Something Old, Something New
MY NORTHSHORE COUSINS and I rotate the Christmas Eve family celebration each year. This year it is my turn. My mind is swirling, already making list upon list, paging through worn cookbooks for the old, tried and true, traditional family recipes and perusing food blogs for bright new ideas. I begin preparing shopping, cooking and baking schedules, and gathering decorating ideas. The menu is of course my main concern, but I am also absorbed in setting a festive holiday atmosphere from the moment my guests arrive. Luminaries to line the walkway, a fresh green wreath for the front door, poinsettias, magnolia leaves in abundance, and stockings hung from the chimney with care. I almost forgot the Christmas tree!
If everything is in its place, all things will flow smoothly. Right? Mise en place is a French culinary phrase that literally translates to “put in place.” It’s a Zen like practice that keeps me grounded during the frenetic holiday season. Clear the space, clear the mind. Should we call this mindfulness for the kitchen?
You don’t want any surprises when 30 people arrive simultaneously for the Christmas celebration. Gift wrap and ribbon is flying, kids are hungry and screaming for food, and the cocktails and wine are flowing freely and no one but you seems to know what is supposed to happen next.
Is this insanity? No, it is the holiday season so let us rejoice. We love it, right? My cousins and I lovingly describe the season as, “FFF,” forced family fun. Once Thanksgiving has passed, and the turkey carcass has passed into its next life as a gumbo, there is barely time to blink before the Christmas season steamrolls in and is hovering over our shoulder.
Where do you go to find that elusive peace on earth and comfort and joy? I seek and find my comfort in the kitchen and in the preparation of our family food traditions. Somehow, the sameness and predictability of sharing these rituals creates calm.
I am thinking of something old, warming to eat and filled with memories from Christmas past. Quit counting calories now, it’s time to celebrate the holidays!
For the 12 days of Christmas, Foodies and Friends will share 12 recipes for fun appetizers that are old, handed down from generation to generation and steeped in family tradition as well as a few of my favorite new recipes.
Let’s see, it really isn’t Christmas without cousin Tish Hellmuth Casey’s deviled eggs.
Check that off the list. I will ask Lisa Hellmuth Zenor to make her popular sausage wonton wraps. I love Mom’s old-fashioned olive surprises. Retro cooking at its best! I can always count on Lizby and Randy Eustis to deliver their decadent pack-a-punch Christmas milk punch.
My niece Emily shares a family recipe from her Grandma Foley for the sweetest, flakiest little bite sized pecan pies. I know the family expects me to make either shrimp remoulade or chicken liver mousse. And of course, the French Yule log cake or buche de noel. Let’s hope for a touch of cold and a few crisp clear nights, with hundreds of twinkling stars in the sky to really inspire us to get in the kitchen and cook, find peace, and discover the joys of the holiday season. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Don’t forget to check the Foodies and Friends blog each week for the 12 days of Christmas old and new recipe surprises. Go online to share your favorite family traditions and recipes with Foodies too!
Stuffed or Deviled Eggs
My cousin, Tish Hellmuth Casey will be remembered for many things. One of her specialties which is expected at all family events from Saints games to birthdays to holiday extravaganzas are her stuffed eggs. Here they are!
Hard boiled eggs
Finely chopped green onions
Salt/Pepper
Mayonnaise
Slice eggs in half lengthwise, taking yokes out
Mash yolks and combine with green onions and salt and pepper. Add mayonnaise to taste.
Stuff the egg halves with the mixture.
It looks pretty if you use a pastry bag to pipe the filling in.
For more recipes and blog posts from Jan, please visit SophisticatedWoman.com/foodies-friends.
