Ok, back to my culinary dilema. As some of you already know, we are hosting a Christmas in July party this Saturday (just a few days away). " What are those crazy people in Oz up to now?" You might be thinking. Well, Christmas arrives in the middle of summer in Australia and New Zealand, so we miss out on "typical" Christmas food like roasts because it gets waaaay too hot here in summer. A Christmas meal here typically consists of fresh seafood and other delicious foods that do not require hours of cooking in the oven. So, what is quite common in the middle of winter (July) down-under is to organising a "Christmas in July" dinner party with friends. This way we get to exprience Christmas (the eating part!) in winter.
I have very little experience with a cold weather Christmas dinner menu planning and so, I need some suggestions (HELP!) from those of you who are more experienced with Northern hemisphere Christmas dinners. If you have recipes on your blogs, even better! Just point me to the right direction. There are so many recipes and combinations out there and I am really feeling quite bewildered. All I've done so far is order the turkey and some decorations (e.g. Christmas crakers/bon bons, an inflatable Christmas tree....)
Some ideas I'm tossing around so far (for 9 people):
Entrée
TBA by Eva
Mains
6-7kg Roast turkey (how should I cook this?? Brined? Hellllpp!)
Some sort of stuffing for the turkey
Scalloped potatoes or two potato gratin
Warm zucchini, tomato & eggplant salad
Balsamic roasted baby carrots & baby onions (I like cute stuff)
I need to make another meat dish (but no ham/pork)
Another side dish, you think?
Dessert
Sticky Date Pudding with Toffee sauce
I am counting on all of your expertise....