A Perfect English Meal

We were not allowed in the kitchen on Christmas Day. The professional English chef in our family, with intermittent assistance from wife and ten-year-old son, was whipping up the perfect English dinner. And we must tell you all about it, with the thought that some day you might adopt the same menu for special occasions you could be celebrating in the future.

The English table traditionally would have Roast Turkey as its centerpiece. For a family of six, the ideal weight of the fowl should be between 8 and 10 pounds. That would give you a young tender bird, easy to stuff and with shorter roasting time. You may make a generous amount of stuffing, with lots of chestnuts and spices, enough to have some to bake in another tray, for munching before the big meal is served. There was a shortage of cranberry sauce/jelly but luckily a Sysu International Christmas basket that we got contained a packet of the dried berries. And voila, we had what would make the turkey dish perfect– cranberry sauce, which must be smothered on the servings together with the special gravy.

Ham is another must-have dish on the table and we had slices of Majestic ham (in lieu of the English variety) and this went perfectly with the meal. Considering today’s dictate for natural and healthy food, the chef blanched a selection of Brussel sprouts, carrots sliced into thin circles, cauliflower and broccoli flowers, which were later put in the oven (this is a new technique) prior to serving.

The desserts were, of course, very English as well. We were told that some 200 years ago, with no refrigeration available, families would prepare and preserve minced meat with lots of seasoning. Then they would bake this into a sweet pie to punctuate a perfect meal. Today, fruits are used instead. The Christmas pudding (fruit cake to us) must also be on the table. This is a heavy cake offered with brandy sauce. The latter is a combination of egg yolks, milk and brandy, done so smoothly.

Definitely there must be wine. So we had something light to go with the Turkey, a Chardonnay, 1994. As the visiting family was leaving for their base in Egypt before New Year’s Day, we had some poppers which we merrily pulled before partaking of the feast. For celebrations other than Christmas and New Year, you might want to have them to give your meals/parties, that extra zing. They would be particularly exciting for kids when they mark their birthdays.

Among our year-end discoveries are new products of McCormick–cake flavorings (pineapple, mango, melon and ube), cooking aids which would make a housewife’s chores much easier, including seasonings for tapa, tocino and longanisa. They also have barbecue and sauce mixes like pancit canton, pancit palabok and sweet-style spaghetti. These are very practical to store in your cupboard. They will prove very handy when you are in a hurry to prepare baons or quick meals.

Because a visiting family was craving for Filipino food, we visited the Belcap store on El Grande Street in BF Homes Parañaque. To satisfy her cravings we got fatless tocino (P130 a kilo), batotay longaniza (P75 a pack), garlic longaniza (P68), chicharon bituka (P35 a pack) and Jamon de Bola at P185 a kilo, certainly very much cheaper than the name brands.

The magazine published in England by the Saintsbury chain has always delighted us. Rustan’s has come out with their own Supermarket Delivery Catalog "Grocering" which is sold at their stores for P35 a copy. It gives a comprehensive listing of the products they carry with corresponding prices. It is a twice-a-year endeavor, but because prices fluctuate a lot, perhaps they should increase its frequency.

A book we got as a gift which made us very happy is "Malate", not only because it institutionalises that frenzied district in Manila, but because it carries recipes of some of the more popular offerings of the LJC chain of restaurants. It is more than a good read.