Holiday food: Or—you can do this the hard way, or the easy way

By Mary Jo

Food is a pretty major part of human festivities, especially at holidays.  At Thanksgiving, most Americans lay out the turkey and cranberry sauce no matter what their ethnic background. 

For Christmas, though, traditional foods are more likely to reflect family and ethnic traditions.  Italians traditionally don’t serve meat for Christmas Eve dinner—instead, the feast is fishes of various sorts.  (The Mayhem Consultant said that in his half-Italian household, that translated into fried smelts and mounds of steamed shrimp.)

We Wenches discussed getting an expert in to blog on holiday food, but the ones we asked weren’t available, so this is my highly idiosyncratic version of a couple of comestibles. 

First: Eggnog 

Eggnog belongs to the broad class of milk punches—that is, beverages made with dairy products such as milk, eggs, and cream with alcohol and spices added.  These have been popular for a long time.  Back in the 13th century they had the hot drinks called caudles.  Similar drinks in later centuries were called possets, also served hot.  The drinks were often thickened with egg yolks and the alcohol was usually wine or ale.  There might be honey or sugar for sweetening, and spices such as ginger, lemon, saffron, and other expensive flavorings were added.

Because of the rich, expensive ingredients, milk punches were rather luxurious.  Possets were often used to treat minor ailments like colds or coughs, and it’s easy to see how a warm drink smooth with honey and flavored with ginger would go down nicely when one is under the weather.  There’s a theory that “coddle” is derived from “caudle,” which is a nice thought though linguistically not proven.)

Usually milk punches have been associated with groups and conviviality, and that is certainly true of eggnog.  Picture a Christmas party from a Dickens novel with a great punch bowl of eggnog being scooped up and served to guests.  Rather than wine, spirits like whiskey or rum are often used.

Eggnog is served cold, and may or may not have alcohol, though historically it usually did.  With no refrigeration, dairy products were not always readily available to much of the population, so eggnog was more of an upper class or special occasion beverage.  The derivation of the name eggnog may come from condensing the words egg and grog (rum), or from the fact that it was drunk from small wooden cups called noggins.  After several glasses, probably no one cared much where the name came from. <G>

I have a fabulous version of eggnog that I used to make for holiday parties.  The recipe came from Rob Kasper, the food writer at the Baltimore Sun, and for years he ran the recipe every holiday season.  Here it is:

Alabama Eggnog: The Hard Way

8 eggs, separated.  Whip the whites
2 ½ cups sugar
1 pint bourbon
5 cups whipping cream, whipped
2 cups milk
2 oz. rum
nutmeg (preferably fresh grated)

Mix egg yolks and sugar.  Beat until smooth.  Add bourbon very slowly, beating constantly.

Add 1 cup whipped cream to egg yolk and sugar mixture.  Beat until smooth.  Add milk, beating well. 

Add remaining whipped cream and beat until smooth.  Stir in rum.

Gently fold in stiffly beaten egg white.  Chill thoroughly.  Serve with nutmeg sprinkled on top. 

The result is to die for, and possibly from.  <G>  The nog is insanely rich, smooth, and delicious, but eventually I stopped making it because so many people Had Issues with it.  Some people don’t drink alcohol, others don’t like all the sugar, fat and/or calories, and then there was that raw egg.  Sigh. 

(For a humorous curmudgeon’s view of food issues, here’s the Sunday column by Kevin Cowherd, also of the Baltimore Sun: 

Now for Eggnog: The Easy Way 

The Mayhem Consultant’s father, a mixologist of no small skill, used to buy eggnog ice cream.  He’d thaw it in the refrigerator, then mix in some alcohol (rum?) and serve with nutmeg on top.  Not as good as the Alabama eggnog, but thick and rich and pretty good.

If time is really short, you can buy commercial eggnog, add alcohol if you like, and serve.  A shake of cinnamon or nutmeg on top will make it look nice.  This is a pale shadow of Alabama Eggnog, but it’s in the spirit of the season. 

My second dish isn’t really a holiday one, but bear with me for a bit.  Cockaleekie is a traditional Scottish soup.  Scotland is a poor country, so it’s pretty simple in terms of ingredients, but very tasty.  Here is the recipe I used when I started making it in my English years:

Cockaleekie: the hard way

Start with a 5 ½ -6 lb stewing fowl, the older and more flavorsome, the better. 
5 qts. Water
10 large leeks, washed and sliced, including some of the greens.  (Should make about 8 cups of sliced leeks)
½ cup dried barley
1 tablespoon salt
finely chopped parsley

Thoroughly clean the fowl (NOT a nominal instruction with English stewing chickens!); section if desired.  Put in a large soup kettle, cover with the water, boil, and skim off the frothy bits that come to the surface.

After well skimmed, add leeks, barley, and salt.  Partially cover and simmer until meat is very tender and falling from the bone (a couple of hours, maybe.) 

Remove bird from pot, cut off meat and shred or slice it into pieces about 2” long.  Discard skin and bones. Return meat to kettle, heat through, correct seasoning, and serve with chopped parsley on top. 

This makes a fine and flavorsome soup, robust and filling in cool weather, which in Scotland can be just about any time of the year. <G>  The reason I mention cockaleekie is because my own easy variation of it is a fine way to use up leftover turkey.  Hence:

Turkaleekie: the easy way

1 ¼ - 1 ½ lbs (20-24 oz.)  of cooked turkey, cut into soup sized pieces.  Using some dark meat is good for adding flavor.  (You can also use two 10 oz packets of cooked, sliced breast meat, cut into convenient pieces.)
2 48 oz. cans of chicken stock (3 quarts)  Chicken stock is needed because unlike from-scratch cockaleekie, stock isn’t produced by the whole bird being stewed.
5/8 cup medium barley
8 or so leeks, cleaned and sliced.  (Leeks are raised in sand so grains are often buried in the layers.  Careful washing is required. This is the most time consuming part of the recipe.)
2 tsp. salt
maybe some fresh ground pepper.

Add all ingredients to the chicken stock, bring to a boil, then simmer until the barley is cooked, though you can simmer longer if you like.  Adjust seasoning before serving. 

And that’s it—a tasty soup that freezes well, and easy to make when you can’t face another meal of leftover turkey. <G> 

So what traditional foodstuffs do you consume during the holiday season? What are your favorites?  And what do you do with the leftovers?!!

Have a wonderful warm and nurturing holiday season—

Mary Jo, who has tossed in pictures of several different holiday goodies

 

Comments

[Janice]

My family traditionally has steak and baked potatoes for Christmas dinner. I don't know why except that my sister in law says that one turkey a year is enough, and this is easy, and everybody will eat it. We always have champagne with our Christmas dinner.

Our other traditional Christmas food is See's chocolates, See's candy canes, See's foil wrapped chocolate balls, See's butterscotch lollipops, and just about anything See's, actually. I don't eat them anymore, but I still love the smell and the pretty colors of the canes.

[Helen]

Here in Australia we have a traditional English roast lunch Ham pork chicken and turkey roast vegies peas cauliflower lots of gravy and then Christmas pudding with custard or cream and Christmas cake (fruit), lots of Australians often have big seafood lunches these days by the pool or at the beach as well. Our family still has the traditional lunch though.
We have a friend from the States and I have tried his eggnog at Christmas time and it is really nice but very potent I couldn't drink a lot of it.
Have a wonderful Chrissy and New Year
Have Fun
Helen

[kay]

We have a number of different things, but we must always have have ham, macaroni and cheese and hot fudge chocolate cake.

[maryjputney]

From MJP:

I love how every family has its essential foods, whether it's See's candy, hot fudge chocolate cake (which sounds good!), or a proper English roast lunch. (I've had them, and they are a lot of fine eating.)

Helen, eggnog doesn't have to be so potent. I like it only lightly spiked myself--just enough alcohol to balance the sweetness. But even when it's not too alcoholic, it doesn't take much to be enough. Rich!

Mary Jo, contemplating Christmas ham

[Louis]

Nothing better than a cup of Eggnog and a good fire in the fireplace. We are having a full rib roast and all the good side dishes.

[Michelle]

The turkaleekie soup looks great!

We always have a roast dinner at Christmas too. Always yummy.

[Laura]

From Sherrie:
Ohhhh, recipes! How wonderful! Thank you, Mary Jo. The Alabama eggnog sounds divine! I haven't had eggnog in years, but it was a Christmas staple (always homemade) when I was a kid. That was back when the earth was still warm.

We always have crab Louie salads with fresh crab for Christmas dinner. We start out with my homemade French onion soup, served hot from the oven with the traditional toast and bubbling melted Swiss cheese on top. Then we dive into the crab Louies.

This year, however, I'm making a new soup that I just discovered, and which I love: Florentine Tortellini soup. It won the Better Homes and Gardens award for "Under 30 Minute Soups," and it was well deserved.

Lately I've been in a domestic frame of mind and have been baking up a storm. I'm hoping to try Anne's boiled fruitcake recipe, because the fruitcake I bought at the store was hideous--huge chunks of candied fruit with only a tiny (minscule!) amount of cake. You're lucky to get a whiff of cake in one slice. I like my fruitcake with the fruit sliced in smaller bitesize pieces, and I like it to be an actual cake.

Now I'm going to make Chex Party Mix and pray my power stays on. We're having record-breaking snow here, and trying to walk in knee-deep snow while hauling buckets of water to the barn for the horses is the pits!

[Anne Gracie]

Mary Jo, my usual Christmas fare is pretty much what Helen said, except we start with fresh prawns and crayfish (which when I was a kid, my grandad caught himself.)
I know it makes more sense to have a barbecue or salad when it's hot, but it wouldn't be Christmas without the hot roast dinner and the hot plum pudding with custard and cream or brandy/cream sauce and icecream.
One thing that makes me feel Christmassy is to keep a big bowl of fresh cherries on the table.

Sherrie said:
" the fruitcake I bought at the store was hideous--huge chunks of candied fruit with only a tiny (minscule!) amount of cake. You're lucky to get a whiff of cake in one slice."

Sherrie, if you still have that fruit cake, try making this from it -- if there's not enough cake, you could mix in something like other cake, or muffin, or even fresh breadcrumbs, I think. And chop the big chunks of fruit into small ones.
Caveat -- I've never made it -- I never buy fruit cake and my home made one never has leftovers, but it might be fun to try this.

MINI PLUM PUDDINGS - can be packaged in a small decorative box as a gift. Alternatively, they are nice served with coffee.

Ingredients:
1 x 800gm Dark Fruit Cake (cheap brand)
quarter - half cup orange Juice (or brandy)
Icing sugar (powdered sugar)
Red & freen jelly lollies/candy/sweets or decorative sprinkles

Method:
1 Break fruit cake into crumbly pieces.
2 Pour a little juice or brandy a bit at a time into crumbled cake - until moistened
3 Roll mixture into walnut-sized balls
4 Chill in fridge
5 Mix icing sugar with a little orange juice until you have a smooth paste
6 Decorate the top of balls with icing mix (to look like sauce dribbling down, or snow)
7 Cut up lollies into pieces & decorate on top of the icing to make it look like holly leaves and berries, or use coloured spinkles.
8 Chill & serve

This year I have friends coming for Christmas dinner and one of them hates plum pudding, so I'm going to make sticky date pudding as an alternative. It's very easy and yummy.

[carol marinelli]

These recipes look fantastic - thank you. I have just bought my parsnips - which are my favourite part of Christmas dinner and I will be making that lovely soup on Boxing Day.

[maryjputney]

From MJP:

I love reading about the different foods that say "holiday" on different tables. A hot meal on a hot Antipodean day is fine because it sets the day apart, which is part of the point.

Anne, that sounds like a clever way to salvage bad American fruitcake! (The British type really is much, much better.) Sherrie, we'll have to compare tortellini soup recipes--I suspect mine is similar to yours, and it's yummy, and dead easy.

Mary Jo, getting hungry.

[Laura]

From Sherrie:
Anne, thank you for the recipe! I do believe I'll give it a try. I was going to break up the store bought fruitcake, slice the whole fruits into smaller pieces, then toss the whole thing in a bowl and add enough ingredients to make a decent cake. But your idea might be better. I'd have to add extra breading or cake, though, because the store-bought fruitcake is all fruit and very little cake.

I love holiday recipes! Thank you for sharing. My BIL retired last year, and has suddenly decided he wants to learn how to cook. So he's really gotten into cooking. Last year for Christmas I gave him a gift which he treasures: I took apart my personal recipe book of recipes I've collected over 40 years, and photocopied all the recipes. Then I put them in sheet protectors and inserted then in a 3-ring binder for his own recipe book. I included extra sheet protectors so he can add his own recipes as he goes along. He went bonkers over it. This year, I've collected even more recipes, so I'll be photocopying them to add to his cookbook.

[Laura]

"Sherrie, we'll have to compare tortellini soup recipes--I suspect mine is similar to yours, and it's yummy, and dead easy."

I'll show you mine if you show me yours. *g*

Tortellini Florentine Soup:

1 9 oz pkg refrigerated 3-cheese tortellini
2 14 oz cans reduced sodium chicken broth
1 10 oz container refrigerated light Alfredo pasta sauce
2 c shredded deli-roasted chicken (I buy thick-sliced chicken from the deli and cube it)
1/2 c oil packed dried tomato strips, well drained
3 c lightly packed fresh baby spinach (I use 5 c)
1 oz Parmesan cheese, grated.

Cook tortellini according to directions. Drain.

Combine broth and Alfredo sauce. Stir in chicken and tomato strips. Heat just to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 5 mins.

Add cooked tortellini and spinach. Cook 1-2 mins to heat through and wilt spinach. Serve sprinkled with Parmesan.

When I saw that it called for Alfredo sauce added to the chicken broth, I was skeptical, but it is delicious! It's a very light yet hearty soup. Perfect for winter.

[maryjputney]

From MJP:

Tortellini Soup (and different enough from Sherrie's to mean it's two different soups. This is good!)

Tortellini and Spinach Soup

My variation of a Barbara Samuel recipe (below)

5-6 T olive oil

2 medium yellow onions, chopped

5-6 cloves garlic, sliced thinly, or minced

48 oz. can chicken broth (or vegetable broth if you'd rather)

1 large can diced tomatoes

2 regular or one large (about 18 oz. totally) packages of tortellini, preferably sausage.

1 bag fresh baby spinach, ripped. (Can use frozen spinach.)

Two regular cans of kidney beans (not drained)

Flavorings:

3-4 cubes of Trader Joe frozen basil

Perhaps Italian seasoning

Salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil. Lightly brown the onions and garlic. Throw in everything else except spinach, cook for ten minutes, add spinach until wilted or hot and serve.

Mary Jo

[carol marinelli]

This is very easy - we used to have them with Christmas Dinner and I had sort of forgotten them, but I made them two years ago and the children went wild and keep telling me to make more, more, more

Piggies in Blankets

Chipolata's (mini sausages)
Wrap individually in bacon and skewer with a pick
add to roast for last half hour.
Carolx

[kay]

Recipe for hot fudge pudding cake (chocolate)

Hot Fudge Pudding Cake

1-1/4 cups granulated sugar, divided
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa, divided
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1-1/4 cups hot water
Whipped topping ( optional, my family never uses it)

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Combine 3/4 cup granulated sugar, flour, 1/4 cup cocoa, baking powder and salt. Stir in milk, butter and vanilla; beat until smooth.

2. Pour batter into ungreased 9-inch square baking pan. Stir together remaining 1/2 cup granulated sugar, brown sugar and remaining 1/4 cup cocoa; sprinkle mixture evenly over batter. Pour hot water over top; do not stir.

3. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until center is almost set. Remove from oven; let stand 15 minutes. Serve in dessert dishes, spooning sauce from bottom of pan over top. Garnish with whipped topping. About 8 servings

[maryjputney]

From MJP:

What fun to see more good recipes! We could put on quite a good meal from these. :)

Carol, I've had other sorts of pigs in blankets, but it looks like you're using a particularly flavorful sausage in them, which would make them even better.

Kay, that hot fudge pudding cake looks FABULOUS! I'll make it some time well after the holidays are over--when I've had a chance to recover from overeating. :)

Mary Jo, getting hungry again

[Louis]

My Mom and DW used to make Pigs in a Blanket by wrapping the sausauge in bisquet dough and cooking.

Gooood.

[theo]

Oh my, this month just totally got away from me and I've missed you all so much!! And look what I get to come back to. All these lovely recipes. :)

Christmas eve I do a standing rib roast, sauteed mushrooms with lemon and garlic, and a big salad.

Christmas morning I do an egg and swiss strata that bakes while everyone (the in-laws all come over here) opens their presents, then we eat breakfast. The casserole, fruit salad, kielbasa and juice.

Late in the afternoon, we'll go over to the in-laws. She usually makes the huge Christmas dinner which she's claiming she feels up to doing, bless her heart.

I'm copying all these recipes though, so I can try a couple a week :D

[maryjputney]

From MJP:

Theo, it was very bad of you to not drop by this month, but you can make up for it by inviting me to eat at your house. Sounds lovely!

Mary Jo, who will do shrimp scampi on the Christmas eve so the MC will get his fish in

[Laura]

From Sherrie:
Mary Jo, your tortellini soup recipe is, as you say, different from mine, but it sounds so goooood!

I love that everyone is posting their recipes here. I've been printing out recipes like mad!

That hot fudge pudding cake should be outlawed. My mom used to make it when I was a kid. It is so incredibly rich that I always have to have vanilla ice cream with it. ***sigh***

[theo]

You are all welcomed to come to my house and eat any time! :) I'd love you have you.

Merry Christmas to you all.

theo, who is jonesing for that tortellini soup and the hot fudge pudding cake which she thinks she'll have to make before new years! ;)