Christmas Punch
As always sharing my food memories and how they evolve into recipes, this time with a little drink to kick off the festivities.
Rain poured from the sky in unrelenting torrents. Not those violent bursts that explode from the sky making you run for shelter but rather a heavy, constant, tropical deluge to which you surrender. The kind of downpour from which you don’t run for shelter but rather accept your fate and make your way down city streets to your destination.
A cyclone was hovering off the coast, in a holding pattern like an aircraft queued for landing above a busy airport at Christmas. It was indeed the leadup to Christmas and we did feel like anxious passengers awaiting a boarding call. In the way of tropical cities who live with the threat of potentially catastrophic weather every year though, life continued. I was off to a Christmas get together in heart of the city of Darwin, a night for playgroup mums, an excuse for us all to get out of the house sans kids, dress up, complete conversations uninterrupted, eat meals while they’re still hot and not wrangle small people. An outing to feel like grown-ups again and we would not be held to ransom by some cyclone wrestling with its own indecision about when or even if it would strike.
Perhaps unsurprisingly I’d organised the night out. We’d celebrated the season with the kids, hosting a visit from Santa and gratefully accepting his offerings while juggling fairy cakes and sausages in bread but I felt strongly the mums deserved a treat too. A number of new restaurants had opened in town that year, a few offering something a little more luxurious than the norm so it seemed only fitting our treat to ourselves should be a night out enjoying a meal more exotic than normally available to us. One that had caught my attention and definitely fitting the unique bill some almost 20 years ago was called Moorish (it’s still open some 20 years later if you’re ever in Darwin visiting). A fusion of north African and Spanish cuisine, none of us had tried it’s distinctive yet, to us, unusual flavours making it an even more exciting night out. With the storm looming offshore there’d been some discussion about whether or not we should go ahead with our frivolous excursion but in the way of an Aussie outback town we went with the ‘she’ll be right’ attitude and pushed on. The streets though quieter than usual on a Saturday night in December were still dotted with revellers including our small crew of mums on the loose keen to try something new.
Taking our seats our host offered us a jug of sangria to start our evening off. It wasn’t something I’d tasted before but had heard of it. Wine, fruit, spices=punch, what’s not to love, especially a bunch of young mums on the loose at Christmas. As you can imagine, three jugs later, we decided we liked sangria and merrily continued with our evening sampling a variety of tapas style dishes and many clinking glasses.
With every Christmas, and every cyclone warning in December for that part of the world, I’m reminded of that evening. One that felt adventurous, exotic and truly memorable.
If you’re wondering, that cyclone never made landfall. We were pummelled with rain as is the case at this time of year, but the nasty possibilities didn’t eventuate.
It’s memories like these that make me smile at this time of year, reflecting on Christmases past, not in the way of ghost like spectres of Dickensian folk lore but like warm happy layers of reminiscence swirling into new ones like a Christmas themed kaleidoscope.
So, as I do every December I’ve been pondering all these lovely flavoursome memories of mine. Though we always splash out on a special bottle of fizz for Christmas day our annual Christmas Eve with our beautiful neighbours often features an array of wonderfully exotic beverages. So, this year evoking Tropical Sally and the memories of that Christmas of the far north I wanted to swizzle and stir a concoction of Christmas aromas that would greet you as you raised your glass and a refreshing drink evoking the rich flavours of boozy Christmas bakes.
Cheers!
Ingredients:
1 C Pedro Ximinez sherry
1/4 C orange flavoured liqueur ( I’ve used Cointreau)
1 cinnamon stick
1 star anise
1 orange slice around 1cm thick
12 pitted cherries
4 slices lemon
4 slices orange
1 peach pitted and sliced
ice
soda water
rosemary sprigs and dried orange slices (available at most supermarkets) to serve
Method:
In small saucepan combine the sherry, spices orange slice and cherries. Over medium heat warm gently until the first small bubbles start to appear. We’re not trying to burn off the alcohol or reduce the mixture at all just extract the flavours. As soon as bubble emerge remove from heat and allow to cool.
Once cooled, in a 1.5 litre jug, combine all ingredients from saucepan with cointreau, remaining fruit and ice and top up with soda water.
Serve with extra ice, dried citrus slices and rosemary slices.
This will be my last newsletter for the year. The Christmas urge and pull is strong so for the next week and a half I’ll be….
Cooking:
~These delightful little Italian Christmas cookies. Full disclosure Silvia is a client and I shot these images but they are indeed irresistibly delicious.
~This Apricot and Vanilla Jam for Christmas presents. The most perfect combo.
~ Some clever canapés for that Christmas Eve do. This one on focaccia, super easy, and something from this collection as well I think.
Drinking:
~Reacquainting myself with this unique old grape in the very capable hands of innovative wine makers Unico Zelo, one of my absolute favourites for top quality wines that always reliable good and affordable. Their Fiano and Bubbles are also excellent.
~I’ve also tucked away a few bottles from Stoke Wines’ glyphosate free range in support of the winemakers important legacy. I haven’t tried them yet but his fight for glyphosate free farming while he fights cancer from his own exposure was a cause I’m happy to support.
Reading:
~The Heir Apparent by Rebecca Armitage an absolute rollicking read, what a doozy! Set in Tasmania and London weaving reality with fiction and a very real quandary as she lifts the curtain of the British Monarchy. The Heir Apparent is the quintessential page turner exploring the ups and downs of duty competing with desire. This is a brilliant summer read…..very hard recommend.
Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. However you observe this time of year may you find peace and love whether you’re reflecting on the year that was with gratitude or indeed farwelling it looking forward, go easy and well.
I look forward to seeing you again on Thursdays next year.
Much love and thanks for your company throughout 2025 🎄
Sally x