Christmas Repasts

I know that a lot of my friends don’t celebrate Christmas at this time of year but since I do, that is what this post is about – Christmas, food, family and love.

I am spending my 3rd Christmas in Canada with my fiancé and his family. Now, my beau is much more comfortable with tradition, structure and ritual than am I. So once again, we celebrated Christmas on the eve of the day as opposed to the morning of, as I am accustomed in my family. Christmas eve we spent at my future father-in-law’s with wine and many German appetizers (read: meat on a stick and pickled thingies). While the food is not what I am used to nor necessarily prefer, the evening was nonetheless wonderful. The place was stuffed to the rafters with my fiance’s blended family; stepsister, sister, nieces, nephews and even a grand nephew this year. Since I was not feeling 100%, we only stayed for the appetizers and skipped the big meal and church outing but I got to see his nieces and nephew open the Christmas gifts I had gotten them. Usually the gift opening madness occurs simultaneously after church so you never really get to see the looks on their faces when they open your gift. This year I had that pleasure and it’s one that I love. Did I pick something they would really enjoy? I think I did OK.

From there we went home and made a traditional German Christmas eve feast of rouladen, red cabbage and potato dumplings (Tums anyone?). I’ve written about this before so you will know that these are not my favorites but I know that it isn’t Christmas without them for my fiancé so I enjoyed it because he did. My family has no tradition for Christmas meals, mostly because my mom played the organ for church for so many years that she spent her time there instead of building rituals at home. I like to try something new most of the time. The fiancé and I agreed that Christmas eve, we stick to his traditions and Christmas day is all mine – I get to pick whatever I want to make!

This year we had his mother and stepfather over and I made a Christmas goose. His mom was concerned when we proffered the invitation, mostly because her experience with goose had been a greasy mess of gamey bird but to her credit, she was willing to give it a go.

I have found the perfect trick for ensuring a goose whose meat is not in the least bit greasy – ready? Write this down now, it’s simple yet extremely effective. Two days before you cook the goose, remove all the extra fat and prick it all over with a toothpick or sharp knife, just to cut through the skin, being careful not to puncture the meat. Next, completely immerse the goose in boiling water for a full minute. Remove the goose from the water, pat dry and place on a tray in the fridge – uncovered – for 48 hours. This tightens the skin so that when you roast it, the skin forces all the fat out from between the skin and the meat. Roast at 350 uncovered on a rack that sits above the lip of the roasting pan so the hot air can circulate all around the bird and you end up with a beautifully cooked goose with crispy skin and lean non-fatty meat! The gravy is another post because I made a quart of the stuff and it still wasn’t enough. Madeira and demi-glace is your friend for gravy….trust me on this. Even his mom had seconds.

Even though I couldn’t get out to do a lot of shopping (thanks nasty painful tumor) I managed to make some lovely baked goodies, a couple of dinners and spend some quality time with family. My best present was a cat pillow that my niece made for me to keep me company through my treatment since my kitties are currently so far away. She made the pattern herself and sewed it, stuffed it and decorated it with eyes and whiskers. She’s 12 years old and made her old auntie cry with joy. What more can anyone ask for at Christmas?

I hope that yours was as priceless as mine. Being sick has one advantage; I truly appreciated every moment this Christmas. Every thought, hug and gesture touched my heart – or it could have been the hydromorphone. Next week I get radiation tattoos and then surgery so my Christmas thoughts will carry me through the next few months. Hope yours do as well, no matter what the new year holds for you.