Christmas dinner 2025
Dec. 25th, 2025 09:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rscDocumenting as always.
Fromage d'Affinois (a brie-like cheese that has appeared in these entries previously)
Melkbus truffled gouda
Sautéed duck liver
Assorted crackers
Roast duck with hazelnut stuffing
Sautéed potatoes with onions
Roasted leeks
Green salad with mustard vinaigrette
Trader Joe's cranberry-pecan muffins
Secateurs South African red blend (mostly Shiraz, with some Cinsault and Grenache) 2016
Market Basket "White and chocolate mousse"
Rooibos tea
We were eventually able to obtain a reasonably small duck (not without some drama or comedy, depending on how you look at it), which I roasted at 450 (actually 445, as it turned out) for 15 minutes and 375 for another 50 or so; came out fine, although I suppose it could have been a little rarer. I had intended to roast Brussels sprouts, but the supermarket quite surprisingly didn't have any (somebody I talked to on Tuesday had a similar experience at a different store; what's up with that?). It occurred to me during dinner that alliums were perhaps a tad overrepresented in this meal: in addition to the leeks (and the onions included with the potatoes), the stuffing contained shallots and garlic.
The muffins were the nearest approximation to dinner rolls that John could find at TJ's on Christmas Eve.
The wine paired well with the food. I got rather fond of South African wines when we were there (not quite 6 years ago), and they're not easy to find around here. "Secateurs", in case you were wondering, is the French and British word for what we over here call pruning shears, and there is in fact a drawing of such on the label.
The dessert was actually a disc of chocolate cake with a layer of mousse and another of whipped cream, with a solid chocolate icing o top. It was very nice.
A quite satisfying meal overall.
Fromage d'Affinois (a brie-like cheese that has appeared in these entries previously)
Melkbus truffled gouda
Sautéed duck liver
Assorted crackers
Roast duck with hazelnut stuffing
Sautéed potatoes with onions
Roasted leeks
Green salad with mustard vinaigrette
Trader Joe's cranberry-pecan muffins
Secateurs South African red blend (mostly Shiraz, with some Cinsault and Grenache) 2016
Market Basket "White and chocolate mousse"
Rooibos tea
We were eventually able to obtain a reasonably small duck (not without some drama or comedy, depending on how you look at it), which I roasted at 450 (actually 445, as it turned out) for 15 minutes and 375 for another 50 or so; came out fine, although I suppose it could have been a little rarer. I had intended to roast Brussels sprouts, but the supermarket quite surprisingly didn't have any (somebody I talked to on Tuesday had a similar experience at a different store; what's up with that?). It occurred to me during dinner that alliums were perhaps a tad overrepresented in this meal: in addition to the leeks (and the onions included with the potatoes), the stuffing contained shallots and garlic.
The muffins were the nearest approximation to dinner rolls that John could find at TJ's on Christmas Eve.
The wine paired well with the food. I got rather fond of South African wines when we were there (not quite 6 years ago), and they're not easy to find around here. "Secateurs", in case you were wondering, is the French and British word for what we over here call pruning shears, and there is in fact a drawing of such on the label.
The dessert was actually a disc of chocolate cake with a layer of mousse and another of whipped cream, with a solid chocolate icing o top. It was very nice.
A quite satisfying meal overall.
