Feast with friends
You could pop around to the local supermarket or deli and pick up some tempting treats or you could even splash out and take them all to a restaurant.
But it's much more fun to get a few pals together and whip up a simple meal.
A visit to Cork, or Temple Bar, or Galway Market, or many of the farmers' markets around the country will provide a selection of locally smoked fish. A plate of smoked mussels, eel, salmon, tuna and maybe a few roll mops with some horseradish sauce, sweet dill mayo and a cucumber pickle make a delicious starter with lots of brown crusty brown bead.
If baking is not your forte, McCambridge's brown soda bread is available countrywide. Many local shops also sell freshly made soda bread. Alternatively, you could make a big pot of soup; so easy to serve, filling and comforting.
Then there's Thai green chicken curry, which is simple enough even for novice cooks to make. Get the pals to help with the chopping. Buy a good quality Irish free-range chicken as a base. This dish can be made ahead and reheated in fact, it also freezes well so it could be cooked well ahead. Basmati rice and a few poppadums and a good green salad would complete the main course.
Have fun laying the table and decorating the house. Use lots of candles, paper lanterns, sparklers and a real Christmas tree to create a festive atmosphere. Thread popcorn or dolly mixtures to make edible garlands. Dip chillies in chocolate for fun nibbles. Serve candied nuts with the drinks and a homemade choccie with the coffee.
An almond meringue can be filled with all kinds of fruit.
Decorate the serving plate with holly, add a few snowmen, dredge with icing sugar, add a few sparklers and bring to the table alight.
Good coffee, a homemade chocolate and a glass of sloe gin will round off a terrific party. Don't forget the crackers, silly hats and jokes.
Plain boiled rice
I find this way of cooking rice in what we call 'unlimited water' to be very satisfactory for plain boiled rice. The grains stay separate and it will keep happily covered in the oven for up to half an hour.
Serves 8
14 ozs (400 g) best quality long-grain rice, eg. Basmati rice
8 pints of water
2 teaspoons salt
A few little knobs of butter (optional)
Bring 8 pints of water to a fast boil in a large saucepan. Add salt. Sprinkle in the rice and stir at once to ensure that the grains don't stick. Boil rapidly, uncovered. After 4 or 5 minutes (depending on the type of rice), test by biting a few grains between your teeth it should still have a slightly resistant core. If it overcooks at this stage the grains will stick together later. Strain well through a sieve or fine strainer. Put into a warm serving dish, dot with a few knobs of butter, cover with tin foil or a lid and leave in a low oven, 140C/275F/regulo 1, for a minimum of 15 minutes. Remove the lid, fluff up with a fork and serve.
Shermin's Thai chicken
Curry Serves 4-6
550ml (20fl.oz) coconut milk
1 tablesp. green curry paste
1 Thai green chilli, pounded (optional if you like a hotter curry)
200g (7oz) chicken, cut into little finger size pieces
2 aubergines, cut into ½ inch (1cm) cubes
2 kaffir lime leaves
½ tablespoon palm sugar or a little less of soft brown sugar
2 tablespoon fish sauce (nam pla)
1 tablespoon soya sauce
1 large red chilli
10-20 basil leaves salt and freshly ground pepper
Heat the wok on a low heat. Pour 4 fl.ozs (125ml) coconut milk into the wok. Add the green curry paste and a pounded green chilli, and mix well.
Add the chicken strips, increase the heat to medium.
Cook until the chicken changes colour, then add the remainder of the coconut milk, aubergine dice, kaffir lime leaves, palm sugar and fish sauce. Stir constantly on a medium heat until the curry boils and foams up, then reduce the heat and simmer, continue to stir all the time uncovered otherwise the sauce may separate. It should be cooked for a total of 10-12 minutes.
Serve hot with steamed rice.
