Monday, December 14, 2009

A Very Special Christmas Lunch...

Last week at TAFE there was a very special Luncheon for our elderly...complete with Scottish Dancing...a visit from Santa...and little gifts...and it was our job to feed 90 of these people along with their Carers...

The Board with the Menu...

Sliced ham portioned...waiting to be topped with Roast Turkey and Jus...

Au jus is French for 'with [its own] juice'; jus is the juice itself. In American cuisine, the term is mostly used to refer to a light sauce for beef recipes, which may be served with the food or placed on the side for dipping. In French cuisine, jus is a natural way to enhance the flavour of dishes, mainly chicken, veal and lamb.

Jus means the natural juices given off by the food. To prepare a natural jus, the cook may simply skim off the fat from the juices left after cooking and bring the remaining meat stock and water to a boil. Jus can be frozen for six months or longer, but the flavor may suffer after this time. For more information on Jus go here

Meanwhile...just after preparing the meat the Fire Alarm rang throughout the College...and this time it turned out for real...this is where we were evacuated to...

Fire truck arriving...we weren't allowed to go back into the Kitchen until okayed by the Fire Department...just as well the Tarts weren't in the oven yet!!!
And it was all because of the Kitchen that it went off...something to do with the steam oven being opened and all the hot air rushed into the alarm and set it off!!!

Quote spotted on the Library door as we were walking past...

And here's Daniel...one of the Apprentices...wanting to be photographed...onya Daniel!!!

Strawberries all lined up waiting to arorn the Plum Pudding...

The table set ready and waiting...

Ham and Roast Turkey with Jus
Baton Carrots...Broccoli
Roast Pumpkin and Potato
We had one Vegetarian who had a Frittata and Salad...

Plum Pudding and Brandy Custard with Strawberry Chantilly Cream...

Fruit Mince Tarts
There were 2 Gluten Free people who had an Ice Cream Bomb...
A great lunch for all even though we had all that drama in between!!!
Bon Appetit everyone...Dzintra

7 comments:

  1. All the food looks fantastic! Interesting to see what goes on in the background. What a drama with the fire alarm, glad there was no fire after all. One of those tarts would be nice with a cuppa now. :)

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  2. Thank you thank you Dzintra, for the great info about "jus"! I loved that! My middle son is a huge "au jus" fan and begs for it whenever we have Prime Rib. What a scare with the fire alarm! The Fruit Mince tarts look great... it calls for a good gf pastry recipe. (: How fun is that to have a special meal like this for the elderly! I bet they loved it. (:

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  3. Another scrumptious looking food for a specail Christmas lunch. I love how you phtographed them specially the strawberries. Thanks for sharing - Hugs Nat

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  4. Oh Dzintra, what a feast! I am sitting here, just full of breakfast, but my stomach is rumbling looking at all of this! The plum pudding looks amazing! What a mess with the alarm!!!! Have a great week, Anita

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  5. And many blessings to you, Dzintra! I am making Boeuf Bourgignon for Christmas with an eggnog cheesecake!!!! Anita

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  6. All the food looks so yummy! I would like to try each and every one.
    Micki

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  7. Wow, Dzintra, what a post. Great reading and looking at all that loveliness. Glad you didn't actually have a fire there ;o)
    Have a lovely weekend!

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