P+P £5

December 15, 2018 3:30 AM

The Nine Lessons and Carols of Christmas food.
posted by mippy (5 comments total)

Show of hands - who googled "Pork and egg lattice" as soon as you saw that phrase because it sounded strangely tempting?....

I liked this a lot. We're not quite traditionalists in my family on Christmases; the only "food memories" I have year to year involve a couple of funky candy items my aunt had scattered about the house while we were there that we kids just all grazed on freely (chocolate coffee beans, a few boxes of Merri-mints, big bowls of nuts with nutcrackers, one of those big tubs of popcorn in three flavors that we'd eat all the cheese kind first.....). Christmas dinner in the US sort of gets overshadowed by Thanksgiving, since a lot of the menu can be the same. And when you're a kid it's the sweets and candy that you are more into anyway.

We sort of have a new tradition of fish cakes on Christmas now, based on something my father made a few years back when the family was gathering at my parents' house after a few years of unsettled "who's spending Christmas where" chaos. My parents agreed to host one year, suddenly realized they weren't sure what they should make and wanted it to be simple, my father made fish cakes for dinner one night and they were good, Mom said "well then let's just do that", and boom now it's a tradition.

....They are indeed good. And maybe that's a tenth Christmas lesson - that sometimes going with whatever works is just fine.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:17 AM on December 15, 2018 [1 favorite]

I bloody love Grace Dent, and not just because we once Twitterbonded over our mutual love of slow cookers. Her restaurant reviews for the Guardian are a thing of beauty and a joy forever.
posted by aihal at 8:21 AM on December 15, 2018 [2 favorites]

I am having a party tonight that was almost cancelled because of worry. I decided to let it go and not make anything other than my meatballs and to not stress about decorations or cleaning (I'm throwing everything into my teenager's already messy room and shutting the door.) If people come, it'l be good... If not, then I've got meatballs for the next few days...

and how I love that pudding dress!
posted by vespabelle at 9:09 AM on December 15, 2018 [1 favorite]

Carol: O Come, All Ye Faithful I laughed out loud
posted by Tentacle of Trust at 9:41 AM on December 15, 2018

this read was delightful, though i cannot fathom a test so cruel in a holiday season as asking a child not to open a tin of Quality Street for basically the whole of December. that's just mean.
happily i am now An Adult and i'm on the month's second tin of Quality Street and no one can stop me

but oh my lord i have never had a Merri-mint and it is a confection i need in my life so desperately
posted by halation at 3:08 PM on December 15, 2018 [1 favorite]