'Gastronomical delights of season past'

We’re now about a week from the New Year’s celebration, and if you’re still finding it a bit difficult to go back to the old churn of business activities, you’re certainly not alone. I myself am trying to get back on full steam back in the office, but with a little more paunch and a few extra pounds, the pace does get a little slower.

By next week, things should move a little faster, now that gym rats like me have gotten back into the habit, after slipping some for almost the whole month of December. That month was just full of office parties that couldn’t be turned down, almost a daily activity that started from the second week of December, and as you can guess, the festive tables were always groaning with food, food and more food to be consumed. Now it’s time to once again huff and puff at the treadmills and strain at those weights. Hopefully, the new paunch will shrink back. With all the festivities of Christmas and the New Year celebration, it’s safe to bet that not a single soul can proudly claim that he didn’t have a modicum of weight gain during this period.

Christmas is always a time for family reunions and for trusted old family recipes to come out. Our clan is no different, and for this last season, everyone turned out to join the celebration held at our humble home in the South. It is mostly a time to reconnect, to meet new members, whether offsprings or new additions by way of marriage to the family, to catch up on the latest from this or that old uncle or that cousin who now lives overseas, or to reflect on those who have gone ahead to another realm. The different age groups gather round in separate tables trading stories, but always the discussions are animated and lively before everyone hits the dining table.

By now, everything in the family cookbook has seen light, and like most families, we get to see a repeat of past dishes, all special and all acclaimed favorites by family members, every Christmas time. Still, each family has its own list of must-haves on the Christmas table, and tweaked a little over the years in terms of variety and combination, the family knows what they can possibly look forward to in the next Gamboa clan Christmas reunion.

This year, the ubiquitous huge slab of Angus rib-eye, done very rare, still took center stage. Everyone enjoys this treat, and the frenzied activity on one side of the long dining table as everyone tries to grill his own slice of beef, marbled with yellow fat and sizzling on the table-top griller, is an enjoyable inter-active part of dinner as everyone jostles for his own space in front of the grill. The huge slab was literally obliterated by the end of dinner, where before we would always have several inches left over from the Christmas table for the next week or so. This we attribute to the fact that many of the young nephews and nieces before are now not so little, with growing appetites that we older people cannot hope to match. Next year, perhaps we should consider a much bigger slab.

Normally, we either have the good old kare-kare as the second stellar attraction, a clan favorite whose recipe was perfected by my late mother, or the mechado which is a master piece of my mother-in-law. Both are hearty meat dishes and always winners in their own rights. The kare-kare is mostly pata, the buttery fat almost melting in the mouth, “buntot” which is simmered for hours till it’s really tender, some tripes and, hold your horses, a length of “bituka” of a young calf, cleaned meticulously and boiled separately. This part has to be hot when served and when cut, the fat oozes out sinfully. Paired with “bagoong” my brother Rey hears trumpets and angels singing when he eats this. The sauce of course is made from ground peanuts and never from commercial peanut butter.

We decided to have mechado as well to share the limelight together with the kare-kare because some members of the family have a continuing love affair with this dish. When my mother-in-law is in town, or my wife Babes is not too harassed with preparations for the Christmas season, this dish is also a must-have on the holiday table. Fatty beef is simmered for about four hours in lots of fresh tomatoes and tomato sauce and the reddish oil flavors your hot steaming rice!

This year too we tried another brand of Jamon China, South China, which is saltier than the Majestic or Excelente which are also favorites at home. Babes saved the bone in the freezer and promised to make Christmas nilaga one of these Sundays.

Of course, the good old cheese platter and macaroni salad were present, the latter also a hand-me-down recipe from my Mom who used a lot of chopped pimiento, relish, big chunks of chicken, pineapple and chopped hard boiled eggs for this hearty salad. It really goes well with the saltiness of the Chinese ham, and a couple of days before Christmas eve, this is already prepared and packed in small jars, ready for snacking after a hectic day of shopping. This salad, and another favorite snack which is just walnuts mixed with plain raisins are what comprise Christmas flavors for the family.

Mabuhay!!! Be proud to be a Filipino.

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