1. What is your favourite Christmas food?
Panettone!
2. What is your favourite Christmas movie?
“Love Actually”
3. Your favourite Christmas drink?
Veuve. Aperol Spritz. If I’m feeling really indulgent, I have them together.
4. Your favourite Christmas song?
Am I allowed to say I don’t have one?! We fill the house with the sounds of everything – from classical, to chilled, to girl folk, to dance party central.
5. Is there something you love to do every Christmas?
For nearly 22 years now, dawn breakfast at the beach with my Austinmer early morning swimmer crew. My husband and I bring plungers of coffee and a crate of cups and saucers. Everyone brings a plate – the sorts of things you shouldn’t have for breakfast,. You know, Christmas cake, chocolates, rum balls, cheese and crackers (though there are fruit platters for those wanting to be virtuous on the kilojoule front). The true Christmas tragics don reindeer headbands and jingle bell earrings. We’re dressed in cozzies, with towels around our waists, sand on our feet and dogs by our sides.
In recent years, December has kicked off with attending a gingerbread house making party at a girlfriend’s place, and I absolutely love it. I’m hopeless.
6. How do you Deck the Halls? What is your favourite Christmas decoration?
Oh, no pressure for an event stylist, none at all! Ahem. So it this is how it rolls at our house. Around December 23 I finally steal time out (usually at 11pm or something like that) to turn my attention to styling the house, and the table and buying and wrapping presents.
I stand in the warehouse at some point, ponder, pick a colour and style and pack the lines and styling bits to pull it altogether at home. And usually on December 24. Nuts but true! Peak season for us means there is no other options. Unless I wanted to style the house in July or something. My favourite decoration is the one pictured here, a hand calligraphed chalkboard Christmas bauble. It always reminds me to wish bright!
7. Do you have any Christmas family traditions?
Christmas Eve dinner is our big one. Being originally from Uruguay, that’s when the family has its traditional dinner celebration. I cook way too much, especially desserts, and we gather around the table for a late and stretched out dinner, opening one present each at midnight. Growing up in Australia it meant I had the joy of double Christmas. Christmas Eve with my family, and Christmas Day with my friends as well as my family.
8. Do you have a favourite shop that you visit at Christmas time?
The closest one, still open, with a large range of options still on the shelf on December 24. I usually end up at Bondi Junction Westfield on a sprint marathon, to top up on the small makers gifts I try to buy every year from the twilight markets at Coledale beach.
8. Do you bake at Christmas time? If yes, what are your favourite things to bake? Would you share the recipe?
Oh yes. And how. Though they don’t all involve baking. I am basically not permitted to not produce a massive tiramisu, a flourless chocolate and fresh raspberry cake, berry only pavlova and panettone bread and butter pudding studded with chocolate. But since I can whip all these up in my sleep, I always dive into my ridiculous collection of cookbooks and pick something I’ve not made before. And still family and friends won’t let go of the aforementioned we-must-have list!
Here’s my recipe for left over panettone bread and butter pudding ; it’s even better for breakfast on Christmas Day!
I buy two panettone (no peel for me please!) and take a beautiful very old and loved oval ceramic casserole dish with lid (I think it’s circa 1940) and generously coat inside of the dish with unsalted organic butter.
Next, slice the panettone, layer snuggly on the base, dot with small knobs of butter.
Next, dot with small chunks of callebaut chocolate (or other equally fabulous chocolate – no compound chocolate allowed, will just not have the rich hit needed).
Repeat, repeat, repeat.
Whisk two organic free range eggs, and three-quarters of a litre of milk together. Scrape in two vanilla beans and whisk again. Gently pour over the filled dish, waiting for it to absorb to the bottom layer, adding more until you know the panettone will absorb no more.
Place in the fridge, and chill overnight, or for at least four to six hours.
Cook in a pre-heated oven at 160/180 degrees celsius for about half an hour, or until you have a golden top.
Serve with Maggie Beer burnt fig, honeycomb and caramel ice cream. Just because you can.
9. Where will you be spending Christmas this year?
At home. So, so, so happily at home. And by the beach. And on the beach. And in the sea.
10.Where does Santa leave presents in your house?
Under the tree, the wreath, or the overhead hanging branches – depending on how the house is styled!
12. What do you leave out for Santa on Christmas Eve?
We think he hoes into the left over desserts because when we awaken on Christmas morning, none of us believe it would be possible for us to have polished off as much as appears to have gone missing.
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