Christmas Eve dinner party

Not quite the Christmas celebration we usually have, this year we had a potluck party at our place.

On the menu were:
1. Roasted chicken
2. Cheese and chocolate fondue
3. Salad with vinegar and mustard dressing
4. Bacon with tomato skewers
5. Aglio olio pasta
6. Honey baked ham with cranberry sauce
7. Christmas log cake
8. Fruit cocktail
9. Ice wine

The first five dishes were prepared by Sissy S and I and we should have pictures of all of them but in our excitement to see how they tasted, some went into our stomach before anyone could say 'Wait! You haven't snapped a picture of it!'. The truth is, no one actually remembered. Well, I guess food always come first, snapping can come later.

Out came the ice wine at the strike of midnight and we clinked, or rather peng (sound of plastic hitting plastic) plastic cups with one another. Oh what a sweet start to a very merry Christmas!

Simple Cheese Fondue

Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients
3 tbsp of butter
1 tbsp of flour
Approximately 200g of cheddar cheese
Approximately 1.5 cup of milk
Salt and pepper to taste
A few drops of Worcestershire sauce

Melt butter in pot then add flour. Add milk and when it is starting to boil, add the cheese. After all the cheese is melted and well-mixed, add the salt, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce.

Lastly, pour the cheese mixture into the fondue pot to be served. We usually serve this with cherry tomatoes, cucumber and carrot sticks, toasted bread, sausages or ham, and prawns.

The proportions here are all estimates and done according to taste. We used a cheddar cheese block instead of grated cheese on our second try but it didn't melt as easily as the grated ones. Hence, using grated cheese is recommended.

Bacon and Tomato Skewers


Ingredients
Back bacon
Cherry tomatoes

Wash cherry tomatoes and skewers. Wrap cherry tomatoes with bacon strips, and arrange them on skewers. Heat oven at 200 degrees celcius and roast the bacon and tomato skewers till the bacon strips are golden brown.

Serve hot.

Salad with Vinegar and Mustard Dressing


Ingredients
Mixed greens (We used baby romaine lettuce, butterhead lettuce, and lollo rosso lettuce)
Dried tomatoes
Balsamic vinegar
Dijon mustard
Lemon juice

Wash and dry salad greens. Mix the vinegar, mustard, and lemon juice in a bowl according to taste. Add the dressing and toss the salad greens just before serving.

Baby Honey Baked Ham


This was bought and served with cranberry jam.