Dinner on Christmas Eve

Summer doesn't quite feel like summer this year, nor did the earlier spring feel at all like spring. But on Christmas Eve, the air rings true.

Mismatched plates and homemade tablecloths, goblets of wine and knee-jerking laughter - it's the flocking of family.
Small, intimate, complete. Things run as they're supposed to: some quarreling here and there, pots and pans (and people) in disarray, no care for discreetness. Ah, it's a thing of joy.

The Menu  
- Abalone toasted rice congee with fresh ginger
- Lobster yee mein
- Honey-glazed chicken with stuffing (white pearl barley, yam bean, carrots, peanuts, gingko nuts, onion, dried Chinese mushrooms, star anise)
- Roast pumpkin and potatoes

- Fruit tart
- Chocolate almond cake with crème fraîche and fresh raspberries

Location: Home

My sister working on the buttery crust for her fruit tart.

Clockwise from L to R: Pumpkin rubbed with minced garlic, salt, pepper, olive oil and brown sugar; potatoes with garlic, salt, sugar and good olive oil; lobster ready for the tossing; chicken stuffing.

Chicken burnished and glistening.

Abalone congee made with toasted rice, which gives it a certain earthiness.

Lobster yee mein (Cantonese egg noodles made with wheat flour). There's a springiness to the texture of the noodles and it works wonderfully with the sauce.

My sister's fruit tart - there's not much I can say about the crust other than: genius.

My chocolate almond cake with crème fraîche and fresh raspberries - slightly molten and fudgy in the middle, I'm pleased to report back.