SPECIAL SECTION: SUMMER ENTERTAINING
In my line of work, I often get asked what is the best meal I’ ve ever eaten. Usually, the person asking is expecting me to say some eye-wateringly expensive meal at some impossible-to-book Michelin-starred restaurant, or an exotic delicacy eaten in a far-flung location they’ ve seen me visit on the telly, but in all honesty the best meal I’ ve ever had was a Christmas lunch with my family.
The menu was pretty much what you see here – prawns, a glazed ham, potato salad, some barbecued fish and a trifle. Fairly common Australian Christmas classics with a bit of a spin, but what made this the best meal I’ ve ever had wasn’ t just the food. It was having 60-odd family and friends, spanning four generations, all together in one place to enjoy a meal in each other’ s company. And that’ s why I love making Christmas lunch.
Many of us are intimidated by the annual Christmas feast because of the numbers involved. If you’ re used to cooking for four, it feels like 40 people turning up at your table is going to be 10 times harder, right? Well, not really.
Cooking for a crowd isn’ t multiple times more difficult than cooking for a few, especially at Christmas, and that’ s mainly because our Australian Christmas foods are actually quite easy to pull together.
A whole leg of ham is already cooked and just needs a bit of warming and glazing to be ready to feed dozens. Boiling a kilo( or two) of unpeeled new potatoes for potato salad takes no longer than boiling half a kilo. Barbecuing a whole fish is actually easier than cooking a single fillet, and making a trifle takes the same amount of time no matter how many people you’ re feeding, and far less intimidating than a pavlova when you’ re cooking for a crowd. When it comes to peeling prawns, many hands make light work, and for every extra mouth around the table remember that there are two extra hands.
I honestly think cooking a Christmas lunch menu is easier than just about any other occasion for the same number of people, and also more rewarding. Where else can you be showered with praise for just warming up a ham?
With this menu I’ ve tried to give you the kinds of dishes I think make a great Aussie Christmas celebration, without the fuss. Dishes that I feed my loved ones each year, too. And if you’ re still feeling intimidated by a Christmas pavlova, just outsource that to your favourite aunt. She’ ll be more than happy to bring one along! >
With this menu I’ ve tried to give you the kinds of dishes I think make a great Aussie Christmas celebration, without the fuss.
ADAM LIAW
Adam Liaw( adamliaw. com) is a cook, writer and award-winning television presenter based in Sydney, Australia. Find him on Instagram @ adamliaw.
COSTCO CONNECTION NOV / DEC 2023 | 27