American feast we can all tuck in to.

[Selma in Sandy Eggo]

Lefse: think "very thin potato tortilla". That's close enough. Layer with sugar and butter, cut wedges, enjoy.

[piqaboo]

Think the Mexican kind of tortilla, not the Spanish one, which is also yummy, but not with butter and sugar!

Traditional feast in my family of origin (new traditions forming so fast i cant keep up....)
Turkey (occasionally goose, duck, ham, pork or beef roast replaces the bird)
Roast potatoes
steamed cabbage wtih butter adn black pepper
assorted root vegetables
assorted other vegies: usually peas
cranberry sauce AND cranberry/walnut/banana jello mold
salad
bread or rolls
butter
gravy
yams or sweet potatoes
asst bev including wine, soda, juice, water, coffee, tea, etc....

mince pie
sometimes also other pie (pumpkin or apple)
persimmon pudding (steamed pudding from Mrs Reagan's recipe)
plum pudding (well flamed)
cookies
See's chocolates
brandy hardsauce
whipped cream

Christmas crackers
Trivial Pursuit. Pouting when the same three cards wtih incorrect answers float to the top (owner of game will not permit correct answers to be written in)
One funny video for snoring to

All of this is preceded by assorted munchies:
meatballs
cheeses
nuts
marinated mushrooms
etc

About 5 hours after the main meal, out comes a ham, sliced breads, condiments, tomato, lettuce. We usually raid the fridge and add a few left overs to the mix.

Next year there will be two grand children and I expect things will change somewhat! (plus, its just barely possible that OT will have an influence on the juggernaut of my folks traditional christmas - wish him luck!)

[mpreston]

Thanks Shap and Selma!

Here's another question - why Christmas tamales? Do they differ from year-round tamales? I dated a guy whose mother used to make tamales at least once a month. They were delicious - small and mouth watering and so easy to eat the entire batch.

all this talk of food...I already miss Thanksgiving....

[Selma in Sandy Eggo]

Making tamales is like making lasagna: you're going to get every single pot in the kitchen dirty so you might as well make a lot.

Christmas tamales are no different from tamales the rest of the year; just as ham is the same at Christmas or Fourth of July. They're just traditionally present for the event.

[lliam]

Originally posted by Marye:
LLiam,

I see your Americanisation is incomplete or you would have spelled that AmericaniZation .


:p

Well Spotted Mayre.

[lliam]

Originally posted by piqaboo:
Think the Mexican kind of tortilla, not the Spanish one, which is also yummy, but not with butter and sugar!

Traditional feast in my family of origin (new traditions forming so fast i cant keep up....)
Turkey (occasionally goose, duck, ham, pork or beef roast replaces the bird)
Roast potatoes
steamed cabbage wtih butter adn black pepper
assorted root vegetables
assorted other vegies: usually peas
cranberry sauce AND cranberry/walnut/banana jello mold
salad
bread or rolls
butter
gravy
yams or sweet potatoes
asst bev including wine, soda, juice, water, coffee, tea, etc....

mince pie
sometimes also other pie (pumpkin or apple)
persimmon pudding (steamed pudding from Mrs Reagan's recipe)
plum pudding (well flamed)
cookies
See's chocolates
brandy hardsauce
whipped cream

Christmas crackers
Trivial Pursuit. Pouting when the same three cards wtih incorrect answers float to the top (owner of game will not permit correct answers to be written in)
One funny video for snoring to

All of this is preceded by assorted munchies:
meatballs
cheeses
nuts
marinated mushrooms
etc

About 5 hours after the main meal, out comes a ham, sliced breads, condiments, tomato, lettuce. We usually raid the fridge and add a few left overs to the mix.

Good Lord Piq, I wouldn't be able to move for a week if I tucked into that lot

[lliam]

Mmmm, have a nice Christmas you guys.

[piqaboo]

We do love our food. Hilariously, now that I have exposed us to the world, Grandma called and told us she's simplifying this year!

[lliam]

Have a great time Piq, OT and Altoid - curiously strong.

[deathstalker82]

this year i think that i am eating ramen noodles because that is all that i can afford. Iliam can i come over to your house for christmas dinner. by far my favorite is my grandma's gumbo and shrimp dressing, also her lemon merangue pie is killer.

[deathstalker82]

how about you piq, would you like to put up with a broke college student for christmas dinner. you cook about as much as my grandma does.

[OperaTenor]

Originally posted by deathstalker82:
how about you piq, would you like to put up with a broke college student for christmas dinner. you cook about as much as my grandma does.

Sure! C'mon over! You can babysit Altoid while we fix dinner. I'll even show you how to use the diaper pail....

[Serenity]

I plan on doubling my caloric intake these next 2 weeks. Every New Year's resolution, to hit the gym, doesn't happen. That means I am not motivating myself enough. Therefore, the more weight I gain, the higher the motivation to work out next year. But, I'm really stubborn, so maybe I should add a little extra motivation too...I should get a can of one of those bodybuilding weight gain powders to guarantee I put on extra poundage. That will guarantee motivation to work out! Nothing else seems to work.

I remember an episode of the Simpsons where Homer purposely gained weight to become "able to work from home" and not have to commute to work. That's another incentive. I'll have to check out the HR manuals for the "fat clause".

In this weight-conscious society, going against the grain would be cool....being voluptuous in a world of binging waifs wouldn't be bad.

There must be some benefits to "living large". I bet I wouldn't be pushed around in elevators. I should just do it as research, like that guy who made the McDonald's movie. I could keep a journal and jot down peoples' reactions and comments. I hear it's a big (no pun intended) form of discrimination. It would be interested and I could eat whatever I wanted. Maybe it may be too hard to keep the weight on. I would have to "up" my calorie consumption just to maintain the extra goal weight.

Do I have issues? Should I see a "shrink"? If I get as big as a football lineman, maybe I could document losing the weight, write and sell the book, get rich quick, etc....

Maybe I can motivate others to do the same! It would be a team effort! We could gain and then lose weight together and feed (no pun intended) off each other! Is anyone "game"? Is this a sick or a fun fantasy. Who wants to EAT!

[Selma in Sandy Eggo]

Originally posted by OperaTenor:

Originally posted by deathstalker82:
[b] how about you piq, would you like to put up with a broke college student for christmas dinner. you cook about as much as my grandma does.

Sure! C'mon over! You can babysit Altoid while we fix dinner. I'll even show you how to use the diaper pail... [/b]

Do it! Do it! They're both very competent cooks and I want somebody to guineapig that pavlova thing and report back before I give it a try - is it really worth it?

Altoid is very cute baby, easy job.

[deathstalker82]

If I start driving now I think I can make it by Christmas. So you and OT love to cook, well so do I. I finally got to see my new niece and nephew over Thanksgiving. I will not get to see them over Christmas because I have to work. I wish I had enough money so I could just go to school and not worry about anything else. I have to learn to change a diaper sometime if I want to have kids.
Serenity, I have just one word for you "BEEFCAKE". You know you should try something like Judo or TaeKwonDo, definitely not Tae Bo. I am presently working on my orange belt in both and I have lost about 15lbs since August. On top of the health benefits, you learn how to defend yourself. I hope to start doing competitions sometime this year.

[barfle]

I'm trying something a little unusual. I have a recipe for chicken that you build up this marinade the day before, brush the bird with it and keep it soaking in a plastic bag in the refrigerator overnight. The marinade has lemon juice, olive oil, fresh thyme, fresh basil, kosher salt, and a LOT of garlic. The lemon peels go inside the bird.

The day you're going to eat it, cook it over charcoal and smoke chips on a rotisserie. Usually, the smoke turns the chicken black, so the recipe has affectionately become known as "Jim's ugly chicken."

I'll be scaling the marinade recipe up by a factor of three for the turkey, and letting the bird warm up before I put the smoke chips on the fire.

It should be interesting, because the temperature is supposed to get down in the teens on Christmas. Wish me luck.

Merry Christmas to all the b dot c listeners and staff!

[piqaboo]

barfle, you are a dedicated man, to barbecue in cold weather. Good luck with the turkey AND the weather. The marinade sounds delicious. Will you add sage or celery to adjust flavor for the difference between chicken (saltier) and turkey (sweeter)? Or go with the classic, which sounds darn yummy?

We gave my dad a turkey deepfryer last Xmas, and we used it to cook a half turkey this past spring. Interesting note: unlike baking where half the bird takes ~ 1/2 to 2/3 as long, in teh fryer it takes ~ 90% as long. The time seems to be needed for the heat to penetrate thru the thickness of the meat (thighs), and with the rapid cooking time, there isnt much time savings. The bird was delicious. Especially the deepfried crispy bits. Next time, we'll try pre-marinading or brining a whole bird for grins and giggles.

Next year, I want to try OT's sister's recipe for mashed yams. if it werent for the vitamin A, there'd be no excuse for this version - YUM!!!!!

[Selma in Sandy Eggo]

Re the turkey and the marinade - an unpressurized marinade hardly ever penetrates the white meat of a turkey just from soaking. The skin's too thick, the inner bones too heavy, and the meat too thick. You'll probably have better luck injecting it the day before cooking. Unless, of course, you have a giant-size vacuum marinater.

Deb and I did the Christmas marketing today, could not decide between a nice small hen turkey or a nice half of a spiral ham. Bought both. Will make mashed potatos for the guys, mashed yams for us (recipe simple. roast yams, peel into bowl, add butter, brown sugar, punkinpie spice. Whip with whisk until fluffy and cute.) Rolls, vegetables, assorted whatnots and such.

Son requested some jello-carrot-celery abomination I used to make because my mother loved it. I invited him to bring it.

Oh, Serenity: about your inverse dieting idea. Well, when you get up to my size I'll help you figure out the "finding clothes" issues. It is easier to move furniture. Anything I lean on, moves.

[piqaboo]

Selma, LOL!

Christmas means: mince pie for breakfast for as many days as I can manage during December.

Today we play baby-roadies. This year OT and I will contribute nothing to the feast except Altoid's presence (and secondarily, our own.) This is a good thing because by the time we load up all the baby road paraphenalia, there isnt room in the car for a cassarole. WHEEEEEEEEE!

[barfle]

There were definite differences between the chicken and the turkey. The marinade was noticeable, but not so much as to make it worth the effort.

I think the alder wood smoke would have been enough flavoring (especially noticeable in the legs, for some reason).

I had to bring in the rotisserie motor to let it thaw out before I put the turkey on, and those little pop-op thingys don't seem to function in a Weber kettle, so it got a little over done, but not so much that it was dried out. No gravy from that cooking arrangement, though. That was from a jar (Williams Sonoma has an excellent turkey gravy base).

It was pretty cold out there, and for some strange reason my wife wouldn't open the back door while I had my hands full of hot turkey on a spit, so I made her eat tomato soup instead. Just kidding, but the thought crossed my mind.

And I'll be eating turkey sandwiches until March, even though we did try to find a small bird.