Festive feast
Neven Maguire
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Christmas will be upon us before we know it, so the secret is to think ahead and get as much preparation as possible done in advance. My aunt Maureen has a great annual tradition: she recently made the cake and Christmas pudding for the restaurant. How lucky am I?
People often ask me why Christmas cooking is put on us so early -- we've only just had Halloween, after all. Well, to my mind there are several good reasons. First, it gives the fruit time to mature, and the longer the fruit matures the better the taste.
Leaving taste and cooking to one side, there is another very good reason: there is so much preparation to do for Christmas that it becomes a lot less stressful if you have a few things done well ahead of time.
For me, Christmas is a wonderful time of year. We take a break from the restaurant and I enjoy cooking at home for the family. My mum, Vera, is a great cook and is always on hand, and it is good to be in a kitchen with her again -- it takes me back. We always eat goose and the recipe I have given you today is great to try any time of the year.
Monkfish has become hugely popular and I find that people who don't normally enjoy fish like this one. It won't win any beauty contests though -- fishermen used to throw it back into the sea!
A little indulgence at Christmas is a wonderful thing, and it doesn't come much better than a dark, luxurious Irish coffee with a couple of extra shots of liqueur, topped with lashings of lightly whipped Irish cream.
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Photography by David Munns
Home Chef is published by Collins, €25
- Neven Maguire
Irish Independent
