Julana wrote (much snippage on my part):

> My household is in a bit of an uproar since we lost a house to wildfire.

WHAT?? Holy crap!


> - Grilled prawns with gooseberry salsa and guacamole

I don't believe I've ever seen gooseberry salsa. Is it cooked?


> - Cucumber sandwiches with creme fraiche and cold-smoked caviar

Is cold-smoked caviar something you can buy, or do you have to smoke it
yourself? (Before posting, I checked Google Shopping for smoked caviar and
didn't see any for sale. But I did see that creme fraiche was for sale as an
accompaniment for caviar, so your sandwiches should be pretty interesting.)


> - Radishes with fresh butter, coarse salt, and ground long pepper

I've seen James Beard and others recommend radishes with butter. I confess
that I don't understand the appeal.


> - Cold ham with Parisienne chaud-froid

Made me look up Parisienne sauce! I think this will be good as a late-spring
or early-summer dish.


> - Buche de Noel of genoise filled with passionfruit curd, covered with
> white chocolate ganache, and decorated with starfruit

When you make this, please post a photo!

How many people are you serving? If one person ate a little of everything,
it would still be a huge meal.


> Making a lavish Christmas dinner might seem a bit strange under the
> circumstances, but... well, what else am I supposed to do?

We all cope in our own ways. If my house burned down I probably wouldn't
consider doing as you are, but if it helps you and your husband make it
through the holidays, who's going to say it's wrong?

I'm a bit curious as to how long you've been reading this group. Sqwertz has
mentioned long pepper in some of his posts this year, but I don't remember
seeing it before that. Maltaise sauce has been mentioned here now and then,
but it's not all that widely known. I mentioned chaud-froid back in
September, but it's been DECADES since I've seen anyone actually make the
stuff. Do your menus pull inspiration from this list, or does your knowledge
of cooking and your culinary palette (so to speak) come from somewhere else?

Bob