The Christmas Thread

toxic avenger wrote:

Auditor #9 wrote:

ibis wrote:

Auditor #9 wrote:

evercloserunion wrote:

Hard to feel the Christmas cheer when the kids from down the road have just burned what looks like a child's pram outside my window. Oh well, as soon as we get off I'm legging it back to Wexford to drink with the lads and lassies from home and enjoy some R&R between catching up on study. Though my girlfriend wants me to spend a few days up here as we'll finally have a chance to get some privacy with all my flatmates gone back home.

They're burning prams next to UCD now ? I'd hate to think what they're getting up to in Finglas. There must be a bit of mulled wine cheer on the streets of Dublin now this time of the year all the same ?

Did you ever eat roasted chestnuts ? I wonder what they're like ...

They're nice! There was always a stall selling them outside the British Museum, and even the smell is welcome on a cold day in London.

Can you compare them to anything common ? Can you describe the taste - like nutloaf

They're all over central London in the Winter. They smell very sweet, but I've never tasted them myself....

They're great - but they have to be cooked with a little bit of care - over a fire and just close enough to roast nicely but not close enough to scorch or burn - takes about 15 mins depending on size. When cooked properly they're a bit like mashed potato texture-wise though firmer. They're sweet tasting - like a nutty spud.

Cooking them in the oven is another possibility but if you leave them in too long the little blighters have a tendency to explode. 200 for 15-20 mins.

I've merged all of those threads and posts now, Aragon so we can have a proper Christmas-fest on this thread. The sky here was looking very snowy this morning but only managed heavy rain.

There are lots of seasonal recipes combining chocolate and chestnuts - I avoid chestnuts like the plague but imagine it makes a stunning if very rich combination for those who have the head for it.

Not about chestnuts, and therefore not necessarily Christmas-y but had to put it somewhere. Has anyone been to that nut stand in Jervis yet? They do all sorts of nuts and raisins immaculately decorated with chocolate etc. including macademia nuts in honey, and frosted by the looks of it. They. are. AMAZING. Definitely try some next time you're there. I'm thinking of going out and buying a load of macademia nuts, honey and frosting sugar but I'm not sure it would be that simple...

I have a suspicion that this Christmas could be an eventful one. There has been a lot of things going on which point in that general direction, some good, some not so good. Under the "not so good" heading was the decision of my brother-in-law to unilaterally divorce my sister by way of leaving a note for her while she was away and instructing her to communicate with him only through two of his named friends upon her return. Then the central heating pipes in my mothers house began leaking and the entire system must be replaced, pipes and boiler. €11,000 worth of work starting next Monday. Being a considerate Buddha, I got a ticket for my sister to get home from London on Christmas Eve for 4 days. My mother is past the age when preparing a Christmas dinner is an easy task so I decided to get the three of us into a hotel for a Christmas Dinner on the 25th. it seems everywhere is either resident only or closed on the 25th. Except the Shelbourne. So the Shelbourne it is.

On the other hand, my girlfriend is making unexpectedly great progress with learning German. She is practising all the time and is actually beginning to like it. She will be coming back to Zürich for Silvester with me and we will see in the New Year on the banks of the Limmat. This New Year could be one hell of a rollercoaster in every sense.

I have a feeling that the Westin Hotel on Westmoreland Street does, or certainly used to do, Christmas dinner for non residents.

johnfás wrote:

I have a feeling that the Westin Hotel on Westmoreland Street does, or certainly used to do, Christmas dinner for non residents.

Thanks for the tip, Johnfàs. I was under a lot of time pressure and phoned about 20 places and ended up with the Shelbourne. They hadn't work out the price when I booked and I just went ahead and booked thinking peace of mind is worth whatever price they can actually put on 3 people eating a meal against the clock in their establishment. Then they emailed me the price with, of course, the menu.

That was an eye-opener.

About 200 euro, I would imagine?

We looked at doing it one year but decided the price was unreasonable. Obviously it all depends on the necessity of doing it, which is greater in your situation. In ours it was merely a potential treat.

johnfás wrote:

About 200 euro, I would imagine?

We looked at doing it one year but decided the price was unreasonable. Obviously it all depends on the necessity of doing it, which is greater in your situation. In ours it was merely a potential treat.

For 3 people? Try €450. Without wine.

I was meaning per person so yea that would be about right - 200 each with wine.

johnfás wrote:

I was meaning per person so yea that would be about right - 200 each with wine.

Still, the peace of mind is worth any hassle and the place comes recommended for that sort of thing. Besides, living in Switzerland, I have not seen the Shelbourne since it was renovated so I am looking forward to seeing it again. Of all the hotels in Dublin, I have a particular affection for it because, in my view, this is very much a Dublin hotel, more so than many of its competitors, which excellent in their own way, do not have the DNA of their location imprinted upon them like the Shelbourne has.

I would agree with you on the Shelbourne being the true Dublin hotel. Same goes for alot of things, I would much rather eat in Rolys in Ballsbridge than any of the new Michelin Starred places around town.

Slim Buddha wrote:

johnfás wrote:

I was meaning per person so yea that would be about right - 200 each with wine.

Still, the peace of mind is worth any hassle and the place comes recommended for that sort of thing. Besides, living in Switzerland, I have not seen the Shelbourne since it was renovated so I am looking forward to seeing it again. Of all the hotels in Dublin, I have a particular affection for it because, in my view, this is very much a Dublin hotel, more so than many of its competitors, which excellent in their own way, do not have the DNA of their location imprinted upon them like the Shelbourne has.

Not even the Clarendon, Gresham, Ormond or Burlington?

Burlington not a chance - sure my grandfather lived in a boarding house on the site of the Burlington hotel when attending secondary school. Whilst he is no longer alive, plenty of his generation are and thus it cannot be as great an historical institution when many people remember it as something else. It was, until the 1960s, the site of one of the boarding houses for Wesley College, the other being on the present site of the Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club.

The Gresham has comparable stature to the Shelbourne certainly but I was more referring to the Westin and the Radissons of this world.

Horrifying Christmas scam:

Shopping in our local Dunnes Stores this evening we noticed that a chocolate easter bunny had been got up in gold foil livery with reindeer markings...Lindt are the perpetrators of the crime. Still, better than chucking the bunnies I suppose.

Aragon wrote:

Horrifying Christmas scam:

Shopping in our local Dunnes Stores this evening we noticed that a chocolate easter bunny had been got up in gold foil livery with reindeer markings...Lindt are the perpetrators of the crime. Still, better than chucking the bunnies I suppose.

Aragon!!!!!! I am shocked to the core. Can this be true???

cactus flower wrote:

Aragon wrote:

Horrifying Christmas scam:

Shopping in our local Dunnes Stores this evening we noticed that a chocolate easter bunny had been got up in gold foil livery with reindeer markings...Lindt are the perpetrators of the crime. Still, better than chucking the bunnies I suppose.

Aragon!!!!!! I am shocked to the core. Can this be true???

'fraid so. Chilling, isn't it?

Who's up for exchanges of mulled wine recipes? My lesser half has a corker - very simple:

Third of water to wine
Per bottle of wine, 2 teaspoons of cinnamon and about 6 cloves
A few tablespoonse of sugar -no more than three per bottle of wine - 2 is good if you dont want it too sweet.

Method:

Bring water, sugar cinnamon and cloves to the boil and allow to cool for a few minutes. Then add the wine and allow it to warm through without boiling or the alcohol will evaporate.

Aragon wrote:

cactus flower wrote:

Aragon wrote:

Horrifying Christmas scam:

Shopping in our local Dunnes Stores this evening we noticed that a chocolate easter bunny had been got up in gold foil livery with reindeer markings...Lindt are the perpetrators of the crime. Still, better than chucking the bunnies I suppose.

Aragon!!!!!! I am shocked to the core. Can this be true???

'fraid so. Chilling, isn't it?

Who's up for exchanges of mulled wine recipes? My lesser half has a corker - very simple:

Third of water to wine
Per bottle of wine, 2 teaspoons of cinnamon and about 6 cloves
A few tablespoonse of sugar -no more than three per bottle of wine - 2 is good if you dont want it too sweet.

Method:

Bring water, sugar cinnamon and cloves to the boil and allow to cool for a few minutes. Then add the wine and allow it to warm through without boiling or the alcohol will evaporate.

Wouldn't you want to be staying clear of the 70+ range in order for the alcohol not to evaporate?

evercloserunion wrote:

Aragon wrote:

cactus flower wrote:

Aragon wrote:

Horrifying Christmas scam:

Shopping in our local Dunnes Stores this evening we noticed that a chocolate easter bunny had been got up in gold foil livery with reindeer markings...Lindt are the perpetrators of the crime. Still, better than chucking the bunnies I suppose.

Aragon!!!!!! I am shocked to the core. Can this be true???

'fraid so. Chilling, isn't it?

Who's up for exchanges of mulled wine recipes? My lesser half has a corker - very simple:

Third of water to wine
Per bottle of wine, 2 teaspoons of cinnamon and about 6 cloves
A few tablespoonse of sugar -no more than three per bottle of wine - 2 is good if you dont want it too sweet.

Method:

Bring water, sugar cinnamon and cloves to the boil and allow to cool for a few minutes. Then add the wine and allow it to warm through without boiling or the alcohol will evaporate.

Wouldn't you want to be staying clear of the 70+ range in order for the alcohol not to evaporate?

Yep, good point - once the water, sugar and spices are boiled you need to wait a while before adding the wine - 5-mins or so - then add wine which will cool it down again. Thereafter, gentle heating to make it warmingly hot but absolutely no simmering or boiling or it will be ruined.

Aragon wrote:

Horrifying Christmas scam:

Shopping in our local Dunnes Stores this evening we noticed that a chocolate easter bunny had been got up in gold foil livery with reindeer markings...Lindt are the perpetrators of the crime. Still, better than chucking the bunnies I suppose.

Are you sure about this? I've had yummy reindeer every Christmas... - similarly packaged but definitely a reindeer. Did you look insider the foil?

Ard-Taoiseach wrote:

Slim Buddha wrote:

johnfás wrote:

I was meaning per person so yea that would be about right - 200 each with wine.

Still, the peace of mind is worth any hassle and the place comes recommended for that sort of thing. Besides, living in Switzerland, I have not seen the Shelbourne since it was renovated so I am looking forward to seeing it again. Of all the hotels in Dublin, I have a particular affection for it because, in my view, this is very much a Dublin hotel, more so than many of its competitors, which excellent in their own way, do not have the DNA of their location imprinted upon them like the Shelbourne has.

Not even the Clarendon, Gresham, Ormond or Burlington?

No, the Shelbourne has a certain je ne c'est quoi that the others you mention don't have. I guess it's a matter of personal taste but it is simply my opinion.

Oscar Wilde association maybe?

The Gresham has its own character. I only stayed there once.
My car was whisked away from the front door, luggage whisked inside and I was greeted by name. 100% for first impression.

Dinner, with a large group, involved a 2 hour wait and a very odd style of service. It was in the early days of the boom.
I asked the waiter if the whole of the kitchen and serving staff were new. He said yes, and he wasn't actually a waiter.

Lovely room with big solid desk for working on.

Take your own sandwiches and thermos though.

cactus flower wrote:

Oscar Wilde association maybe?

The Gresham has its own character. I only stayed there once.
My car was whisked away from the front door, luggage whisked inside and I was greeted by name. 100% for first impression.

Dinner, with a large group, involved a 2 hour wait and a very odd style of service. It was in the early days of the boom.
I asked the waiter if the whole of the kitchen and serving staff were new. He said yes, and he wasn't actually a waiter.

Lovely room with big solid desk for working on.

Take your own sandwiches and thermos though.

My Granny - the original Kate P, used to say when someone gave her something nice to eat or was particularly officious in looking after her that "you wouldn't get it at the Gresham." They have a rather nice lobby area with lots of nooks and crannies but I was very disappointed with the food. I was kind of glad the original Kate P wasn't around to see it.

Kate P wrote:

Aragon wrote:

Horrifying Christmas scam:

Shopping in our local Dunnes Stores this evening we noticed that a chocolate easter bunny had been got up in gold foil livery with reindeer markings...Lindt are the perpetrators of the crime. Still, better than chucking the bunnies I suppose.

Are you sure about this? I've had yummy reindeer every Christmas... - similarly packaged but definitely a reindeer. Did you look insider the foil?

Nothing for it but to open and eat one. Tough work but someone's gotta do it. Get back to you later. Pretty sure of our ground though cause we had some of those bunnies at easter and they were an identical shape.

Slim Buddha wrote:

Ard-Taoiseach wrote:

Slim Buddha wrote:

johnfás wrote:

I was meaning per person so yea that would be about right - 200 each with wine.

Still, the peace of mind is worth any hassle and the place comes recommended for that sort of thing. Besides, living in Switzerland, I have not seen the Shelbourne since it was renovated so I am looking forward to seeing it again. Of all the hotels in Dublin, I have a particular affection for it because, in my view, this is very much a Dublin hotel, more so than many of its competitors, which excellent in their own way, do not have the DNA of their location imprinted upon them like the Shelbourne has.

Not even the Clarendon, Gresham, Ormond or Burlington?

No, the Shelbourne has a certain je ne c'est quoi that the others you mention don't have. I guess it's a matter of personal taste but it is simply my opinion.

Oh that's fine Slim Buddha, we all can't like everything in the world. I wouldn't be a great judge of Dublin hotels myself since I have no actual need to stay in any of our capital's accomodation for obvious reasons!

I'm resolved to have an entirely home grown or self-caught Christmas dinner.

This will involve attempts at catching a duck.

I will let you know how it goes.