Happy New Cheer, friends! I know today’s the day to kick off 2026 but I’m here to tell you about what happened in my kitchen in the last month of 2025. Wine and beer, it’s the first IMK (In My Kitchen) of the year! (Yes, I’m a poet and I know it!) Thanks to Sherry for hosting and for keeping us all connected – I really look forward to our monthly kitchen catch ups. Without further ado, here’s how December looked in my kitchen.
My neighbour is a most talented florist and made us this Christmas centrepiece. She gave it to me at the very start of the month and I (just about) managed to keep it alive until the big day. Go me!
Hannukah is my favourite Jewish holiday and the only one I sort of celebrate. I was very excited to use my new doughnut menorah although I can’t lie, I felt the holiday was overshadowed by the terrible events at Bondi Beach. Every night when I lit my candles, I reminded myself that Hannukah is all about finding light in the darkness.
In other lighter news, I finally cooked that enormo-egg and of course, it was a double yolker. When we cooked it in the pan, it looked like a weird face and had us in stitches!
We had a little getaway to Brussels at the start of the month and eating moules and frites was top of my wish list. We had a delightful dinner at Le Chou de Bruxelles, where there are over 30 varieties of mussels on the menu! The mussels are served with a bib and mussel eaters for the patrons. I desperately wanted a bib as a souvenir – because anyone who knows me will vouch that I am the world’s messiest eater – but sadly they are not for sale. The manager did however give me some souvenir mussel eaters which I can’t wait to use.
I think I’ve told you before about how ridiculously cheap veg is sold in UK supermarkets in the run up to Christmas. This year the supermarkets outdid themselves with some like Aldi, selling Christmas veg for as little as 5p (that’s about 10 Australian cents) a pack! Can you believe?!
I love Christmas Day not least because it’s the one day of the year that David cooks and I get a day off from the kitchen! We had roast shoulder of pork this year and he totally aced the Christmas dinner, making everything himself apart from the Yorkshire Puddings. I know the yorkies are a bit of a controversial addition but they’re yuletide essentials in this house.
For dessert, I experimented with my favourite cheesecake recipe and added a bit of a Biscoff twist. We were delighted with the result so much so that in our eagerness to get stuck in, we forgot to take a picture of the cheesecake whole. This pic of a slice will have to suffice!
I made a lot of my perfect puds and my Thermomix Fantastic Fudge to share with friends and delivered them in these super cute reindeer boxes.
We got lots of edible treatos from friends and family but one of my favourite gifts was from my wine expert friend Lucy AKA @blaze_uncorks who gave me the perfect book – The Picky Bits Sommelier. It’s the ultimate guide in wine and snack pairings – I can’t wait to try some of them out.
On the blog, I shared a series of recipes that require only 4 or 5 ingredients and are just the ticket for effortless entertaining. First up were my 4 Ingredient Vegan Puff Pastry Twists.
Then there was my personal fave, the 5 Ingredient Cheeseburger Christmas Pudding Bites – we consumed ‘quite a few’ of these over the holibobs….
I was thrilled to finally post the recipe for Evangelia’s 5 Ingredient Tzatziki – all the way from Athens! I’m so grateful that she gave me the recipe to share. It’s such a quick, easy and healthy dip. It’s been on high rotation here.
Lastly, how can I forget the 5 Ingredient Margarita Posset probably one of my favourite recipes of the year – this recipe is a real keeper!
We didn’t buy too many treats (mainly because we got given so many LOL!) but a tin of Marks and Spencers Very Merry Munch was a non-negotiable. It’s full of milk and white chocolate popcorn, salted and dark chocolate pretzels, milk chocolate pretzels and caramel almonds. It’s totally irresistible!
I couldn’t resist this Terry’s Chocolate Orange Baileys. However, I have to say that I loved the idea of it more than I loved the taste. It was pleasant enough but next year I’ll be sticking to my tried and true regular version!
This individual teapot is this year’s Christmas addition to my blue and white collection. I think it will be perfect for my afternoon brew!
And last but not least, my dear friend Leanne and I both share the love of a good napkin situation. Whenever she comes to stay she always gifts me a pack of fun paper napkins and this Christmas was no exception. Clearly, Leanne knows me well as the Christmas napkins she found could have been made for me!
So that’s what’s been happening in my kitchen, tell me what’s been happening in yours! I’m all ears!
