When I was young, we would have open houses twice a year – once for Christmas and another time for Chinese New Year…and I would be stuck in the kitchen with my mum helping her with the preparation of the ingredients for the cakes and cookies or the chicken curry that we would serve to relatives and friends dropping by. These days, we would just let the festivals go by like any other day. Maybe, we would go out for dinner at some posh hotel and some years, we would take off to some place just to get away from it all.
Well, Christmas is just a few days away…and my daughter will be leaving for NZ early next year and will not be around for Chinese New Year. She doesn’t want to go somewhere for the festive season and prefers to spend it at home, so I am thinking of having a small gathering – a simple dinner on Christmas night…but that is where the dilemma begins!
Now, what would I cook? Well, curry is out! My missus was planning to cook that but I don’t think that’s a very good idea. These days, with the A1 Mountain Globe curry mix, every Tom, Dick or Harry would be able to enjoy some reasonably nice curry any time of year – it is no longer something special to look forward to.
Maybe I would make a pie – a chicken pie, so the filling will be different from the one I made the other day…
*recycled image
Or perhaps I should make some shepherd pie or both, and my daughter can cook some pasta to go with them…
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She wants my missus to make some baked chicken wings with breadcrumbs and cheese. We had those a long, time ago…and she has not made them since goodness knows when. Hopefully, she gets down to doing that…before our little girl leaves home to go far, far away.
We will need to have some salads, so perhaps, we can have a bit of coleslaw and some potato salad…or maybe I can make this macaroni fruit salad that I saw in ladyviral’s blog. Looks nice and really easy to prepare!
SIGH!!! Decisions! Decisions! And my head is spinning round and round like a record…
Now I remember why we would always eat out…or run off somewhere everytime a festival came around! LOL!!!
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
u r late today, hahaha…. curry paste i still think mak nyonya is d best…. just put d paste with the meat and add milk instead of water…. very very nice.
I’ve heard about Mak Nyonya but I have not tried yet. A1 Mountain Globe, you also use the same way and very very nice too! Nicer than the curry in the shops around even! So very easy to cook curry now, can have every day even!
Eh, Cikgu, you should try Mak Nyonya’s curry paste one day. I agree with Daniel… Mak Nyonya’s curry paste are the best. I like it, and used it often. Not too spicy, just nice. My boy loves it. He would take many helpings if I cook the curry.
I’m somewhat a Scrooge and a Grinch when it comes to festivals. So sien… need to entertain ppl and stuff. By the end of the day, dead beat! Festival? Xmas? My ass lah…I just want a quiet day ahhhh!
Neway, today bangun lewat kah? I was here around 6.30… wait til 7.00, u not yet come out wif articles… lol… tot u MIA liao!
The old lady has bought a few packets of Mak Nyonya’s mix…sitting there very happily for a few months now. I guess eventually, I will have to take and cook something. Tsk! Tsk! I don’t like open houses…but I do enjoy small gatherings with a few people to sit around, eat and drink and and chat and laugh. Open houses…you have to sit around the whole day…and the moment you decide to lie down and rest awhile, somebody will be at your door…without fail! Really tiring…and such a chore!
Yeah… open house is really tiring. I’ve been hosting it a couple of times oredi… 😦 feel like a truck run over me by the end of the day. That’s why I dread festivals so much.
Your missus bought the mix? Eh, should try and cook em… they are really not bad lerr… throw in some chickens, potatoes and coconut milk… can d…very nice to go with plain rice or bread…
I dunno any other brand that tastes nice. So far I like this Mak Nyonya the most. Cuz the taste is just right for me…each time cook this, confirm licin the periuk!
So far I use A1 Mountain Globe…and it seems that more people use that than Mak Nyonya…as far as all the way in Australia, and everybody loves it! I would love to try Mak Nyonya’s Portuguese gravy for steamed fish. Saw the poster display…and it looks that nice dish I had at Ruby, one of my regular restaurants here.
Don’t look at me, STP (hehehe..as if u did).. i m guilty… i dont cook during christmas..normally lunch will be eaten out.. my siblings will be back and we book 2 tables… dinner will be taken in my in-law’s house… so that is it.. i wonder how this year arrangement is… perhaps Elin will supply some goodies for the eve’s season.. chicken pie.. or roast turkey.. or.. or.. i must be dreaming…..lol….. so what’s your decision finally?
I read somewhere that if you entertain people at your house, it is good feng shui. I guess the vibes…all the joy and laughter and positive feelings…is good for the aura of the home! For one thing, it is definitely cheaper than eating out…and more often than not, the food’s nicer and more enjoyable. My decision…you will have to wait till after X’mas and see my post on it…
Good feng shui my ass… so much work to do, so much money to spend… summore… hardly get help. I get to do all the hard work… the cooking, the cleaning…it’s worth it if people go to your house and chat happily. But that’s not really the case for me. I get scrutinized… I hate open house, especially if my MIL will be attending it. 😦 Never failed to make me feel small. ….end up, owez call up my dad afterwards… just to hear his voice, cuz his voice always makes me feel better. *sigh* sway. No good feng shui… nvm… as long as no ppl kacau me can d! LOL…
Hahahahaha!!! You remind me of Scrooge in “A Christmas Carol”! Bah humbug!!!! …I like hosting small parties with people that I like. Would love to have more but can be too tiring and may be too big to handle, so usually I will just have a few people around. 😀
LOL… love Charles Dickens works… Christmas Carol tops the list. Loved reading it on Xmas eve as my daddy used to read it to me on Xmas eve.
You kno… if I want good feng sui for my house… I’ll just rear more cats or dogs… becoz they make me happier than human do! LMAO!
“People…people who need people…are the happiest people in the world…” (Barbara Streisand) I hate cats! And dogs too!!! Hahahahahaha!!!!
When I was in Sibu for my semester break, I’d cook pasta – Bolognese and Carbonara, both own recipe cincai lai wan 😛 (I think my abandoned food blog got the recipe) – for Christmas, every year. Last year I made some Shepherd Pie. Hmm…now I’m also in a dilemma on what to cook for Christmas. Hahahaha! Pizza maybe? Or chicken/beef pie? Lasagna? *headache*
My daughter’s cooking pasta, I guess…and I’m doing the pies…and my missus will be doing her stuff. Just a simple gathering, so nothing grand. Nobody wants turkey, so not having one.
well, to me all good foods are nice in this season of joy and giving. keep the record spinning…….. hello Cikgu, here wishing you and Melissa a wonderful christmas………..
Thanks…and a Blessed Christmas to you, Phoebe and the boys, Jovial & Marvel! And a Happy and Prosperous 2010 too!
This yr I will be celebrating christmas eve having a sunset ala-carte dinner at a revolving restaurant. But I will be hosting an eclectic dinner on New Year’s day. Doing it the eclectic way is the best for me so everyone can have their favourite dishes on the menu. One of my favourite dishes is Thai Prawn salad which is just perfect for summer days! So whatever u r cooking STP,m sure it will be mind-blasting!
Keeping it simple…and Kylie’s coming, so no prawns or other seafood – she’s allergic. Bet yours will be real classy and really in style – can’t wait to see the photos on Facebook!
Sound good, to have a small gathering on the christmas night. We will do a belated one on this coming sunday. My in law are not christian, but every year they will set up christmas tree, then we will have BBQ Porky dinner, they just want to join the “christmas day” fun & feel.
Baked chicken wing sound good, then u can do some coleslaw (coleslaw easier to prepare), some mash potatoes, pie, macoroni fruit salad and maybe some garlic bread…yummy!!
Pressure! Pressure! Hope everything will turn out all right! LOL!!!
Ha ha, I am scratching my head, thinking what to cook for Xmas eve dinner too! LOL!
Hah!!! I’m glad I’m not alone…
You are definitely not alone. Sometimes, i wish Xmas is not about just the damn food! Now I oso nid to crack my head on wud to cook for Xmas. Sien like mad!
Of course it’s not about the food. It is about going to church first thing in the morning (Have given up trying to beat the crowd at midnight on the eve – and it’s NOT at midnite anymore – as early as 7 or 8 pm in some churches! No meaning at all!)…and then the fellowship – the sharing of the joy of the season with relatives and friends. The food, presents and all are all secondary…
I’ll be visiting relatives around Sibu during the Christmas weekend.
Wish I could be there to attend your gathering, meet your daughter & taste STP’s cooking!
Ya…do give me a tinkle when you’re in town and let me know what’s on you itinerary. We can always go some place for dinner or something anytime when you are here…and can get away from your relatives! LOL!!!
Yeah..it’s a trend that we try to get away during festive season. A lot of family happern to do that in CNY. so the curry dish still on ? Weird to see a curry dish surrounded by all the westernized dishes haha LoL. Merry Xmass and hpy family day yo
Nope, curry’s off the list…but she went and made “ngor hiang” (meat rolls) instead which is Chinese and would not match the theme – despite the multiple hints that she could make meatballs instead – THAT would go well with the spaghetti! SIGH!!! 😦
Eh? It looks like I’m not the only one who wanna cabut lari during festive season. We should make a club ah, cikgu. Cabut lari From Relatives Club. LMAo.
In my case, it’s not running away from relatives. In fact, they’re all in Kuching. I’m the odd one left in Sibu. In my case, it’s to get away from the hassle…and during Chinese New Year, the horrendous NOISE!!!
im coming for the dinner….yum yum
That is if you’re still sober by then… LOL!!!