Feel Like Christmas
This is a busy time of year.
We all know that…feel that. December has been a tough month for scheduling. The first week in December I had an editorial deadline that had to be met. No complaints. No one forced me to be a writer. I asked to do it and am lucky enough that they pay me to. There were a also a number of holiday parties and one memorial dinner. My city was rocked by a horrific mass shooting and the prolonged hunt to find the killer. My youngest son celebrated his fourteenth trip around the sun and we celebrated in style, with cake and presents.
No we are hurtling toward Christmas. Presents must be wrapped and after everyone has gone to bed on Christmas even put under the tree. Santa Clause is a delegating son of a gun, but he’s no triangle man. For Christmas brunch (and realistically for dinner too) I am going to make another Pommes Pave. I can’t decide if heavy cream should be used or just clarified butter. Decisions, decisions. If my Long Suffering Wife wasn’t a vegetarian I’d figure out how to sneak some bacon into it.
Years ago, when he was still alive and before I had children, I’d cook Christmas dinner for my father. It was a happy occasion and more often than not I managed to put a decent dinner before him. My crowning achievement was a cold lobster appetizer with a chipotle mayo, followed by a Kulebiaka, think of a Slavic version of Beef Wellington. However, instead of beef the main meet component is salmon.
When she heard I had made one, my grandmother, who was born in Kharkiv, Ukraine, in the year of the revolution, was impressed. She was generally unimpressed with my cooking, once commenting on the Borscht I made her thus; “Thees eeze nice beet soup BUT it eeze not BORSCHT!” It was a review that was worthy of Kirkus.
Lately I’ve been thinking about the Pave. Would it pair well with cold lobster and chipotle mayo. The crunchiness of the deep fried, layered potato, juxtaposed with rich lobster meat, all offset with the tangy spice mayo, would that work? It might. It’s something to consider as I put off wrapping presents or working on the next novel. Or maybe, some sort of lobster mousse, with chipotle mayo…that might work. Oops there I go again procrastinating. That’s a writers true talent.
Whether your meals are elaborate or simple, exciting or more traditional favorites, I hope you, faithful reader, enjoy your holidays. I hope you get to spend them with loved ones and family. Give them an extra second or two of a hug because every Christmas there are those who can’t be with us.