Journey to a Christmas Pudding | Murray Lloyd Photography

Mother in law would be delighted if I made the pud. Raisins yes, sultanas yes, currents yes…dried pineapple must get, figs also, beef suet must get, so much for being vegetarian….brandy yes, sherry must get - great chilled pre-dinner drink. Need a 1.5 litre bowl … and a space offive 7 ½ uninterrupted hours. Need string. Mother in law provides bowl, suet from the butcher. All assembled. Have coffee and begin. Chop, chop chop. Suet rather smelly, minced, rubbed in. Mix into bowl. Paper lids on, teflon rubber bands replace string. Pud in pot. That took 2 ½ hrs only 5hrs to go….water gets in top of pud. redo paper still 5hrs to go...

finished pudding should look something like this, recipe in Ruth Pretty Cooks at Home or you can find it here..eat in 2012 or even better save for 2013. Another recipe from the book might also be good around Christmas.

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Traditional Christmas pudding by Ruth Pretty.

3 Xmas Recipes from Star Chef | Murray Lloyd Photography

Zibibbo’s Adam Newell was the latest chef to grace the demonstration kitchen at Wellington's city market. Having photographed A Consuming Passion, the first cookbook by Newell a few years ago, I was keen to see him in action again. Newell introduced three recipes which included two versions of en’papillote - French for “in parchment”, and a caponata.

Cooking class at Wellington's City Market

While chatting and chopping his way through the caponata, Newell reflected on changes in New Zealand’s restaurant food.  He believes the fusion of the 90’s “should be illegal”, (my wife calls the same phase ‘confusion’). He went on to say the scene is now about emphasising seasonal ingredients and not about playing around with the food too much. Newell reckons we’ve even caught up with Europe – a slightly optimistic view to me.

Fresh New Zealand Salmon

The first of two en’ papillotes involved salmon sourced from a passionate Akaroa Fishery  Newell said he would be serving this at Christmas, leaving his mother-in-law to deal to the turkey.

Adam preparing at the market

The BBQ class was billed by the City Market as the Thriller in Manila . While struggling to see the link with boxing I guess it could have been the vanilla which received rave reviews by Newell. It’s used in the sugar syrup poured into the en’ papillote and Newell says the dish screams “eat me, eat me, its summer” as the perfumed steam envelops the diner once the parcel is opened on a plate.

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en Papillote summer fruit

En Papillote salmon and caponata at Wellington's City Market

The dessert can be made up to one hour ahead of time and Newell says his chefs at Zibibbo know they are in for a busy night if the en’ papillote is on the specials list (not being a cold pre-prepared dish).

The guests enjoyed being served by the Michelin starred chef (one of only two in New Zealand) as Newell delivered the fragrant packages to the tables. Scents of fennel, thyme and fish were followed by fruity fragrances and hints of mulled wine as the gathering pierced the sealed parcels and munched away happily. The $25000 Gaggenau kitchen stood up to the BBQ test well, easily competing with the hooded cookers that will be seen in most kiwi backyards this summer.