Today it's my absolute pleasure to hand over the reins of the blog to fellow blogger Linda Hill from Linda's Book Bag to describe her perfect festive Dinner party... over to you Linda.
It’s a real pleasure to be having a Christmas meal here on your blog Sharon. Thanks so much for hosting it today.
Now I’m no longer working I miss a work’s do, although my husband Steve and I tend to have our own ‘work’s’ meal out together in the run up to Christmas and we have loads of Christmas meals with friends and family, with my book group, the garden group and at other social events in December.
Obviously I want you to be part of the group as we celebrate our evening. You’ve become such a good friend in real life as well as through the bloggisphere. I’ve added this little Santa cactus to decorate the table as I’ve managed to keep him alive since you gave him to me over a year ago – or was it two years ago? Time passes so quickly.
It’s a pretty basic menu but as it’s my dinner I can have what I like and don’t often get chance to eat! I’d like to serve cocktails as my guests arrive and mine will be a Mai Tai. As I can’t drink ordinary wine without falling over, passing out or being ill we will just have to have champagne throughout the meal – it’s such a hard life!
We’ll begin with hot baked Camembert with crusty French bread and plum chutney. As that’s quite rich we will then have a raspberry sorbet as a palate cleanser before lamb shanks with roast potatoes, roast parsnips, mixed vegetables, including cauliflower cheese, and gravy. When I was small my Mum made the most glorious jam roly poly and I haven’t had it as an adult so we’ll have that with custard as dessert.
After we’ve eaten we can settle down with tea (or coffee if you must) and mince pies and then I’m going to spend the rest of the evening drinking Bailey’s on ice.
I thought I’d introduce my guests and explain why I have invited them.
My first guest is not an author, but a character and one I think anyone who knows me will expect. It’s Paddington Bear. I’ve loved Paddington since I was a child and still have my childhood books with a few newer ones my husband has bought me over the years. I suppose we’d better add in a jar or two of marmalade to the menu too. I have never forgotten the joy of reading these books. Steve occasionally still reads them to me, doing all the different voices and I was once thrown out of a teachers’ library in Peterborough for laughing hysterically at Paddington Takes the Test! I’d love to chat with Paddington about how he felt when he was helping Mr Curry knock in fence posts with a large mallet and he did exactly what Mr Curry said when he told Paddington, ‘When I nod my head, you hit it.’
