I woke up today in a fantastic mood. What a NICE, HAPPY day! I made some hot tea with milk. Cooked some pasta with carrots. Taste so good. I'm just very happy for no apparent reason.

I had an interesting chat with the ever-amusing Azeena on MSN. Tried to sell her on my Iranian neighbour again. She seemed a lot keener this time. We talked about strange stuff like revealing clothes in Bollywood films and what sort of girls are attractive. I think she is really repressed.

Chatted with Ah Boy too. She hates it when I swear. Fuck. Opps! Damn. Opps! Shit. Opps! Gosh?

I also made Christmas plans with my sister. Planned the menu, decor and theme. She thinks my mummy is not in good shape to handle the preparations so we will have to do it.. Fantastic. The theme for house decorations this year is angels and stars. We have conceptualised a classy look. Foodwise, it is going to be pretty. The turkey will have those frilly paper things attached to the legs. Garnishes will be used liberally. It is going to be a busy kitchen on 24th December. Exciting. Here's an idea of the menu:

Starters/soups/salads:

- Hors d'Oeuvres. Pretty little things. Sweet ones: fruit topping. Savoury ones: smoked salmon/caviar topping
- Prawn bisque
- Waldorf salad
- Caesar salad
- Prawn cocktail

Sides:

- Escargots
- Mussels
- Tinned oysters
- Smoked salmon
- Boiled quails' eggs
- Grilled potatoes
- Satay

Sauces/dips:

- Pesto
- Traditional tomato-based pasta sauce
- Salmon mouse

Main courses:

- Turkey with herb stuffing
- Baked pork chops with rosemary. Garnished with herbs and caramelised onions
- Chicken risotto with avocado slices
- Fish casserole
- Baked crab
- Olive rice

Desserts:

- Chocolate fondue
- Apple crumble with vanilla ice cream
- Berry crumble with hot custard sauce
- Trifle with berries
- Cheesecake

Drinks:

- Chocolate milkshake (frothy and low in fat!)
- Red wine
- Bailey's Irish cream
- Water!
- Assorted soft drinks

Junk food:

- Potato chips
- Assorted chocolates


Doesn't it sound exciting? I will be the master chef, of course. I have taken over Christmas dinner since last year. I'm raising standards. It is going to be a crazy kitchen this year. I will have to work hard to keep things in control and to keep track of the time. Planning planning planning. I will have to make sure food gets served hot and cold stuff gets served cold. And so many of the items have to be prepared from scratch. Things like the prawn bisque (peal prawns, flambé prawns, boil stock, etc) stuffed turkey that has to be defrosted the night before. All the main courses as well as the Hors d'Oeuvres, salads, trifle, crumbles, baked potatoes, quail eggs and sauces have to be prepared for scratch. I don't like to use too much ready-made stuff. Laziness does not produce gourmet Christmas dinners. Yeah baby!