A famous and great orator once said “I have a dream”. Well I guess we all dream and one day I will organise my perfect Christmas break. There are a number of essentials that for me are not negotiable.
For my own good my list must start with “She Who must Not Be Named”. We have selfishly spent many great Christmas holidays together but like most we also believe Christmas is a time for children and families. As a result we try to visit relatives, the good, the bad and the ugly. (Just kidding if any are reading this blog!).
In praise of "S.W.M.N.B.N.", I know of no one who cooks a better goose and roast potatoes, so you can deduce that a goose is second on my list.
I love the cold and snow is essential. Now I mean a lot of snow so we are talking mountains. My preference is high in the Rockies in a log cabin. Good friends are essential, hand picked for their stories around the dinner table, and for not getting up early. It goes without saying that they need to appreciate good food and fine wine and have grace and humour.
None of my friends would smoke or wear tracksuits and onesies so I would not need to ban cigarettes or these articles of clothing. Log fires are essential, a traditional tree, lots of books with old worn leather armchairs and chesterfields. Crystal clear moonlit nights and a remote location with no ambient light would make for great star gazing. A porch to sit with blankets and steaming mugs of hot chocolate would fill the gap between breakfast and lunch as we gaze over the canopy to the frozen lake in the valley bottom.
A well stocked larder with eggs, smoked salmon, crusty wholemeal bread, a roast ham with Cumberland sauce, thick cut marmalade (home made), Christmas pudding, mince pies, parsnips, Jamie Oliver’s stuffing, no more than three small sprouts per person, potatoes, trifle, a whole stilton, Bath Oliver biscuits, oat cakes, fresh fruit including Cox’s Apples, the ingredients for kedgeree, jelly, cream, chocolates, OJ, champagne, a 1994 vintage port, wines, G&T for a lunch time aperitif, fresh lemon and lime, Sol beer, nuts of all varieties but especially chestnuts for roasting, good coffee, good teas for all tastes, porridge, a single malt, ingredients for pancakes (I make great breakfast pancakes with fresh fruit and maple syrup!), cheddar cheese, pickle, bacon, sausages, bircher muesli, unsalted butter, Christmas cake, broccoli, - have I left anything out?
Carols from Kings, and a number of easy to learn board games will add to the jollity. Oh and I think no internet, TV or mobile phone reception would be of benefit.
Well this is not my year to make a dream come true but its fun to dream. Pushing aside all the food because we all eat too much and waste too much, a log cabin in snowy mountains would be my perfect Christmas.