Walm Lane Christmas Dinner

On 23 Dec, our housemate Zheyi cooked everyone a scrumptious Christmas dinner. Special cutlery and crackers were bought to liven up the occasion. This menu was pasted on the fridge and had me salivating days before the dinner: 

Walm Lane Christmas Dinner

Eve of Christmas Eve

23 Dec, Wednesday

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Christmas Veggie Spectacular

Starters

Cream of Spinach Soup

Almond and Apricot Couscous

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Main Courses

Mushroom and Olive Tatins

Spiced Rice and Mushroom en croute

Mushroom stroganoff

Eggplant Gratin

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Dessert

Banoffee Pie 

Layout of the dinner table:

Cream of Spinach Soup

Not many are fans of spinach, I'm not a great fan myself. But this one tastes really creamy and smooth. It was cooked with carrots and spinach, then mashed into a paste with a hand blender. The greenish sight belies the sweet and tangy taste. And it works well as a starter. 

Almond and Apricot Couscous

I've never been keen on couscous, but the chef changed my mind. With spices and a special spicy tomato sauce to go with, it became one of my favourites for the night. 

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Main Courses

Mushroom and Olive Tatins

The portobello mushrooms were first grilled with olive oil, spices and pine nuts, then placed underneath the dough and baked once again. After the dough turns golden brown, the shrooms are flipped over and topped up with rockets. The taste is wonderfully layered--tender and succulent for the shrooms, nuts are crunchy, and the pastry--crispy! Needless to say, it's a knockout. 

Spiced Rice and Mushroom en croute

Another one of my favourites. The rice is actually basmati, and fried with fresh mushrooms and spices. This in itself already makes a tasty main dish, but when it's wrapped in a roasted crispy crust with sesame seeds on it, you end up craving for a whole plate of it. 

Mushroom stroganoff

Mushrooms extravaganza! An assortment of fresh exotic mushrooms, including some bought from a market in Barcelona, lightly stir-fried with cream and butter... need I say more?

Eggplant Gratin

Too bad I didn't take a picture of the inside. This is a baked dish with deep fried eggplants covered with thick tomato puree and fresh basil leaves. Eggplant, aubergine or brinjal--they all refer to the same thing. The British call it the "aubergine" which actually sounds more posh. The top layer is made of ricotta cheese, gruyere cheese, parmesan cheese and milk. It's de-lovely. 

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Dessert

Banoffee Pie

"Banoffee" is actually made of joining two words, "banana" and "toffee" together. It's actually a contemporary English dessert, claimed to be invented by Ian Dowding and Nigel Mackenzie of The Hungry Monk restaurant in East Sussex in 1972. I contributed to this dessert by whisking the cream and grating the dark chocolate. Other ingredients include  ripe bananas, and boiled condensed milk spread on a base made of crumbled digestives and butter. Shamelessly sinful but who cares when it made eight people very happy?

After dinner we sat by the Christmas tree and streamed jazzy carols to end the night.