Christmas in Tignes

I am pleased to say I spent a beautiful, snowy, white Christmas at the hotel despite being away from the family. The hotel's staff all came together like our own little family and enjoyed a nice christmas meal together on Christmas eve before doing the evening's service. We then all partied til about 3am in the underground bar, dressed up and dancing on tables. Lots of fun, but huge headaches for Christmas morning.

Christmas dinner with staff

After doing Christmas morning brekky service the staff all gathered and opened each other's Secret Santa presents with champagne (yes, more drinking) in hand.

Opening our Secret Santa pressies

We all then skied over to Tignes - which was not fun while feeling ridiculously hungover in a claustrophobic gondola - and all enjoyed a lunch paid for by our company.

Skiing on Christmas day

We then served about 70 guests a lovely Christmas meal on Christmas night, before I fell asleep at about 10pm absolutely exhausted from my 4 hours sleep on Christmas eve.

I am having a ball here at the moment and am enjoying all the partying and camaraderie with everyone I work with.

On a side note, I love the quirkiness of France. Every morning and evening I collect bread from a bakery nearby my chalet and my baker is continually stoned. Literally, my baker is baked. He leaves his half-smoked joints on the bench-top as he packages up the baguettes. Crazy, huh!?

Christmas cheer

Today I made some incredible (if I do say so myself) Christmas mince pies that got the approval of those who tried them.
The pastry is a little fiddly, but once you've mastered that, they're a cinch to make.
All you need to do is follow this recipe:

Preparation Time 30 minutes
Cooking Time 35 minutes
Makes 40

Ingredients
2 tbs brown sugar
2 tbs brandy
1 small Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, coarsely grated
85g raisins, coarsely chopped
85g currants
85g sultanas
60g glace cherries, coarsely chopped
115g (1/3 cup) breakfast marmalade
1/4 tsp mixed spice
600g (4 cups) plain flour
80g (1/2 cup) icing sugar mixture
300g chilled butter, chopped
2 egg yolks
4-5 tbs water
White sugar, to sprinkle
Icing sugar, to dust
Method
Combine the brown sugar, brandy, apple, raisins, currants, sultanas, cherries, marmalade and mixed spice in a bowl. Set aside, covered, stirring occasionally, for 1-2 days to macerate.
Place the flour, icing sugar and butter in the bowl of a food processor and process until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolks and water, and process until the dough just comes together.
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth.
Preheat oven to 180°C. Roll out the pastry between 2 sheets of non-stick baking paper until 3mm thick. Use a round 6.5cm-diameter pastry cutter to cut 40 discs from the pastry. Line forty 30ml (1 1/2-tablespoon) capacity patty pans with the discs. Use a fork to prick the bases.
Re-roll leftover pastry between 2 sheets of non-stick baking paper until 3mm thick. Use a round 5cm-diameter pastry cutter to cut 40 discs from the pastry. Spoon 1 heaped teaspoon of fruit mixture into each pastry case. Top with pastry discs. Press edges to seal. Sprinkle with white sugar. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Set aside for 15 minutes to cool before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Dust the pies with icing sugar to serve.
Notes & tips
Freezing tip: At the end of step 5, layer the fruit mince pies between sheets of freezerproof paper in an airtight container. Label, date and freeze for up to six months. Thaw overnight at room temperature.
Allow two days macerating and cooling time.
Taste.com.au has everything you need for Christmas including Christmas gift ideas like truffles and rum balls, Christmas menu plans and handy video how to tips.

I got this recipe from Good Taste magazine in 2007 - worth keeping!!

Christmas... a time for reflection.

I always find Christmas time is the perfect time to reflect on the year that has passed. I use it as a time to be grateful - for friends, family, possessions, experiences - and this Christmas is no exception.

Last night marked the end of my first year as a boarding assistant in a boarding school in Central Western New South Wales. The school’s annual Christmas dinner was a beautiful festivity arranged by the boarding mistress and master, which they no doubt put hours of organisation into.

The dinner, put on by the dining hall, consisted of ham, turkey and pork, baked potatoes, peas and corn, along with pumpkin and gravy. Additionally a selection of sauces including apple sauce, cranberry jelly and mustards, and a Christmas pudding with custard were provided.

I thoroughly enjoyed seeing all of the girls all dressed in jumbo Christmas stockings they had cut the bottoms of, in order to be worn as boob-tube dresses and the male students dressed in collared shirts and smart trousers (a great change from their usual dinner attire of t-shirts and boardies with thongs). They had all made such an effort!

We played trivia, guess that tune, tunnel ball and a custard-eating competition, and farewelled staff that were to depart at the end of 2009 and also watched performances by both the girls and boys boarding houses.

I really appreciated the close community feel we have within our boarding environment. When the boarding parents’ children are able to run around, and are passed to students to be looked after while the boarding mistresses and masters need to organise various events etc, the true family feel of the school truly comes out.

I feel so privileged to have been able to be involved in this school community; a great change from my life on campus at university last year. I was yesterday asked whether I had preferred my year on campus, or as a boarding mistress more, and I honestly could not say. Both experiences have been incredible – experiences I could only have had while at university, they wouldn’t be possibilities in the future with a full-time job. I am so grateful I have been able to experience them when I have, and that I have made embraced these opportunities when they have arisen.

I have learned over these past two years that it is crucial to take up any opportunity that comes your way, despite the fact that it may seem scary or somewhat out of your comfort zone.

12 months ago I certainly didn’t believe I would be able to control 35 girls and to oversee their well-being and care for them on a regular basis, while earning respect from them and developing wonderful sister-sister style relationships that ensure they can approach me with their problems. Of course it is still necessary to maintain professional distance, but this experience has enabled me to develop leadership skills and friendships (with the other residents) that will last forever.

This Christmas I can be grateful for an incredible array of friends and experiences that I have gained in 2009.