Monday, December 16, 2013

Christmas Countdown - Christmas Menu And Wine


Christmas is just ten days away and the countdown has started :) I have planned our Christmas dinner menu far in advance so that I can trial run on a new recipe , Roasted Lemongrass Chicken ( Gai Ob Ta Khai ) which I wanted very much to have it as one of the meat dishes.   I have invited some close friends and relatives to join us for dinner on Christmas day and planning the perfect Christmas dinner is top on my list besides getting Christmas presents for each of them. 

I am glad that I can test out the recipe before hand.  It turned out perfect and WB agrees that we can have chicken wings instead of whole turkey.  This is more flavorful with the strong aroma of lemongrass compared to stuff turkey.  Anyway , for a change we will leave out the turkey this year.  Besides chicken wings, I have pork loin roulade with cranberries and pistachio and crusted with fresh italian parsley.  The salad , I will assigned Piggy Jo to take over the salad and dessert * I think she is making red velvet cupcakes for dessert and tiramisu...ahhhh..just thinking of the Christmas menu and knowing that everyone in the family is helping out has made this year Christmas dinner stress free for me.  And WB and Josh has been assigned to find cheap wine online from Jims Cellars and make sure that the wine they order matches my Christmas dishes.   With the wine being taken care of , I just have one last thing to do and that is to find all the serving dishes, plates, cutlery, glasses and table linen and to make sure that the table is set the day before.

















Roasted Lemongrass Chicken ( Gai Ob Ta Khai )  - adapted from Honeybee Sweets


Ingredients for Roasted Lemongrass Chicken Wings (Serves 3-4)

8 chicken wings, trimmed of fat, wash and pat dry
3 lemongrass stalks
2 Tbsp olive oil

Marinate 
2 lemongrass stalks, ends trimmed and bruised
1 tbsp dark soy
1 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp sugar
125 ml water 

Method:

Prepare the marinate 3-4 hours ahead. Chop the lemongrass finely. Heat the saucepan on medium fire and add in the lemongrass in. Then add in all the rest of the marinate ingredients and bring to a boil. Then remove from fire, cover and let cool completely.
Once the marinate is cooled, pour into a big mixing bowl. Then add in the chicken wings, coat the chicken wings well with the marinate sauce. Leave the chicken to absorb the marinate in the fridge for 3-4hrs.
Preheat the oven to 200C
Take chicken wings out from the fridge. Arrange chicken pieces on an aluminum foil lined baking tray. 
Using the bruised lemongrass stalk, dip in cooking oil and use it as a brush and brush the chicken wings well. This step will help crisp up the skin / surface and prevent burning.
Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes or till the juice runs clear.
Remove from oven and place on serving plate and serve immediately. Garnish with lemongrass if desired. 

















Enjoy !



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