In the first of a series of Kiwi foodies revealing how they celebrate the 25th, Dish editor Sarah Tuck tells us how she relishes a Christmas of two halves – one packed with family and festivities, the other with blissful solitude.
I usually do a brunch for Christmas because up to 16 people come to my house – my sister and I have six adult sons between us – and there are girlfriends and wives, in-laws and exes and so many complex relationships. So a brunch frees people up for other family commitments they might have that day. It also means I get first go at feeding people! And brunch is such a lovely thing to do. It’s easy.
I always start with a Bircher muesli, but a really special version with lots of fresh blueberries, raspberries and blackberries and whipped cream stirred through it, and sometimes crushed praline on top. It’s hardcore but delicious. And then I do a side of salmon with salads and sides and different breads and things. So it’s a brunch feast.
I don’t have to get up early to prepare that, honestly. The muesli soaks in the fridge overnight. You just whack a glaze on the salmon, which takes a few minutes and it takes 12 to 15 minutes in the oven. I’ve got everything done in an hour or an hour and half. (Check out one of Sarah’s favourite recipes for roast salmon here.)
The dessert varies but I do like making a white chocolate cheesecake with raspberries on the top. I’m not really a pav person. One of our desserts in the Christmas issue of Dish this year is a limoncello tiramisu – so you get that creamy custardy mascarpone, but with lemon so it’s lighter.
We drink Champagne or Prosecco on Christmas morning. I’m also a big Campari and soda kind of person and on Christmas Day I might be having one of those at 11am.
It’s too unwieldy to give everyone a gift so we do a secret Santa. And I still put out my kids’ Christmas stockings. Those poor man children of mine (aged 26 and 28) get stockings stuffed with bars of chocolate and deodorants and bits and bobs.
Brunch kicks off at about 10. By lunchtime all the different families and couples start heading off in different directions. Spending the afternoon on my own is – oh my god – it’s so good. My partner spends Christmas with his assorted family – we’ve only been together a couple of years, so it makes sense to do our own thing. I get to have this intense family time in the morning and then the rest of the day is lovely and relaxing. I do things like go to the beach. One Christmas I ferried to Waiheke for the afternoon and went swimming. Then my sons will usually pop back again at the end of the day.
My main Christmas tip would be: Don’t make life too difficult for yourself. I know some people love having the turkey and the ham and the salmon and whatever. Do all the things if it’s your jam, but sometimes it can get a bit confusing, with all the different flavour profiles. I think it can be just as impressive – sometimes more – to have an abundance of salads and sides with one main protein.
Christmas is bloody expensive. You can still make fabulous food that isn’t that expensive. It’s the big proteins – the turkey and the salmon and the ham are the killers.
I’ve probably hosted Christmas at my place for the last 30 years. My mum hates cooking with a passion and always has. My dad has never cooked at all. My sister hates it. Neither of my maternal grandmothers liked cooking. There’s no direct family link to my passion for cooking at all.
It began when I was about 11 or 12. My family was living in Australia and we went through some quite stressful times and I used to come home from school and make little snacky things for my dad. So I have an association between food and love.
It has an uplifting effect on me. I remember one day when I was feeling a bit stressed and I think I baked six cakes in one day, then invited a whole of friends over for high tea. I just needed to cook.
I love Christmas and I always have. Even though I live by myself most of the time these days I always have a tree and Christmas lights on the house, a full wreath on the door and all that kind of stuff. But I don’t wear the Christmas earrings, no.
I don’t go too cheesy with it. If you look at the food styling in Dish magazine it’s all really clear and streamlined and that reflects my style at home – white linen napkins with a wide red boarder is about as far as I go with the table, but the food is plated up beautifully. My Christmas tree decorations are mainly just lights. My one cheesy thing is that I always have some Christmas music happening.
My favourite Christmas song would have to be The Pogues, Fairy Tale in New York.
SHARE ME