The final meal of the year should both reflect that the year that has almost gone and anticipate your hopes for the months to come. Therefore, was it apt that our final meal of 2008 was luxurious leftovers, eaten on the sofa in front of a roaring fire?
Although I eat salad almost everyday of my life, at Christmas it always reminds me of being a kid, growing up on a 70s council estate. Salads were for special occasions, high days and holidays, and would always includ whole lettuce leaves, quartered tomatoes, sliced radishes and half moons of celery. During the rest of the year my everyday salads consist of a handful of whatever leaves are in season (usually grabbed for the greenhouse) with a couple of tomatoes or half a dozen olives for contrast; however at Christmas I go the whole hog – and today I chucked on some red and green grapes for good measure.
Also had the remains of the home roasted ham, a couple of slices of game pie, a dollop of piccalilli, a bit of runny brie and a chunk of taleggio. I adore taleggio! Most people use it as a melting cheese in risotto or pasta, but personally I love it sliced as thin as possible, which admittedly isn’t very thin and draped over slices of juicy, unpeeled pear, which is exactly as I had it.
Struggled to finish this feast of odds and ends, but was too greedy to pass on my ginger, lemon and passion fruit trifle. I forced a bit down, and then a few more bits.
Now having a cup of fragrant, citrus spiced Christmas tea and I might have a nice G&T later to celebrate this relaxing, deep winter evening before some fool starts setting off bloody fireworks…
