Monday, December 26, 2011

Merry Christmas 2011

Merry (belated) Christmas everyone!! 

I know my blog has been extremely quiet these past couple of months. But I have good reasons! I'm still busy decorating my new home, my parents were here for the summer holiday, then I went to China (the pictures and stories are coming, after I'm done editing them :P). 


So far, it's been a mild winter and no white Christmas at all. Take a look at my Christmas pictures from last year! I can still remember how cold it was  and how the snow blanketed the whole city. But it's been raining the whole weekend instead: Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and boxing day or as the German call it: the Second Christmas Day, all rainy days. If you ask me, I don't think it's necessary to have a white Christmas. I don't mind a rainy Christmas, but it would've been nice if it snowed. 

This year I prepared a very traditional Christmas dinner. It's Gansebraten mit Rotkohl und Klöße. It means baked goose with red cabbage and potato dumplings. Obviously, a whole goose is way too much for two persons, so we invited some friends over for Christmas Eve dinner (A quick thanks to Maria Angelina for the lovely traditional Venezuelan Christmas bread a.k.a Pan de Jamon). Maria told us that this bread is so Venezuelan that once she smells it she would think of home. Isn't it funny that people tend to link food and memories of childhood together?  Anyway, back to the Pan de Jamon, it was an instant hit among us. The freshly baked bread were filled with olives, raisins and ham. So it was sweet and savoury at the same time, They were so good that we gobbled up almost the whole bread amongst the five of us. Please forgive me for forgetting to take a picture of such a photogenic dish. You see, the bread are made of layered goodness, and I swear to you, it will make a great picture! If you are curios, please google it. I can guarantee that you'll find some amazing pictures. 

Back to the goose! It is the main star of the evening anyway :p Here is hubby's portion: the goose drumstick with all the side dishes. He just wanted one Kloß because we were busy stuffing ourselves with the appetizer before and by the time the main meal were ready, we were already half full. 









Roasted Goose with Klöße and red cabbage




The goose was wonderful. Its skin was crispy and its meat tender. For those who has never eaten goose before, please do try it. I was really surprised when I first had it and at how much I enjoyed it. I first thought that goose would be similar to duck. I have never preferred duck over milder poultry such as chicken and turkey because of its intense smell. But the goose, my gosh the goose is wonderful! And with the combination of the sweet and sour red cabbage, it just taste amazing. The plump and the al dente Klöße (am I even allowed to use "al dente" to describe non noodle food?) also added greatly to the meal. Anyway you got what I mean. This Christmas dinner is officially one of our favorite Christmas meal of all time. Hubby was so excited that he pre-ordered his next Christmas meal right away. 

Last but not least, since there's no snow this year, let me treat you to a picture of the Christmas decorations from Hamburg central station.






So again,
dear all,

Merry Christmas 2011

Greetings from Hamburg