Christmas Fare

[Colwyn]

That's done then. 500 grams of Yaffa Grade 1 Medjoul Jumbo Dates grown near Jericho. I have looked up how to caramelize walnuts (with Cointreau) and will get the cheese and honey nearer Christmas. Thanks Lotty, looking forward to it - discovering new treats is exactly why I started this thread.

[Colwyn]

Oh, and Hilary says she's going to give them a try as well! Just as well I bought a pound of them.

[Stopfordian]

 I think Yaffa is the way to go for me too Colwyn. The more I read about the Jordanian dates available now, the more I found out about Jordan river valley dates, which are Israeli settlements.
 I never gave dates much thought before, time for another nap methinks. 
 

[Lotty]

I've never used Cointreau, for the walnuts, it sounds nice though. I just use sugar and water in a frying pan (heavy base preferably), add walnuts when it's dissolved and let it caramelise. Tip into board till cool then chop.

This a delicious alternative too, 2 cups raw walnut halves: toast lightly in heavy based pan, add 1/3 cup good Maple syrup & pinch salt. Stir till caramelised and cool & chop as above. These are a great nibble on their own. My daughter ate 5 every day when she was pregnant!   

[mary62]

We always have Snowballs (Advocaat, lime, martini and lemonade) on Christmas Eve.
Port, small cheeseboard (with grapes and sliced apple) and After Eights.....Perfect way to finish the meal.

[Colwyn]

I didn't inclusd any drinks but Christmas morning is always 11am Buck's Fizz to smooth the hectic preparations and go with the opening of Christmas tree presents. This year we brought a couple of bottles of port back from Lisbon - and there's still one and a half bottles left! I was surprised to find that whereas we are used to port being treated as a digestif in this country, stylish Portuguese restaurants were offering it on the aperitif list. I think we'll be going Portugues-ish this Christmas.

[Colwyn]

Well, I've stuffed my dates. I sure I don't have the delicacy of touch for this sort of work. My cooking veers to the rustic. First time I have caramelized sugar and I didn't really know what I was doing. Still the walnuts taste very good and I've had lots of little helpers wanting to join in the tasting. Piping of Roquefort and cream cheese mix takes a skill that I clearly lack. But by the end of two dozen dates I was starting to get more into the dates than I was getting on my fingers. All that is needed now is a last-minute drizzle of honey. Here are the results so far.

[marina]

Bet they are delicious Colwyn 

[Stuart T]

Delicious I'm sure, Colwyn.

Your tinfoil container doesn't really do 'em justice but what a fine addition to the Xmas table (on a posh plate).

Gosh - they look good.

[Colwyn]

Yes, tinfoil just the holding phase before honey is applied prior to serving.