Recently I was inspired by some lovely Abu Dhabi ladies named Judy and Sharon that write a blog Bring on the Chef in You. We had discussed all the different types of recipes they have on their blog. One of the recipes was for Baileys fudge. Yum. What a perfect idea for a Family Christmas drinks party!
I went home and looked up the recipe. Print. Sorted. Oh no. It didn’t end there. I started looking on Pinterest for different types of Christmassy snacks to make for the party. It seems I WAS inspired to Bring on the Chef in Me!
After reviewing my list, which contained several delicious cocktails, mulled wine, candy cane milkshakes, and an array of finger foods I narrowed down my list to about 3 different snacks. I cut out the cocktails because this was a “Family” Christmas Drinks Party – a collection of families with small babies, toddlers, and 3 year olds. A real “knees up” event except the only knees going up are those belonging to whichever baby is having their nappy changed.
Here is my confession. I am not a great cook. I never had time to cook in previous years so now unless I am making 1 of my 4 signature dishes I feel out of my comfort zone. Well it all started out good.
I was feeling inspired. The first recipe called for Baileys and rum. How can one not feel inspired?
Started with the fudge. Never made fudge before. Seemed easy enough. Nope. I wasn’t sure how long to cook the fudge for. I also let it boil which according to my extensive 5 minute Google research (whilst it was boiling) should not happen. It tasted okay but it was more caramel than fudge. I tried to salvage what was left. I rolled into little candy balls and coated in powdered sugar. The end result was so off base it will have the recipe bloggers scratching their head, “Huh?”
Next was the crustless quiche. It’s scrambled egg baked. Can’t really go mess this up, especially since one of my 4 signature dishes is quiche. Wrong. For some reason at the last minute I thought it might be a good idea to add goat’s cheese to the middle of quiche. What resulted were quiches with big holes in the middle.
On to my Christmas sausage wreath. All I have to do is wrap the sausages in pre made crust. What possibly could go wrong? Leaving in oven too long that is what can go wrong. Same for the mini pizzas. Not really supposed to be that dark.
Lastly was the fruit Christmas tree. Well this turned out closest to how it should. I will take the one success over the other fails.
All of that work in the kitchen and the real stars of the party were these adorable little cupcakes my friend brought along. These were made by an Abu Dhabi Housewife named Susanne who makes wonderful cakes which can be viewed on her Facebook page Need for Sweet.
To be honest, even though everything was not as picture perfect as I would have liked it, we all had a great time. The kids played, screamed, laughed and cried and there was no blood – so it was a success. There is nothing better than being with great company. Overall it was a great learning experience. I must admit that I felt a sense of accomplishment when it was finished burnt or not. I would recommend you cook a dish you have never tried to cook before. The Bring on the Chef in You site has various recipes, mostly Indian cuisine. I would recommend for stepping outside your comfort zone. As for this Housewife, there is always time to improve my cooking but I will keep a caterer on speed dial.
