Christmas Eve Meal - Seafood Starter, Salmon and Asparagus and Profiteroles

The night before Christmas

Christmas Eve is busy, there's always lots to do, least of all tire out the little ones so the man in red can get his work done. It's nice to get together with family and over the years we have gone through phases of what to eat, when I was younger we used to go to an Italian restaurant in Nottingham called Reno's, lots of hairy, gold swathed Italian waiters who I used to have girly crushes on until one day I heard them suddenly swap their sexy Italian accents for deep Notts or cockney as they entered the kitchen! Then we went through a phase of getting together for a Chinese takeaway..but then they were sometimes hit and miss and the novelty wore off.

This year, as it was mum and dad's first year back from Spain and they were staying over to enjoy Lauren opening her presents on Christmas morning, I decided to cook at home.
It needed to be something special - it's Christmas Eve!....but also something simple - time was of the essence after all and it's nice for everyone to be able to relax together.

Seafood Starter - Fresh prawns with a seafood sauce - you can buy a nice marie rose or other seafood sauce or you can make your own using a combination of either salad cream and ketchup or mayonnaise and tomato purée depending on your palette, I like mine to be tangy - you could add lemon juice or chili to pep it up. Coquilles St Jacques I got these tiny ones from Morrison's, you can get delicious larger ones from Marks and Spencer, you can make your own, I've not found a satisfactory recipe on the Internet but earlier this year I did attempt to make my own, instead of 3 individual ones I ended up making a Coquilles St Jacques pie, which my husband said was the nicest thing he's ever eaten I will try to share it with you this year. Pulpo a Feira I had already boiled my octopus legs until they were tender and frozen them as freezing improves the texture. After defrosting I heated gently in the microwave, literally only about a minute and then sliced, served on a traditional wooden plate, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with paprika.


Salmon and Asparagus main lovely and light considering everything that will be eaten over the coming days. You can find the recipe here http://thebungalowblues.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/roast-salmon-with-asparagus.html, it is so easy you can virtually leave it to cook while you enjoy your starter, it's quick, convenient and extremely tasty.

For dessert we had Profiteroles - you'll have to take my word for it as they were devoured too quickly for the camera! I bought them from Marks and Spencer, however, I have made them with my mum many times in the past - you just need a strong arm for all the stirring, although I have seen TV chefs making their choux pastry with a food mixer.

It was a lovely evening and after a bit of construction, lots of carrying and unpacking, a cup of coffee and some chocolate whilst watching Not Going Out it was time for bed.....and look what happened while we were sleeping!