This Christmas

Traditionally my friends host a Christmas Eve party, and with it falling on a Saturday there was a lot less rushing about from work (I work right up to and through the Xmas period).


It is generally a day of over indulgence, and this year was no exception.  I found this recipe on Pinterest and just had to try it out.  I think it was devoured in about 10 minutes....!

Pizza Dip!!

Ingredients

Base

• 150 grams of Philly cream cheese
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise (nice rich creamy variety like "real" or "hellmans" brands)
• 1/2 cup mozzarella, grated
• 1/4 cup parmigiano reggiano (parmesan), grated
• 1 cup pizza sauce
• Topping
• 1/2 cup mozzarella, shredded/grated
• 1/4 cup parmigiano reggiano (parmesan), grated
• 100 grams chopped pepperoni
• 2 tablespoons capsicum sliced thin 
• 2 tablespoons mushrooms sliced thin
• 2 tablespoons black olives, sliced 

Directions

1. Mix the cream cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, mozzarella and parmigiano reggiano and spread it across the bottom of a pie plate.
2. Spread the pizza sauce on top and sprinkle on the cheese, pepperoni, green pepper, mushrooms and olives.
3. Bake in a preheated 180 C oven until the cheese has melted, bubbling and golden brown, about 15 minutes.

You can substitute in and out your other favourite pizza ingredients.  Serve with some crusty sourdough bread.  Here is my version below, not as photogenic as the file pic, but you get the gist!

Christmas day was yet another day of over indulgence.  My uncle is Austrian and his mother was in Australia to visit so we were lucky enough to have apple strudel for dessert, a highlight for sure!

With custard, yum!

Being summer in Australia, lunch was a mix of cold meats, sushi and salads, and of course pork crackling :). (notice I blogged about dessert first. I know where my priorities lie)

The heavens opened in the early afternoon, and we were pelted with hailstones the size of golf balls.  The damage was pretty bad across Melbourne, we were lucky to only sustain one dent in our car...

A great Christmas nonetheless!  Got a good haul of presents too :)