Christmas Extravaganza

Happy New Year. A little late greeting.

Our Christmas celebration starts on the Eve. For an appetizer, we start with the Yellow Pea Soup, which is thick and delicious, from hours of gentle simmering. The main dish is the Roast Carp. Because we live in the Polish neighborhood, the live carp is readily available for purchasing on the day before. We don't have to trek into the Chinatown. Convenient. The side dish is a Salad of Really Finely Chopped Cabbage & Carrots, and heck, it's the holidays, Mashed Potato (with lots of butter and cream, of course). For dessert, an Apple Pie.

We invited the friend's family for the Christmas Day dinner. After considerable pondering, the main dish is decided on the Roast Duck. Normally the chicken is the choice for two of us, however, a chicken may be a little too ordinary for the occasion. On the other hand, goose or turkey is too big; besides I don't really have enough practice. So, we bought a whole duck plus several legs, hoping it'll be enough for four adults & a child. I thought I put the bird in the oven early enough, but apparently not. It took much longer than I anticipated: Panic! To alleviate the pain of waiting, we whipped out a few appetizers, using what we had in the pantry. Eventually The Bird was beautiful. Roast Potato, Roast Beets & Arugula and Sautéed Broccoli took care of the much needed vegetable department.

What to do with the leftovers? We declared the following day "The Leftover Reform Dinner", invited another friend and finished off. The delicious duck is by now neatly disassembled: all meat is torn apart and resting in the freezer. The carcase produced flavorful broth, enough to fill three big containers. Some went to the freezer. The rest is kept in the refrigerator for our New Year's Eve meal.

We are feeling the need to correct the diet. My New Year Resolution is "Make What We Eat". I long for the spring; I miss the locally grown vegetables.

Ku Cake