A Christmas Feast for friends

     If you follow me on instagram you may remember seeing this photo being posted following a big Christmas feast that Ryan and I put on early in December. As January is almost over I thought I better blog about this feast though the minimal photos that I managed to take with my camera are pretty shocking as we were both flat off our feet that day.

      This grand Christmas dinner was a month in the making. As we hadn't caught up with our friends in a long time, we decided that Christmas was a great excuse to invite everyone over for dinner and Ryan and I always love to spoil our friends. As soon as the invitations went out, I went into planning mode and spent the majority of my lunch breaks at the shopping centre near work, looking for inspiration on decorations. I wanted our dinner to have a nice Christmas feel to it but yet be classy and not over the top tacky. Each week I accumulated bags and bags of things I had picked up from the shops, from decorations, to serving tools ,dinner plates and cutlery etc. I also spent a lot of time with my nose in cookbooks and on google putting together ideas for our menu.

      About a week before the event, Ryan and I finalised the menu and wrote out our shopping list and plan of attack.

Our menu was:

Appetisers:

- Prawn Ceviche with Corn Chips and Guacamole

- Truffled Popcorn

Dinner:

- Roast Turkey with Apple and Cranberry Stuffing, White Wine Gravy

- Coleslaw with Buttermilk Dressing

- Baked Sweet Potato with Honey Cinnamon Whipped Butter

Dessert:

- Pumpkin Pie with Vanilla Bean Crème Anglaise and Pecan Praline

      I decided to take the Friday before the dinner off work so that we could head to the markets to get all our fresh produce and start the prep. Unfortunately Ryan was called in to work that afternoon which took a huge chunk out of our planned prep time, which resulted in everything running behind schedule on the day. Very thankful to those friends who showed up early and helped us set up the table and serve up the entrees and drinks.

     During the week before the dinner I started making some goodies for our guests to take home from the dinner. I experimented with a good old trusty shortbread recipe and made these Christmas Pudding cookies, all the flavours of a Christmas pudding but in cookie form. The addition of brown sugar and brandy changed the properties of the shortbread and turned them into cookies, really good cookies.

       I also had some failed mud cake in the freezer so made some choc mud peanut butter cake pops. Woolworths also had massive specials on Lindt and Ferrero's so I grabbed a couple of boxes to fill up some jars to go on the table.

      LOVE peonies so couldn't help grabbing a couple of bunches when I saw them at the markets. I took them to work with me and they lasted for the week.

      We made a cranberry punch (rum optional) and also made some ruby grapefruit soda as we couldn't resist the grapefruits when we tasted them at the markets. There was also plenty of wine to be had as all our guests turned up with a bottle or two of something. I made some bottles of cucumber and minted water but these were left forgotten in the fridge.

      These cute little jars were a last minute decision as I thought our friends would appreciate the hipster factor ;) They were very well received and added to the festive feel of the dinner with a stripped straw and some ribbon tied around.

      Who doesn't love popcorn? We thought it would be a great idea to have tubs of these on the table for our guests to nibble on as they arrived and waited for dinner to be served. Just some plain popcorn drizzled in truffle oil and seasoned with salt.

      I originally wanted to do a modern interpretation of the classic prawn cocktail but Ryan talked me into trying out a prawn ceviche and after a trial run a couple of weeks before hand we absolutely loved it and knew our friends would too.The leftovers we offered to give away disappeared quite quickly which meant we didn't have any for ourselves but it's easily recreated. The recipe for the ceviche can be found here on Gourmet Traveller, we decided to serve some corn chips with it instead of tortillas. For our friends who do not know what a ceviche is, it's a seafood based dish that is served raw and marinated in either lemon or lime juice to 'cook' it.

      Our guests mingling and enjoying their entrees. We had fourteen mouths (and a half) to feed (including Ryan and myself).

      After a successful trial with the Turkey Breast Buffe from Inghams, I was excited to roast up the whole roast turkey for our Christmas dinner but we were worried it wouldn't be enough for fourteen people so thought we should buy a second smaller turkey to supplement. The weekend before, Dad came home with a free turkey from Bing Lee when he went to buy a replacement washing machine. Even though the promotion was for the ovens I guess it pays to have connections ;)

      Ryan is lucky to have two ovens in his house (two kitchens) but one of them was broken so we had to crank up the BBQ and cooked one of the turkeys in there. It was certainly interesting as each one behaved differently and we had to constantly monitor the temperature of the BBQ but we still managed to deliver two perfectly cooked turkeys. They were just simply filled with an apple and cranberry stuffing and then rubbed with butter and seasoned with salt and pepper and basted with pan juices throughout cooking. The stuffing recipe can be found here from Inghams, we replaced the raisins in the recipe for dried cranberries. The leftover stuffing I put into an oven dish and baked separately and served on the side. We served up a white wine gravy made using all the pan juices.

      Didn't have any good photos of the side dishes we served up but they all went down well with our guests and I was happy to see people go back for seconds and even thirds of everything. The honey cinnamon butter for the baked sweet potatoes was just a concoction I made on the day so don't really have an exact recipe. It was just some butter whipped up in a mixer to which I added honey, cinnamon and a pinch of salt to taste. The coleslaw dressing was mayonnaise with buttermilk and mustard mixed in.

      As we were doing a bit of an American themed menu, Ryan wanted to make pumpkin pie for dessert. Instead of whipped cream, Ryan wanted to serve it with a vanilla bean creme anglaise .

      Unfortunately half our guests had to leave before it was served. As Ryan and I were very behind schedule, we had to cook the dessert during dinner and it was quite late by the time it was served. Ryan had managed to make the pumpkin pie filling the day before but we still had to blind bake the pastry and then fill and bake the pie. We also did not have time to make the creme anglaise before hand and had some issues with it going lumpy even though it was all perfect when we did a trial run. The praline almost didn't make it onto the plate but luckily I was able to push through and get it done in time.

      The dinner ended on a high for our guests, a sugar high for some ;). Even though it was a rush to get dessert to the table and it didn't quite turn out the way we wanted as we didn't have time to properly rest everything, everyone loved the flavours of the pumpkin pie. This was the first pumpkin pie for most people and it went down a treat. It's a Curtis Stone recipe we found online, and the creme anglaise recipe is from Taste. We cheated though and used store bought short crust pastry instead, the pampas brand is great! We ended up with a whole pie leftover which I took to work with the creme anglaise (which ended up being velvety smooth after settling overnight in the fridge). Everyone absolutely loved it.

      Even though not everything went to plan and we spent more time in the kitchen than mingling with our friends we can both say it was a successful dinner none the less as we were able to give our friends a good time and share our love for cooking. I don't think we bit off more than we could chew with the menu, if Ryan had not been called in to work we would have gotten a lot more done the day before. A lot of time was also wasted on the day when Ryan had to go to back to work to fetch the pie dishes he had forgotten to bring home. We had quite a lot of turkey leftover in the end but when takeaway was offered, I don't think I heard a single no from anyone ;)

      Perhaps next Christmas dinner we'll just have a pot luck, or dial up some pizzas. But if you know me well, you'll know that I don't like taking short cuts when it comes to food (unless absolutely neccessary) and only serve up the best (and lots of it) no matter if it's made from scratch or store bought. I do live to eat and cook ;)

Step-A-Side Diner, Cabramatta

     You've got to watch out for this train, one blink and you might miss it! This old decommissioned train carriage shipped all the way from Melbourne, houses an American style diner inside it and has only been open for a couple of months. Step-A-Side Diner faces the busy Hume Highway in Cabramatta and can easily be missed, but I was on a mission to find it.

      A long overdue brunch catch up with a good friend meant that we needed somewhere to go (good food mandatory). I thought that I would venture out west to meet her and I'd heard of many great places popping up in Sydney's west but when I stumbled across this little diner on Urbanspoon, I was excited to go and check it out and so was Miss Tran after I sent her links to the website and to one of the blog reviews with photos.

      We instantly fall in love with the funky fit out inside. The vinyl stools and booths, the old records, the black and white photos of old rock 'n roll or movie stars. There's even a funky vintage juke box.

      We're a little wary as it seems as though we're the only customers, but we were there for brunch so either arrived after the breakfast crowd or were early for lunch. We noticed that there was one person ordering take away when we sat down and another two customers came in while we were dining but apart from that no one else came at all. It seems that not many people know about this place yet, but as I said, blink and you'll miss it.

There's tables with stools to sit at...

Or there's comfy booths, which we opt for.

The vintage juke box pumping out happy tunes.

Girls, Audrey Hepburn, or Marilyn Monroe?

     The inside of the train carriage has been kept intact in it's original state, apart from the addition of the tables and stools and decorations. The booth seats are the original train seats which have been re-furbished. You can even sit in the driver's seat and drive the train if you feel inclined to.

      All the essential condiments, including American mustard. I love how they recycled old vinyl records and turned them into holders for the condiments.

      The menu isn't huge but pretty much covers all your American basics, some classic burger options along with a few gourmet burger options. There's two PO Boy's, either a chorizo or prawn filling and a hot dog. Drinks include milk shakes, spiders and sodas. Dessert options consist of waffles, sundaes, melbas and a banana split.

Prawn Po' Boy - Sauteed prawns in a garlic chilli salsa, with lettuce, tomato and Tiger sauce. Served on a 12 inch baguette.

      The garlic chilli salsa grabbed Miss Tran's attention so we agreed to order one of these to share. I forgot that it was a 12 inch baguette but I am sure that what came out to our table was a lot larger than that.

      The baguette had just enough crunch on the outside and was soft and fluffy on the inside. The prawns in salsa were spicy enough without being too overbearingly hot offset by the cooling crunch of the lettuce leaves and the Tiger sauce was like a light mayonaise binding everything together. The more I bit into it, the more I loved it. We both agreed we could finish off an entire one.

     The only issue I had was that it got quite soggy towards the end with sauce dripping everywhere on my plate. But I think it's just that I am a messy eater as Miss Tran's plate was squeaky clean. I left the end bit of my baguette behind and ate all my prawns because I wanted room to try the burger.

Cheeseburger - 100% beef pattie, with sauteed onions, lettuce, tomato and a side of chips.

      I thought we couldn't come to a diner and not have a burger. The burgers come in 2 pattie sizes, 120g or 180g. Beetroot is optional but Miss Tran says no. We opt for the 120g classic Cheeseburger so we could have room for dessert but we never had room for dessert :(.

      The burger was a little cold by the time I got through my share of the massive prawn po' boy but I still enjoyed it, what I could fit in anyway. I did find that the mountain of cheese on top was a little rich but the pattie was well seasoned and juicy and the hamburger bun was soft and fluffy. The chips were nice and crispy but even a potato lover like me couldn't finish them after the po' boy and the half burger I had just eaten.

Caramel Milkshake, Lime Milkshake.

      I had not had a milk shake in such a long time that with the opportunity right then and there before me, I jumped and ordered a caramel milkshake. I'm glad I did because I enjoyed every drop. It wasn't too sweet and had just the right amount of caramel.

     Even coming with empty stomachs we both struggled to finish our food, the servings are very generous (or we are just tiny eaters).

      As we are leaving, we're told by the owner to check out the other end of the carriage where it is a different set out. The kitchen separates the two ends of the carriage and one end can be closed off for parties and large group bookings.

It would be a pretty nifty idea to have a party in a train carriage diner.

      I came to this train carriage not really knowing what to expect but am glad that we decided to go. It might not be Jazz City Diner but for something that's all the way out in the western suburbs of Sydney, it's quite a unique addition for those who don't want to come all the way out into the city. Go on, go and try it out for yourself and decide wether or not you like it. I think they deserve a chance. I'm definately coming back to try the waffles!

Step-A-Side Diner is located at 40 Roebuck St, Cabramatta, NSW, 2166

(Corner of Hume Highway and Cabramatta Road)

Open 7 Days 11:00am - 10:00pm, 8:00am - 11:00am on weekends for breakfast.

www.stepasidediner.com.au