It is at Christmas that we go back to our origins and include holiday foods that came with the great periods of immigration. Most of the celebratory offerings of the season can be traced back to foreign lands.
The tradition of serving roast beef can be traced back to England and the mother country. The English plum puddings had their beginnings with the Celts who originated many of the boiled meats that still grace the English table. The centerpiece of the British Christmas feast for generations was a boar’s head that goes back to the early 1700s. The boar’s head was embellished with gilded tusks and a leafy crown, and its popularity reached its heights during the Victorian era.
And it was during the reign of Queen Victoria that the custom of trimming a tree came into vogue. It was Victoria’s husband Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha who introduced the customs of his native Germany. And from the Druids came the rituals of evergreen, holly and mistletoe as decorations during the season.
The mince pie that is so much a part of the holiday menu became a Nativity feast tradition in England after the Crusaders returned from the Holy Land. They brought back a treasure trove of exotic spices, which they added to the mincemeat served during the Christmas feast.
And as you savor that delicious mincemeat pie, remember the fable that eating this sweet on each day of the 12 days of Christmas ensures 12 happy months ahead. You’ll be extra happy if those mincemeat pies do not add girth to one’s body.
Those descendents of the Danish immigrants who follow tradition will begin their Christmas Eve feast with almond porridge followed by stuffed duck, pork, red cabbage and candied potatoes. Not totally sated, they’ll follow with a Christmas Day buffet featuring pickled herring and smoked sausages. Roast lamb, a variety of cheeses, shrimp, meatballs, caviar, pate, cold roast pork are all washed down with generous helpings of beer and schnapps.
The Armenians are not so lucky. A meal eaten after the Christmas Eve church services commemorates the meal eaten by Mary the evening before Christ’s birth. This meal consists of fried fish and spinach, a meager repast for such a momentous occasion.
Leave it to the French to pull out all the wonders of gastronomy during the holidays, which begins Dec. 6, St. Nicholas’s Day. During the ensuing weeks there are a number of feast days and climaxed by the meal eaten after midnight mass on Christmas Eve. This celebratory feast is called Le Reveillon and varies from region to region. Foie gras, sausages and oysters are traditional in Paris while those in
Alsace prefer roast goose. Those in Burgundy like turkey stuffed with chestnuts. As for dessert, it is universally agreed by all the French that a Buche de Noel (sponge cake Yule log) is the finest of all sweets served during the Christmas feast.
If you’re lucky enough to be of German descent and the cook in the kitchen is preparing a traditional Christmas meal, prepare to indulge in rich and savory dishes. Many are firmly fixed by custom. Apfe. Nuss and Mandelkern (apple, nut and almond), says an old rhyme, are the foods for Christmas. The apple represents the Tree of Knowledge in Paradise; nuts and almonds, with their hard shells and sweet kernels, are said to stand for the mysteries and difficulties of life.
The table will be laden with roasted hare, roasted goose stuffed with chestnuts, apples and onions, turkey, venison, wild boar, chicken, roast beef, roast pork — and don’t forget the schnitzel. For weeks before the big day the sweet spicy fragrance of cookies, cakes, pies, tarts and marzipan wafts over German cities and towns.
Ask Doris
Q: I grew up on a farm in Michigan, and every Christmas my mother would make homemade mincemeat and give jars of it as gifts. I would like to have a recipe since I have nine grown grandchildren and I thought they would enjoy such a family tradition.
— Joel Newburg, Marco Island
A: This recipe makes 12 quarts; enough for your relative and some left over for you.
Homemade mincemeat
Ingredients
3½ pounds beef, cooked and chopped
1 pound raw salt pork, chopped
2 quarts sweet cider
1 pint grape juice
8 pounds chopped apples
2 pound seeded raisins, chopped
1 pound chopped figs
1 pound candied orange peel, chopped
2 pounds whole currants
1 quart stewed dried apricots
1 can cranberries, jellied variety
¼ pound broken walnut meats
5 pounds brown sugar
1 pint molasses
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon cloves
1 tablespoon nutmeg
2 tablespoons cinnamon
Preparation
Combine all ingredients until well mixed together.
Cook on low heat for 2 to 3 hours until very thick and smooth. Stir constantly and carefully watch to avoid burning.
Place in sterilized fruit jars and seal tightly. Makes 12 quarts and will keep indefinitely.
Q: I have invited a group of friends over during the holidays and would like to serve chicken wings. Do you have a recipe that even an inexperienced bachelor can fix?
— L.D. Bonita Springs
A: If this recipe is a failure, I suggest you give up any attempts at cooking and go to the nearest deli or supermarket.
Marinated chicken wings
Ingredients
1 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger root
3 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup vegetable oil
24 chicken wings, separated at joints and tips discarded
Preparation
In a large bowl combine all ingredients except the chicken. Mix well to combine all ingredients.
Place chicken wings in a large plastic bag and pour the marinade over the chicken and shake well to coat every piece. Place in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, but overnight is better.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and place wings on a rack in a pan and bake until browned and cooked through (about 30 to 40 minutes).
This recipe serves 10 and may be doubled.
Doris Reynolds is the author of “When Peacocks Were Roasted and Mullet Was Fried” and “Let’s Talk Food.” They are for sale in the lobby of the Naples Daily News E-mail: foodlvr25@aol.com.
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