Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas my dear friends!

I've been cooking and baking after morning mass the whole day today, for Christmas dinner at home for cousin Susan and I. My cousin-in-law, Dat, went for holidays back in Vietnam so I decided to cook a simple dinner for Susan and I. Since it's just the two of us (and my 5 year-old niece, Maybelle), I wasn't too keen to cook a proper Christmas roast dinner. It'll take ages for us to finish! Alright, without further due, I'll let the photos do the talking! ;)

Italian Breadsticks and Tarama (fish roe caviar), Guacamole, Sundried Tomatoes Dips to start Summer salad: Baby Lettuce, Grapes, Mangoes, lightly tossed in mayo and sprinkled with sunflower kernels Entrée: Aunty Pat's aka my mum's famous Shepherd's Pie Bought a $3 table cloth  and 10 bonbons for $2 from The Reject Shop! So Christmassy <3

Here's a close up look at the starters. Everything is store-bought haha.

Love this refreshing salad!

Summer Salad
Prep time: 10 minutes        Serves: 2

Ingredients: 
1 stalk of baby lettuce
1 bunch of red grapes
1 medium mango
A handful of raw sunflower kernels

Dressing:
Mayonnaise

Method:
Wash and chop baby lettuce into big chunks. Toss baby lettuce and mayo in a bowl, set aside.

Half the grapes and remove seeds. Peel mango and cut into small cubes.

Scatter grapes and mango cubes on top of salad greens. Toss sunflower kernels over salad and serve.

Aunty Pat's Famous Shepherd's Pie

Prep time: 1 hour     Cook time: 1 hour     Serves: 4

Ingredients: 
500g minced beef/lamb
1 tbsp oil
2 large carrots, finely dice
1 large onion, finely dice
2 tsp light soy sauce
2 tsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp cornflour
Water
Salt and pepper, to taste
5 large potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
2 tbsp unsalted butter
75ml full cream milk
Shredded cheddar cheese

Method: 
In a large ungreased pan, add minced meat over medium high heat and stir to separate chunks. Cook until all water has been evaporated and meat is dry.

In a separate pan, heat oil (preferably olive oil) over medium heat and gently sauté diced carrots and onions for about 3-4 minutes or until onions turn slightly translucent.

Transfer carrots and onions to meat and gently stir to mix well. Add light and dark soy sauce, and add about 5 tablespoons of water, bring to a simmer. Cover pan and allow to cook for about 10 minutes. Add cornflour and stir well to thicken. Season with pepper to taste.

While meat is cooking, heat oven to 180ºC. In a large pot, place potatoes and add cold water until the potatoes are covered by at least an inch. Add a teaspoon of salt. Bring water to boil on high heat, and cover to simmer on medium for 15-20 minutes, or until you can easily poke through the potatoes with a fork.

Drain water and add butter and milk while the potatoes are still hot. Mash the potatoes with a potato masher until well mixed. Do not over-mash potatoes or the mashed potatoes will end up sticky.

Put the cooked meat mixture into a ovenproof glass tray or pie dish, cover with mashed potatoes and spread out with a fork. Top with shredded cheddar cheese.

Place dish into oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the top starts golden-browning.




I'm really happy this pie turns out as tasty as my mum's!

Japanese Cotton Cheesecake to finish the dinner!

Baked with the Bain-marie (cooking in water bath) method. I'm really satisfied with the smooth and brown dome! I got worried at first because my 'water tray' wasn't broad and deep enough for the water to cover at least a quarter of my cake pan. My cake pan couldn't even fit properly into the water tray so I placed a wet towel in between the tray and the pan to close the gap.

Japanese Cotton Cheesecake, recipe here.

It's been a long day of cooking and baking but I feel very accomplished! I had the whole day to do these and I love it! (I am really slow when it comes to cooking but I'm managing well with my pacing today hehehe) I am actually quite tired already while writing this post. Hehe I'll sign off for now to get some rest before joining the crowd tomorrow for Boxing Day Sale!

Thank you for reading this! xx