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Post by bjd on Dec 7, 2012 12:36:24 GMT
I'm still trying to decide what to make for Christmas Day. There will be only 3 of us so it doesn't have to be huge. No turkey, no baked ham, no capon. And preferably something that I don't have to go to the supermarket a day or two before Christmas.  |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 16, 2012 17:08:21 GMT
Today I decided that I needed to go to Picard this week to get one of their excellent legs of lamb from New Zealand. I know that I will pick up a bunch of other holiday items there that I would normally never buy. I might also get some Cuban lobster tails for New Year's, but it might be too early to decide for that -- my friend is returning from Brazil for Christmas, and from past experience I know that he might claim asylum at my place for the 31st unless he still has his daughter with him at that time, at which point he would be with his friend Maria in Pré Saint Gervais, because she has the space for all of that. But if I have already purchased the lobster tails, they will have to be eaten sooner or later.  |
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Post by bjd on Dec 16, 2012 17:10:36 GMT
I finally decided -- either lemon chicken or veal marsala. Never made either before.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 16, 2012 17:17:51 GMT
Either can be wonderful. And since you have never made them, you probably won't know if you failed.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 20, 2012 22:52:27 GMT
I thought this was interesting because when McDonald's first opened in France, it followed the American tradition of being open 364 days a year -- closed on Christmas. But for about the last 5 years, it has been open on December 25th, probably because its biggest rival, the Belgian 'Quick' chain is always open. Anyway, it seems that things are changing in America: www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-12-18/who-eats-at-mcdonald-s-on-christmas#r=hp-ls |
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Post by lagatta on Dec 20, 2012 23:46:07 GMT
I guess road travellers are a big factor (another reason to favour railway travel).
None of my friends who are other than "Christian" by family background would be happy eating at McMerde at Christmas. There is an old American Jewish tradition (echoed by Ashkenazi Jews here in Mtl, not Sephardim) of eating Chinese food - this is often Vietnamese food here. Nowadays there are eateries from other cultural traditions open on that day, so it isn't hard to find South or East Asian food, or some Middle Eastern food (though the Arab restaurant I patronise most is run by Eastern Christians, so they close down).
By the way, my friends LOVED my duck tourtière. I daresay I was very proud of it.
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Post by Don Cuevas on Dec 21, 2012 0:36:48 GMT
We are going to a neighbor's house Christmas Eve. I'm fairly certain that we will have pozole. I'll bring a pozole compatible salad. I'm thinking berros (watercress), radishes, spring onions, chicharrón (fried pigskins), queso fresco or añejo crumbled on top. Maybe some avocado slices or cubes either on the side or in the salad. Dressing will be nothing more than lime juice from fresh limes.
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Post by htmb on Dec 24, 2012 15:37:23 GMT
A double batch of my mother's cranberry banana bread with pecans recipe is now baking in my oven.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 24, 2012 18:32:19 GMT
I was invited to spend Christmas in the infamous ancestral village. It was Gertrude's idea. She was the initiator of the famous Franco-German fiesta last year. I know that I would have eaten fabulously well and drank and drank and drank the finest wines, but Christmas will always be a family event for me, and that is not my family. I think it's great for people to accept such invitations when they have no family at all, but that is not my case. Perhaps when my mother is gone, I will organize a trip to see my brother at Christmas and make a big meal for him and his wife, the kids and their wives and all of the grandchildren. I think that would be nice. Tonight, I will be eating a scallop tourte with an excellent salad, and then tomorrow I will have a leg of lamb (vegetables not yet selected) which will last me for several days but which can also be frozen when I get tired of it. Frankly I am thrilled by this set of years where I do not have to see and talk to people when I am perfectly satisfied to be at home and do whatever I want. When one is not particularly sociable and not one bit lonely, the greatest challenge is facing all of the people who pity you because you do not conform to their idea of how holidays should be spent. Ah, but if they saw the Christmas lights in my attic room, they would be jealous!  |
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Post by mich64 on Dec 24, 2012 20:33:18 GMT
That loaf sounds delicious htmb! I would love some of that salad Don! And Lagatta, congratulations on the duck tourtiere, I am sure it was devoured.
We are off shortly to cousin Joe's Annual Christmas Eve Celebration there should be a large crowd gathered this evening as many family and friends are in town this year.
Christmas dinner will be at my parents home tomorrow with a short visit first to my in-law's. My mom called to tell me she just put another batch of butter tarts in the oven!
Cheers!
Wishing everyone a very happy holiday season and hope to see some photos on here in the coming days.
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Post by lugg on Dec 25, 2012 2:07:28 GMT
Our Xmas day food this year is very (English ) traditional. Some yummy sounding food guys - enjoy  For us Brunch - Eggs Benedict and then Dinner in the evening - Turkey, Chestnut stuffing, roasted root veg, red cabbage and sprouts which I detest but others seem to delight in and of course lashings of bread sauce which I adore. I have dispensed with the XMAS pudding this year which all of us have agreed we do not enjoy and have made a zabaglione trifle (as long as I remember to get it out of the freezer later.) I have never made this before so hoping it is as good as the recipe reviewers posted. It will be slightly strange this year as daughter is working in the pm so will not be with us at dinner, however we are having Xmas dinner number 2 on Friday when she is off - beef fillet that time though. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 25, 2012 22:34:02 GMT
It would not cross my mind to ever buy foie gras if there were not holidays like this. I like it, but there is just no way that I could ever consider it to be a food item for normal meals.
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Post by lagatta on Dec 26, 2012 0:01:18 GMT
The odd thing is, while I certainly don't hate foie gras, I am just as fond of normal duck liver, which is pretty gras even without gavage, as duck and geese store a lot of fat in their liver naturally. Just grilled is lovely.
We had a special meal on the 21st; there was supposed to be another one today, but things that happen in life obliged my friends to postpone it until tomorrow (Boxing Day). I spent the whole day doing finicky cleaning, removing dead leaves from plants I had brought in, wiping bookshelves, cleaning baseboards, that sort of thing.
I do actually have to do a bit of disagreeable Boxing Day (or week) shopping as I need a new laptop and it is better for tax purposes for me to buy it before the end of the year, so I can claim it as a business expense in 2013. Dreading that.
Mich, we only ate one of the two tourtières and the other won't be eaten tomorrow. Don't worry, it will be soon. But I've reached the age where I really have to balance my love of good food (not crap, but still, it has calories and fat) with health considerations - nothing dire, just had to lose some weight and not eat overly large portions of anything.
Especially since my energy output has suddenly dipped with some snow we got - I managed to find time for at least an hour of cycling even when I was very busy; more if I had time. I don't really cycle in the city when there is significant ice - we don't have the cleared cycle lanes everywhere they have in Copenhagen and other Nordic cities. More than before, but it will take a while to get a true "white network".
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Post by bjd on Dec 26, 2012 8:53:42 GMT
I finally changed my mind once again and bought a duck at the market the other day. I roasted it stuffed with apples and served it with several other vegetables (peas, carrots and green beans) and a salad of lambs lettuce (mâche).
For dessert I made individual sized clafoutis with red berries (raspberries, blueberries and lingonberries -- thanks to Mr Picard).
I must say I was not that impressed with the duck. Despite the fat under the skin, the meat itself was fairly dry and just not as tender as the lady who sold me the duck said it would be. I cooked it the length of time she told me to so it wasn't overdone. I guess I'll stick with magrets or aiguillettes when I want duck meat. The apples of the stuffing were good though.
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Post by Don Cuevas on Dec 26, 2012 11:01:56 GMT
Más mole hoy a la comida de boda en una casa vecina. EDIT: It was very good mole, perhaps not as complex and "married" than the one of December 12, but very good nonetheless.  Mole in its clay cazuela, cooked over a wood fire. Muy tradicional.  Mole de pollo and sopa de arroz. I requested a second helping of mole, and I was brought a generously filled plastic cup.  This stuff is addictive. |
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Dec 26, 2012 13:35:49 GMT
I worked...OH picked me up afterwards and he cooked me fried eggs with chips (fries) with bread and butter. Once my Daddy is better we'll think about having a slap up celebratory meal with all the family.  |
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Post by tod2 on Dec 26, 2012 19:06:09 GMT
Ah, but if they saw the Christmas lights in my attic room, they would be jealous! Can you make us jealous too? Please , just a couple of shots |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 26, 2012 23:17:27 GMT
Okay, tod2, just for you. |
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Post by htmb on Dec 27, 2012 0:09:42 GMT
Oh, my goodness!
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Post by fumobici on Dec 27, 2012 2:56:56 GMT
Excellent! Hadn't pegged you as the Christmas lights sort, not sure why. May Galeries Lafayette and Printemps get in a bidding war for your services ;D
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Post by tod2 on Dec 27, 2012 12:46:17 GMT
Holy Christmas Cake Kerouac! They are just fantastic, as I somehow figured they would be ;D
Thanks so much for showing me and the rest of AnyPort! Really appreciated - seeing all I had was a dry twig arrangement with a few Hawaiian leis thrown here and there over them.
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Post by rikita on Dec 27, 2012 12:49:30 GMT
the 24th was bread with tomatoes, goat cheese and olives baked in the oven, the 25th was duck, yesterday was venison.
today i will try to buy something light on the way home...
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Post by mich64 on Dec 27, 2012 18:17:42 GMT
Thank you for sharing the photos of your attic Kerouac.
Christmas Day was roast turkey with a carrot/apple stuffing, mashed potatoes, steamed broccoli, baked sweet potatoes, corn and salad. We never would have salad at our Christmas meal but my mom loves ceasar salad and due to diet restrictions she is not allowed this. She called me on Christmas Eve and asked me to bring everything to make one as her splurge.
Boxing Day with my in-laws was leftover turkey but also meat pies! With one to take home.
My sister arrives today for a 4 day visit and has promised tins and tins of baked goodies. Maybe I will post some pictures before they are all consumed.
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Post by htmb on Dec 29, 2012 2:27:53 GMT
I think if I had an attic space like that I'd leave the lights up year round, Kerouac.
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 29, 2012 5:32:39 GMT
Christmas eve ~~ whole huachinango al mojo de ajo en a restaurant called "Only Veracruz is Beautiful" on the zócalo en Puebla, Puebla.
Christmas day ~~ supper at a street fair in Santa María Tonantzintla, Puebla:
> esquites -- tender young corn cut off the cob & sauteed with vegetables, then dressed with aged cheese, lime juice & chile sauce
> tacos -- three of pork & two of longaniza
> cacao -- cold drink made of chocolate & water which is whipped to make lots of froth.
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 19, 2013 3:32:00 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Dec 19, 2013 5:53:56 GMT
I admit that I have begun to wonder what to eat that day.
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 19, 2013 6:09:47 GMT
I'm being fed that day, but perhaps should get hold of some Bolonia for a snack when I return home.
Did they have Oscar Mayer back then?
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Post by htmb on Dec 19, 2013 15:59:16 GMT
I haven't a clue what we will be eating since I haven't been paying to the schedule that's been going back and forth. I suppose I should check it at some point. ;D
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Post by tod2 on Dec 19, 2013 17:30:49 GMT
I am not changing the menu from last year and the year before - Fortunately I was able to find frozen crayfish packed in three's at the supermarket I got them from in 2011. I was so delighted I took everything they had which amounts to roughly 30 crayfish. I extended an invitation to not only my son and his boys, but to three more friends, and of course my mother will be there.
The menu runs something like this: Starters of olives, and various roasted nuts.
Grilled crayfish with garlic, or herb butter
Savoury rice.
A large piece of fresh Snoek to be grilled
A number of prime rib steaks for those who are not fish eaters.
A baby spinach leaf, young blanched hericot vert, roasted pecans,
fresh nectarine, and gorgonzola cheese salad with a special
dressing.
My husband makes his special strawberry trifle which does not have any jelly or jam in it but lots of Grand Marnier.
Xmas cake which I have been soaking in cognac for the past three weeks.
Lots of Italian Prosecco, French wines, Champagne, and Portuguese Lagosta Vinho Verde for the crayfish.
Coffee and liquers with a chocolate tray offering.
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