Simon is in Perth, visiting family. Thanks to work, I have to remain in Melbourne. Curses!
Not to worry, though, we already had a mini celebration before he flew off. A very small affair, just the two of us, with puff pastry mince pies and vanilla ice cream.
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| puff pastry mince pies with pine sugar, by Heston Blumenthal for Waitrose. |
The mince pies are by Heston for Waitrose, and they got into my radar thanks to Sarah's tweets about them. I promptly found them stocked at my local Coles supermarket and bought a box to try.
On the packaging it says, "The magic of these mince pies is the rich mincemeat, which incorporates apple puree, lemon curd and rose water. Warm in the oven and then sprinkle with pine sugar for a real festive twist."
While it wasn't as luxuriously complex as I imagined (based on that description), they were still scrumptious and quite the treat - especially with that delightfully flaky puff pastry and the intriguing pine-infused sugar. We polished it all off in no time at all.
On Christmas Eve, I worked overtime and on my way home, I popped in to my local Chinese, Pacific Seafood BBQ House (210 Toorak Road, South Yarra) and treated myself to takeaway.
Hello, roast duck on rice!
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| takeaway - roast duck on rice, from Pacific Seafood BBQ House. |
And that's about it for my Christmas celebrations. It's Christmas evening as I post this, and I haven't really done much today, but it has been peaceful and relaxing. And Simon will be back in a few days, hurrah!
Merry Christmas and happy holidays, everyone!
Dear leaf,
ReplyDeleteSometimes so "me" time might do you a world of good and the celebrations may be even more joyous when he comes back. I love Chinese roast duck but I always prefer to eat it with the HK style noodles. Merry Christmas and have a great 2013!
Thank you for the kind words, ChopinandMysaucepan. Best wishes for your holiday season and the upcoming year too! :D
DeleteChinese roast duck sounds like my idea of heaven for Christmas!
ReplyDeleteIt certainly improved my Christmas for me! ;)
DeleteMerry Christmas! Sometimes it's wonderful to have a secret solo Christmas, doing whatever makes your heart sing. This is actually my third Christmas away from my family but the first time I've ever spent it with another family in real Christmas spirit. The first time, in 2007, I was by myself in a hotel in New York so I went and saw Sweeney Todd (festive! ;) ) and then ate forty thousand different desserts :)
ReplyDeletexo
Aw thanks, Hannah! For me, it's been a good opportunity to recharge, as work is always hectic this time of the year. Hope you ended up having a lovely Christmas. Your 2007 story reminds me the time when I spent NYE alone, watching Grosse Pointe Blank on my laptop and falling asleep before midnight without finishing the movie. :p
DeleteMerry Christmas! I agree with the others, sometimes a few days alone is the best gift to recharge and renew. All the best to you and yours!
ReplyDeleteThank you, and Merry Christmas and all the best to you, too!
DeleteDoes sound truly tasty!
ReplyDeleteA Merry Christmas to you!
Thank you, and Merry Christmas to you, too! :)
DeleteI also wanted to try Heston's mince pies but left it too late and my local Coles had sold out :( Next year! Merry Christmas!
ReplyDeleteAwwwww, better luck next time! Merry Christmas!
DeleteOh you could have come to my crazy Christmas! Haha it's like a circus!! Love that you had a 'little' one :) I hope you had a fantastic day anyway :)
ReplyDeleteA crazy, circus-like Christmas sounds exciting! Yeah, a little one isn't bad, quiet and lazy days suit me. :)
DeleteMerry xmas leaf. Bummer you had to work overtime on xmas eve. I feel your pain, I'm working over this holiday season as well =(. At least this means we can have holidays sometime in 2013!
ReplyDeleteAw, thanks and commiserations. Hope you've been fitting in some fun, regardless! :)
DeleteOur Christmas was quite low key this year as well - it's nice though to not have to be rushing around too crazily though :) I will have to try Heston's pies next year :D
ReplyDeleteYeah, a relaxed Christmas is good... :) I have to confess I got more mince pies just today, heavily discounted after Christmas. ;)
Deleteoooh, still gotta bag myself some of those puffy mince pies.
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas, eat heaps!
Ha thanks, I'll try my best. Merry Christmas!
DeleteI'm sorry you were stuck working during Christmas - hopefully you enjoyed your quiet time and delicious looking duck though. Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteThanks! Yes, I did enjoy the duck, and getting the day off, etc. :D
DeleteHope you had a great Christmas! The plus side of being by yourself is baking alone. I love it!
ReplyDeleteOh, baking is so much fun! :D
DeleteI absolutely adore low key Christmasses - relaxing, good food at home, that's my idea of a good time :D the puff pastries and the duck looks fantastic!
ReplyDeleteWell, there's low-key, and there's being an absolute hermit... ;)
DeleteMerry Christmas Leaf and Simon :) A shame that you couldn't go to Perth with him >_< Damn work but I think Low Key Christmas are also good, to just relax and spend quality time with each other ~ A shame that you didn't like the Heston mince pies as much, because I loved them and had like 3 in one sitting hahaha oops!
ReplyDeleteMay 2013 be just as exciting as 2012 for you :D
Aw thanks Daisy! He's back in Melbourne now, in time for NYE celebrations, yay! We did actually enjoy the Heston pies very much. They're cheap now after Christmas and we just bought more, in fact. ;) Wishing you a fantastic 2013 too! :D
DeleteInitially I thought mince pie means a savory meat pie then I was about to fascinate about a sugar-coated puff pastry mince(meat) pie!
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year to you and your family.
Thank you, happy new year to you and your loved ones too. x
DeleteI keep hearing about those mince pies, they look so good! Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteThey are pretty nice... the puff pastry really makes a difference. :)
Deleteoh how annoying you were apart at Christmas.
ReplyDeleteI thought the mince pies were overrated. I finally tried one earlier this week, I was impressed with the pastry after it had been in the oven for a packet job. Still not bad for premade ones though!
Yeah, it's really good for something from a box, I reckon. :)
DeletePine sugar! That sounds really yummy.
ReplyDeleteLast year it was me who spent Christmas without my family... and this year it was you. Oh well, here's to delicious takeout and peaceful time alone!
Indeed, indeed! :)
DeleteSounds better than my Christmas! I spent 13 hours on the plane back with the Boy from Spain! Hahaha.. it was a tiring christmas!
ReplyDeleteBut but but. You were in Spain! Can't complain too much! ;)
DeleteHappy belated X'mas, sorry I got MIA for a bit. My Christmas was also spent quietly, worked right through it... But I had a bit of company, which was nice. :p
ReplyDeleteAnd a merry belated Christmas to you, too, Bryan! Bless the company. :) x
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