Christmas, and now on to the Antipodes

Christmas was relatively low key this year. We had a small round of parties, lots of fun, but not too tiring. The tree went up and came down early. The lights and the antique ornaments looked lovely. We are probably the only couple who use feather boas in place of beads around the tree, although there are a few Mardi Gras beads brought back from New Orleans, the place where we also bought the boas.

The highlight was the arrival of family: daughter Anne and husband Eric who spent a lovely three days with us. We cooked John's speciality for Christmas Eve, lasagne verde, a green lasagne, filled with prosciutto, parmesan, and béchamel sauce and a ragù made of broth, carrots, celery and spices. It's a medieval kind of recipe, probably written down in Bologna or Milano before the arrival of the tomato from the Americas changed Italian cuisine so completely in the 16th century. We started the meal with sautéed cherry tomatoes and peashoots. There were braised carrots with the lasagne and rainbow cake for dessert. We also munched on Thai holy basil cookies, with a passionfruit glaze.

We also did another speciality for Christmas, a goose, this time unstuffed but served with a dressing of a mixture of prunes, leeks and fennel. Roast potatoes as required by friend Mike, of course, and a plum pudding drenched in cognac and lighted for dessert. English custard to go with. We had started with brie from Normandy and a pâté de cerf (venison) et airelles (huckleberries) de Bretagne, acquired during a visit to Penvenan in Britanny. The wine was a Château Fleur Cardinale St Émilion Grand Cru 2004, which lived up to its label.

Then, after it was all over, we began packing. We leave for three weeks four days in New Zealand and Australia on January 2. The blog, of course, will keep you up to date on our travels. We arrive in Auckland on January 4 and will spend a few days on the north island before heading to the south island for wine tasting and train trips along the coast and over the Southern Alps. We are looking forward to learning more about Maori culture and enjoying what is supposed to be one of the "nicest" countries to visit in the world.

We will spend 11 days in New Zealand and then head off to visit friends in Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney, spending another 11 days in Australia before coming back to the States. This is our fourth trip to Australia but our first to New Zealand beyond Auckland airport, where John once changed planes.

Happy New Year