require a shopping trip to your local Middle Eastern grocer.  I am lucky enough to live near Oasis bakery in the  Melbourne suburb of Murrumbeena. It is a favourite haunt of our family.  One of my children makes it his task to find an ingredient he has never heard of before every time we go & then he buys it and uses it!  It is a fun job!  If you don't have a middle eastern grocer nearby you can easily omit the ingredients sourced from here and it will still be delicious- just play with ingredients!

This month I am joining in with a monthly cooking get-together called The Mum & The Chef where several bloggers cook with an ingredient chosen monthly.  To read more about it click here. It was started by Katrina Higham (the Chef) and Mish Lilley (the Mum). They take turns in choosing the core ingredient & anyone is welcome to join in.  A great way to share expertise & recipes.

I will provide links to all other participants blogs at the end of my recipe for you to look around & see what everyone else made!

This month's ingredient is STRAWBERRIES!

GOURMET GIRLFRIEND'S EASY PEASY MORROCAN MESS:


What you will need:


STRAWBERRIES - 2 large punnets
Shelled pistachios (200g). I bought slivered ones from a middle eastern grocer but whole ones will do just as nicely: just lightly chop them to expose their gorgeous green insides!
Meringue (to help with the easy peasy-ness I bought ready made meringue- 2 small boxes). You will find these at most supermarkets now.
300ml cream.
1 tblspn Pomegranate molasses. Also from my local Middle Eastern grocer but you could also use rose syrup - or neither!
60g pure icing sugar.
seeds of a Pomegranate
Pashmak (Persian fairy floss) 


METHOD:

• Add cream, molasses & icing sugar and whip till cream holds stiff peaks.  
• Slice strawberries.

Now for the fun bit!

• Find a large platter and crush some of the meringue onto it.
• Then blob some of the whipped cream mix.
• Scatter some strawberries and some pomegranate seeds.
• Continue until you have achieved a little mound of loveliness.

Finish with the Pashmak and then scatter the pistachios.

 et Voila!

I TOLD YOU IT WAS EASY PEASY!

And you can see here that it was well received by the crowds!

Check out these links to see what everyone else did!

http://www.windsordeli.blogspot.com/
http://www.mishdelish.com/
http://www.tarisota.typepad.com/
http://www.youwantsomemore.blogspot.com/
http://www.papecancook.blogspot.com/

And we were groovin' to this on Christmas day- it's not Carols but it's oh so magnifique! :