Christmas Cooking - Part One: Savoury

I live a very privileged life. Christmas to me has always been, on some level, about abundance - about the pile of gifts waiting tantalisingly beneath the tree, about an extra effort to spend time with family, and about eating too much for at least two days straight. There are other aspects of course, like the joy of giving, of community outreach, goodwill to men and so on (though, ironically, it's also the season that can make it most difficult to feel goodwill towards anyone!), but it's the abundance that comes with recipe reviews so that's the one I'm writing about.

We hosted thirteen people for Christmas and the three tables were definitely weighed down by the food offerings. Christmas Day to me, in Australia, is all about being able to prepare stuff ahead of time - the day itself was around 40C, and usually is, so you don't want to be cooking stuff on the day or eating anything hot. We usually focus on cold ham, turkey and silverside (corned beef) and a variety of salads and finger foods. This year, as host, I decided to branch out a little and make some extra effort. Instead of (well, in addition to) the standard potato salad I tried out a Dutch variety, and instead of just bread rolls I made my first wreath of monkey bread.

The idea is to top lumps of bread dough with a variety of toppings and then stick them into a bundt pan (or, if like me you don't own one, a round tin with foil-wrapped pie weights in the middle) to cook. Once the bread is cooked and removed from the pan you're left with a charming wreath that pulls apart into little bread rolls of varying flavours. I got the idea originally from the recipe magazine published by our local supermarket but had to improvise after I lost my copy right at the worst moment (ie, when the time came to actually make it).

Luckily, the entire thing was super easy to make, and simple enough to explain.

You will need:

• a variety of topping options - I used sesame and poppy seeds, parmesan cheese, chopped chives, pesto and chilli paste.
• a clove of fresh, or a teaspoon of minced garlic
• 50g butter, melted
• one loaf worth of bread dough
• a bundt tin or round pan with something round, weighted and oven-safe in the middle
• something to grease the tin
• optionally: a pastry brush

Preheat your oven to the usual baking temperature - 180C - and grease your tin. Lay out your toppings - dry things on plates or in bowls so that you can dip into them, wet spreads with a knife ready - and mix the garlic in to the melted butter.

Prepare your dough and divide it into around twenty pieces. We have a bread maker so I used that to prepare a loaf of crusty white dough, but you can substitute any recipe you like (and there are plenty online you can make by hand if you don't have a bread maker to mix it for you), as long as it will be dry enough to divide up and handle. If it's too sticky you can knead in a little extra flour. 

Now for the fun part - flavouring the dough balls. The wet toppings can be spread directly onto the dough, and the garlic butter brushed on to (or dipped into, if you don't have a pastry brush) the balls that will be dipped into the dry toppings. Press the dough balls into the tin as you go, trying to keep things a little random so that no two touching flavours are the same. Squeeze in as many dough balls as your tray will fit - I had a handful left over that I just sat onto a regular flat tray (they still taste just as good even if they don't look as impressive). 

Once the tray is full you're ready to bake - depending on your oven they will take around thirty to forty minutes. The dough should rise and brown on top (once they're golden they should be ready). Remove from oven, cool, and gently remove from the tin before serving. 

Monkey Bread Wreath: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
This is so super easy to make and is guaranteed to be a hit - there's something for everyone to love in the variety of toppings, and the novelty of the pull-apart shape makes it extra charming to present.

My second offering was equally well received - Dutch potato salad, also called huzarensalade. My father's side of the family are Dutch and every now and then he gets nostalgic for the foods he grew up with. The recipe that I followed from In My Red Kitchen includes a simple (and surprisingly delicious) salad dressing, as well as outlining the history of the dish.

We did improvise a little by taking out most of the sour elements - I omitted the apple and replaced the sour pickles with sweet gherkins - but if you like sour pickles or more interesting taste combinations I'm willing to bet it's awesome with the more traditional elements included.

For us most of the dish was in its presentation: served on a bed of lettuce, covered with (more opportunistically than artistically placed) slices of boiled egg, gherkins, and festively-coloured pickled cocktail onions.

Huzarensalade (Dutch potato salad): ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
The traditional elements are a delicious addition to this summer favourite, and the home-made dressing is a perfect final touch.

We are still dealing with the aftermath of so many guests - the extra tables and chairs haven't been collected yet and we keep finding things we used for the day (extra cutlery, a serving spoon, a box of leftover biscuits) that have to be returned to their owner - but what we don't have is any leftover monkey bread or huzarensalade. Those two dishes were massive hits that vanished in no time and I'm definitely looking forward to making them again.

Next time: the desserts!