The taste of Christmas past
MILLIE: As a caterer, I’ve come to realize that while most of my clients desire food that rivals the best of international cuisine, they also crave the soothing taste of family-style home-cooked dishes that leaves them waxing nostalgic.
My memories of Christmas are plentiful. My Mommy Meldy‘s traditional Christmas fare was Filipino-Spanish in nature: a flavorful Paella, a delectable callos, mouth-watering lengua, a delicious whole stuffed Chicken Relleno and a luscious leg of The Plaza Premium Baked Ham.
KARLA: I was never really a fan of the whole repertoire of Spanish food my Lola Meldy loved to prepare. When I was a kid, Christmas was all about the warm castañas scattered on our dinner table, bibingka and puto bumbong freshly cooked in our garden, and those sweet “ponkalets” — which is what I call those cute baby oranges. I didn’t eat much seafood, tripe and lengua then but the Chicken Relleno for me was awesome! I didn’t realize that it was both fun and tedious to de-bone and stuff the bird. Relleno comes from the Spanish word “rellenar” which means to stuff. As a Christmas treat, I like adding special chorizo to the stuffing mixture to give it more flavor.
MILLIE: Daddy Joe’s Christmas classics consist of a plump and juicy roasted butterball turkey with a scrumptious stuffing of apples, prune and chestnuts, lots of cranberry and mushroom gravy. The pièce de résistance is always a roast prime rib of beef with Yorkshire pudding, baked potatoes topped with sour cream, bacon bits and chives, usually accompanied by a Caesar Salad. Dad has a penchant for warm freshly baked bread and a piping-hot creamy soup.
Personally, I prefer a cold appetizer of smoked Norwegian salmon or our local smoked tanguingue with capers, onions and dill mustard sauce because it’s something you can nibble on even after dinner, perfect for Noche Buena.
A selection of cheeses is a must, the family favorites being Tete de Moine and raclette.
Roasted chestnuts and chocolates are definitely must-haves, too. This year, Karla will do the Pralines herself, and a taste of the irresistible yummy hazelnut ganache filling will surely merit “ooohs” and “aaahs.”
Each year I try to strike a balance by serving Mom’s menu for Christmas Eve and Dad’s favorites for New Year’s Eve or vice-versa.
One positive repercussion of the current global economic downturn is that family-cooked meals are back in style. Gifted housewives have dug up secret family heirloom recipes intended to be shared with family and close friends. In preparation for that much-awaited feast, special ingredients are already being sourced and readied.
Mom has a sweet tooth and desserts were always a surprise treat. But mainstays were her Auntie Puring Lorenzo’s Food for the Gods and her sister Ching Mendoza’s Brun Butter Cake and Prune Cake. These were hand-me-down recipes that I was privileged to have learned, passing them on to my daughter Karla.
KARLA: Every Christmas season since as long as I can remember, with or without the chaos in the kitchen, I would always find a day or two to spend in the bakeshop. I would bake Brun Butter cakes and Prune cakes to give away to ninangs, ninongs, friends and teachers — specifically math teachers for extra points. Ha! I distinctly remember the pink round stickers I used to stick on the box of my cakes which read, “From Karla’s Kitchen.” It didn’t matter if my Brun Butter cakes were slightly deformed at times. Somehow, it becomes more meaningful when you’ve actually made the goodies that you give away. But the most important thing about giving food as gifts is that you have to make sure the receiver knows it is something perishable. You can either put stickers showing it was made by you, or wrap it in clear cellophane so people can see through the wrapper as they receive it.
Because Christmas is a time for sharing, allow me to share with you some tips I learned on stuffing a home-made Chicken Relleno: Preparing to de-bone the chicken can be quite a chore; the meat should be totally separated from the carcass but should remain in one piece. Use the stuffing as soon as you’ve cooked it as it might grow bacteria if you let it sit around. Always stuff the cold chicken with warm stuffing. This is to make sure that, when cooked, the stuffing stays within the safe temperature and prevent cross-contamination and multiplication of bacteria from the raw chicken. If you prepare stuffing ingredients in advance, say the night before, make sure you cool completely and refrigerate. I learned too that there’s no need to truss the chicken if you cover the spot with a bit of foil and — voila! — that should make it easier for you guys.
MILLIE: With money tight, an abundance of simple, down-to-earth dishes have made a comeback and many yearn for comfort food with a taste of Christmas!
