Conference turris::cooks

    
    I live in England.  I am American married to a Brit.
    
    Christmas dinner here is much the same in the US.
    
    Traditional:
    
    Turkey or Goose
    Cranberry Sauce (a new addition I'm told)
    Sage and Onion Stuffing
    Sausages Wrapped in Bacon
    Boiled Swede (yellow turnip)
    Brussel Sprouts
    Mashed Potatoes
    Roast Potatoes
    Turnip, Carrots, etc. (boiled

    Christmas Pudding
    Christmas Cake (a heavy fruit cake iced with rolled out white icing
    with a layer of marzipan between the icing and cake.
    
    I think the *most* traditional aspects of a real English Christmas
    dinner is the pudding called a Christmas Pud and the roast bird.
    
    gailann
    
    

    
    
    Christmas Pudding:
    
    3 oz. Flour
    3 oz. Breadcrumbs
    6 oz. Shredded Suet
    6 oz. Raisins
    6 oz. Currents
    4 oz. Minced Apple
    5 oz. Sugar
    2 oz. Candied Peel
    1/2 Teaspoon sweet mixed spice (i.e. pumpkin pie spice)
    1 Small wine glass sherry or brandy 
    3 eggs.
    a pinch of salt
    
    Mix together the flour, breadcrumbs, suet, raisins, currants, minced
    apples, sugar, peel (minced small), spice, salt, brandy and the
    whole eggs.  Mix and beat these ingredients well together, pour
    them into a well-buttered mould or basin (an oven proof glass bowl
    does nicely), spread a buttered piece of wax paper over then tie
    it all up tightly in a piece of cheese cloth.
    
    Place basin in water up 2/3 of the basin and boil for 4 hours. 
    Keep water topped up at all times.
    
    Turn it out onto a platter, sift all over with icing sugar thickly.
    Pour two or three tablespoonfuls of brandy around it and just before
    taking to the table set it alight.  You can decorate it with a piece
    of holly at the top in the middle!  You can serve this with a custard,
    white or brandy sauce.
    
    gailann 

    You normally boil the carrots and swede together, then mash them
    with butter and pepper - which is just what I'll be doing on Xmas
    Day.
    
    Have mince pies been mentioned ?? They get served with coffee or
    tea at the end of the meal.
    
    The Xmas cake usually gets cut at tea time in our house cos we can't
    stuff anymore food into us.
    
    Have a lovely English Xmas Dinner
    
    Regards
    
    Janice Sackfield
    Warrington UK

    About four years ago,we found a traditional English Christmas dinner menu
    in a magazine. (Gourmet, Southern Living, or something similar)  Since
    then we have followed it fairly closely, with occasional variations.
    We usually have a standing rib roast, yorkshire pudding, mashed
    potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, veggies, a traditional steamed
    pudding with a nutmegged white sauce.  
    
    The item that our kids like most is the Yorkshire pudding with gravy!
    
    \Laura
    

Since we have one late reply: I'd have to take mild exception to .1 - though a
goose is traditional, the alternative (and the the true tradition) is pork, 
usually in the form of roast suckling pig.

/. Ian .\

[Turkey couldn't possibly be traditional - it was introduced from America only
2 or 3 hundred years ago, and was a terribly expensive rarity until Worl War I]

    My 11 years old niece has to write a paper for her History class about
    Christmas.  She was planning to write an essay on the diversity of the
    Xmas menus across the World, but unfortunately we haven't been able to
    find much bibliography about this.  So, I remembered this Notes file!

    What I would like to ask you all is:

    1. Which is the traditional Xmas menu in your countries?  (the more
    countries and menus, the better!)

    2. Which is the most important meal during the holiday season and why?
    (in Portugal the most important meal is the Xmas Eve dinner, called the
    "Consoada", but I know this varies with the countries).

    3. Does anyone know how this tradition of cooking special meals has
    started?  I can't find much in the Bible, but I'm not a Bible expert.

    I've looked through this Notes file, but didn't find anything under the
    Xmas topic that answers our questions.  Rita needs to write her work 
    pretty soon so we both would appreciate everybody's help very much. 

    Thanks in advance
    Eduarda
    

    
    I suspect the tradition started with pre-Christian rituals in which an
    animal was sacrificed, then roasted and eaten by the tribe...
    
    In Britain the most important meal amongst the upper classes used to be
    Christmas day dinner, and amongst the poor Boxing Day (the day after
    Christmas) dinner - because the poor where working for the rich on
    Christmas day... In the 19th century the normal Christmas fare was the
    "Christmas Goose", but in earlier times roast boar was the norm (and
    suckling pig an expensive alternative for the rich).
    
    /. Ian .\

    IN AUSTRALIA, WE HAVE TENDED TO FOLLOW THE ENGLISH TRADITION. THE
    IMPORTANT MEAL IS CHRISTMAS DINNER, MIDDAY ON CHRISTMAS DAY.
    TRADITIONALLY, THIS IS ROASWT TURKEY OR OTHER POULTRY TYPE GAME. IN
    RECENT YEARS, WE ARE BEING MORE SENSIBLE BECAUSE IT IS A HOT TIME OF
    THE YEAR FOR US AND COLD SEAFOOD, WITH SOME EXTRAVAGANCE, IS NOW EATEN.
    
    TYPICAL FARE IS COLD ROAST PORK, COLD ROAST POULTRY (THERE ARE MANY WHO
    STILL HAVE IT HOT) AND COLD SEAFOOD WITH A LEANING TO THE SHELLFISH. WE
    ALSO HAVE AN ASIAN INFLUENCE WHICH MEANS FOR MANY THAT THE IMPORTANT
    FESTIVE MEALS INCLUDE SUCH THINGS AS CHINESE NEW YEAR DINNER,
    CELEBRATED BY MANY OF BRITISH ORIGIN.
    
    IT ALL ADDS UP TO AN EXCUSE TO EAT WELL NEVER BEING TURNED DOWN BY US
    AUSSIES .  HOWEVER, THE REGIONAL, PRIMARILY  ASIAN INFLUENCE CAN BE
    SEEN IN OUR COOKING EVEN AMONGST THOSE WHO STILL FOLLOW THE BRITISH
    TRADITION OF HOT ROAST CHRISTMAS DINNER.
    
    WEE ALSO INDULGE IN THE ABUNDANCE OF TROPICAL FRUIT AVAILABLE AT THAT
    TIME OF THE YEAR AND FRESH FRUIT IS A FEATURE OF EVERY CHRISTMAS TABLE
    
    HOPE THAT HELPS
    
    STUART

re: .-1

No need to shout. And can you set your right margin to 80 columns. Ta!


The meal in Germany is on Christmas Eve in the evening. Then we open 
the pressies. I've heard that the French spend the whole night eating.

Nowadays, in Britain, Turkey is the order of the day, unles you're a
veggie. I usually have Chestnut roast, or mushroom roast with red wine 
sauce and all the "traditional" vegetables (sprouts, roast potatoes, etc)



Ian

    In Spain it is also Xmas eve, the 24th late at night... and we are very
    similat to the French... we spend most of the night eating!  the normal
    fare is roast turkey in lower part of the country, baked sole fish
    followed by roast baby lamb or sucking pig and almond soup (sweet) is
    the fare of the Central part, a very important part of the meal are all
    kinds of seafood, smoked fish and champagne... and the traditional
    dessert is "turron" (hard nougat blocks of almonds/egg
    whites/sugar/honey served in little squares, "peladillas" (almonds
    covered by hard shiny sweet coating) and many other types of sweets. 
    The amount of food is enormous, and is eating over looonng many hrs
    along with plenty of wine, chanpagne, all kinds of liquors... it is a
    time of rejoice and merriment and Spaniards are great on that
    subject... who cares for sleep when there is fun around! the "meal"
    very often ends after sunrise and after having a nice breakfast of
    "chocolate con churros" (hot chocolate drink served with fried dough)
              

    Though I'm 100% American [mongral], my heritage is half Polish.  My mom
    is of pure Polish-American descent.  
    
    Over the years, the Polish custom has been to celebrate VILEA [not sure
    of the proper spelling from Polish to English].  
    
    			VIL	"Ville"
    			E	as in the E in "E-asy"
    			A	soft a as in A-gain
    
    Anyway, Vilea is celebrated on Christmas Eve.  It is totally meatless. 
    I believe this is not purely Polish, but an old Catholic tradition. 
    There's lots of traditional good, meatless dishes, followed by lots of
    traditional Polish Christmas carols, and then we break bread [wafers
    blessed by the Church].  The idea is to break bread with everybody--
    each time making a wish to/for that person that the holidays will
    bring joy and happiness to their lives.  Then, it's off to midnight
    mass.
    
    Christmas day, we start all over again-- only this time its usually
    just immediate family - and we do the traditional dinners, either
    turkey or ham and all the "fixins."
    
    Rgds,
    marcia

in the USA, we have the privilege of adopting many traditions from many
countries and often, blending them to suit ourselves.  My family has
strong roots in the British Isles so we always followed the Christmas
day tradition with either roast goose, roast turkey, or roast beef.
All the traditional trimmings of vegetables, mashed potatos and gravy,
stuffing, and finish it off with mince pie.

    Being American of Italian descent, our traditional Christmas dinner is
    also on Christmas Eve.  There is never any meat in the dinner, and
    usually consists of squid (scungilli) in tomato sauce, cheese ravioli
    (everything homemade, including the pasta) and fish for the main
    course.  My husband's family always has the traditional American
    dinner at 2:00 on Christmas day, so I get to tank up two days in a
    row!
    Sarah
    

    
    I know that this note is about Christmas meals, but perhaps your
    daughter would be interested in hearing about traditional Jewish foods
    eaten around Channukah.
    
    There isn't necessarily a particular meal that's eaten, since the
    holiday is eight days long  Actually, it's more accurate to say that
    each family has their own traditions around when a "special meal" is
    eaten.  
    
    What we do have are special foods that are symbolic of the meaning of
    Channukah.  The holiday has to do with the miracle of one day's oil
    lasting for eight days so that the eternal light could continue to burn
    in Jerusalem until more oil was brought in.  In recognition of that, we
    eat foods that are fryed in oil.  In Israel and the middle east, they
    eat what are basically deep-fried jelly donuts.  I was in Israel one
    year during Channukah.  I saw these donuts all over the place the
    entire week - they're delicious, and very sweet!
    
    In eastern Europe, where my family and most American Jewish families
    are from, we eat Latke, or potato pancakes.  This is basically grated
    potatoes, and onion with egg and a few other things thrown in, and
    fried.  Served with sour cream and apple sauce, they're also pretty
    amazing. 
    
    In the old countries, money (or "gelt") was handed out during
    Channukah.  Most Americans now give regular presents like they do for
    Christmas, but the gelt is still given out in the form of chocolate
    coins.  A game with a spinning top called a "draidle" is played,
    usually with the chocolate coins for the winners.
    
    Hope this is useful!
    
    Sarah
    

    Every year we do a Polish Christmas Eve. We may have changed it from
    its real form but it has been done the same way since I can remember
    (and my grandmother can remember).
    
    The meal is made up of 7 different fish dishes. You also set an extra
    plate for any stranger that might pass by (symbolizing Joseph and Mary
    trying to get in at the "Inn" and you ready to welcome Jesus). Straw is
    placed under the extra setting to symbolize the manger. There
    are some traditional deserts that we still adhere to (chrusti, aka
    "bowties") but we do vary the fish dishes every year to try out new
    ones. 
    
    I know there are book about this because I did a report for school
    about it when I was in high school. I think the book was titled
    "Christmas around the world" but obviously it told about all
    traditions and not just food. Also check books about the individual
    cultures. The Christmas information won't be as obvious as in a
    Christmas book but it will be in there somewhere.
    
    Andrea
              

    Additional detail on .8 and .10...
    
    My family also partook of an all-seafood meal for the Feast Of St.
    Joseph (Christmas Eve).  I remember that the meal included eel, squid,
    and bacala (bok-ah-lah), a salted codfish.  There were other kinds of
    fish that escape me at the moment.  My grandmother also made a
    two-crusted spinach/anchovy pizza for the occasion (that was an
    *acquired* taste!).
    
    On Christmas day, we would have turkey and all the trimmings PLUS huge
    amounts of lasagna, manicotti, rigatoni, meatballs, and bracciole.
    
    Mike

    In Ireland, the principal meal is eaten on Christmas day, usually it
    consists of either Pork, Lamb or Beef with the usual potatoes,
    vegetables (peas, carrots,turnips mashed, and gravy.  Deserts were
    Trifle, plum pudding and fruit cake.  On Christmas Eve late in the
    evening, the whole family gathered for Crhistmas supper (fish in a
    cream sauce and potatoes were served with plenty of home baked breads
    and fruit tarts - later, the Rosary was recited and afterwards, the
    youngest child in the house lit the Christmas candle.  The neighbors
    came in to visit and to partake in a "glass of cheer"...  The farm
    animals also got an "extra feed" on Christmas night.. this was a
    special "THANKYOU" for their part in sharing their stable and helping
    keep the Baby Jesus warm with their breath on that Christmas long ago.
    
    regards/Mary

re .-1

The principal meal on Christmas day in Ireland was Goose. Duck was sometimes
substituted. It was only in the great houses that Turkey, beef etc was used.

Christmas Eve was a day of fast and abstinence. No meat was allowed, which 
accounts for the fish meal. Only one full meal was allowed on this day.

A good source of info on this is "Mo SCEAL Fein" by Ff Peter O'Leary. The book 
can be got translated from the Irish Text

	Martin b

    RE: .5
    
    The Polish name for Christmas Eve is Wigilia.

    what about before the dinner?  what would you serve for appetizers 
    that won't spoil anyone appetite for their huge feast around 3ish?

  Last year, my mother-in-law made the Chicken Melon recipe from one of 
Julia Child's cookbooks.  You start with a whole chicken, and carefully 
remove the skin in one piece. (!!)  Then, the chicken is poached (?) and
mixed with some other ingredients (pistachios is one of them), and the chicken
mixture is placed in the skin which is then sealed up into a ball.

  It was pretty good - and really unique.

  (I was going to type in the recipe, but it's too long for my fingers!)

--Sharon