'Ello, holidays the worse time of th.....I mean the most dearing time of the year. Holiday is a wonderful time because family and friends and people you don't get to see get together. The worse thing of holidays is decorations, what to cook, and how to make your house from pigsty, to semi better pigsty. So I thought it would be fun to post holiday advice, advice on decorations, what you like to do for the holidays cooking wise, good recipes to try for the holidays, etc. You know house stuff. I found this article don't know if its genuine or not. I'll post more after people. Article on Holiday Ideas Here and Now ~Rem Nightfall
For the first time in my life. Im on a diet I have gone 20+ years of having a diet where ANYTHING is possible, and as much as i wont....i could not put any weight on (say i put 5kgs in a week when its holiday season, it would alwats be gone in 2 or 3 days at most. Well, about a month ago i noticed i wasent lossing anything, and i actually got a stomach (its in control now). So im worried about this feast season around the corner. I'll post some of my favourite recipes and fun things when we get closer.
This really urghs me. Why does everyone think that just because its a holiday they have to eat a lot? You eat until you are full.
Hold on, Rem. Lemme' 'splain you. I be Puerto Rican. You cannot (and I mean cannot) tell your Puerto Rican auntie to stop serving you what she has prepared for the holiday dinner. Not done. It will go over like a turd in a punchbowl. You must clean your plate. Especially when your entire family thinks you have anorexia (I have actually heard talk behind my back) because you do not fit the standard Latino curvature. You will continue to have more servings put in front of you no matter that you have just thrown up in the corner. Puerto Rico has a historical past of poverty, and excess during the holiday feasting is a knee-jerk reaction to those times. In short. I count calories and carbs with neurotic precision, but during the holidays I have to give it up because of cultural issues the likes of which cannot be overcome by one little, fit, buff, pretty darned cute, Puerto Rican guy like myself. Wrey
Sorry if that sounded like that was directed towards you, I didn't mean it in that way. Ooops, next time I have to explain better, sorry again. But what about all those white folk? Those people who aren't bound by cultural problems who still think they have to eat a lot during the holidays. And, I mean no offense, but I don't think I would enjoy your aunt serving me after I was full. Why is that? Why do they think that it would be rude to tell her no more? You're full right, so why is there a problem with that? I'm a little fascinated right now. Please tell me some more.
I live in a latin country too, so I have similar experiences. They stay at the table to talk. So, because you're at the table, they serve you more food (why is beyond my knowledge, I just enjoy it). And when your full, you're expected to leave, and no one wants to be alone when the whole family is talking and eating at the dinner table. And refusing food is not really cool with people around here. I'm not sure why, it's just part of the culture.
Well I find its a little odd that is all, I wonder why rejecting food is a big no no. Maybe it has something to do with the history. Anyway this is suppose to be about holiday advice and holiday recipes. I like hot and spicy food. So I make my own turkey stuffing with bread of course, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, red pepper, fresh jalapenos, and salt. And I like to marinate the turkey in a jalapeno sauce. lol! Now you must think of me as crazy. Christmas advice [I'm a month off all well]: On a Budget Christmas decoration advice
Why must rejecting food become an imperitive? The upcoming holiday in the US is Thanksgiving. Basically it is a harvest festival, a bacchinal of sorts. In addition to reflecting on ones blessings (and that is not dependent on any religioous alignment, by the way), it is a time to celebrate the bounties of the table. Yes, most who take part also think of those less fortunate, and in fact a great deal of charity at that time of year goes toward sharing the bounty with those who have had a harder time of it. To me, Thanksgiving is the most significant holiday of the year, the one which brings people together regardless of faith, or politics, or the other divisive issues of our time. It is a time for family, and friends, and life. As for recipes, we have family traditions bu few fixed recipes. We always have a large turkey with a sausage stuffing recipe that has been in the family for generations, but other than that, the menu changes yearly. I usually also bake bread, but the type of bread varies as well. Much as I like spicy food, that is one day a year where savory trumps fiery. It is the time when comfort food is king.
You know what my favorite part about thanksgiving is? Much as I like the feast itself, the part I like the most is the leftovers, especially turkey sandwiches.
We make a turkey at my house, but it's not really the main meat dish. My mom looks for the smallest turkey she can, knowing that it's really only there out of tradition. In my house, what we really dig into is called the pernil (pronounced more like peh'-neel in Puerto Rico.) It is a pork pick-nick shoulder riddled with garlic and olives and other good stuff all through the meat. This is the traditional center dish of Accion de Gracias which is what we call Thanksgiving. It's reeeeeeaaaaaallllllyyyy good, especially when my mom makes it, 'cause my mom does not go lightly on the flavorization process. She goes to town! Edit ~ And if you are lucky and can find someone (like my mom) who knows how to cook it the really traditional way, then they will come to your house, dig a pit, make a fire with just wood, let the fire die down to the right temperature, then you take the pernil which is now wrapped nice and tight in banana leaves and you put it in the pit and then cover it with rocks or a sheet of concrete some people have just for the occasion. Holy Molie, but you have no idea how good that is!!! Of course, most people make it in the oven, which is still pretty good, but not as good as in the pit with the banana leaves.
Damn that sounds good! Just looked up a recipe, but it didn't have olives, so I need to keep looking. As long as I can leave out the chilies eek, I should be able to talk my mother into having that be our main dish for Christmas. And I bet my son will try to sneak a couple chilies in anyway Obviously, in the land of snow (the mountains in upstate New York), cooking it in a fire pit is out of the question for the December holiday. We'll have to settle for the oven.
Well I have never been much of a poultry fan. So usually for Thanksgiving I make a ham instead of Turkey. I understand what you are talking about though, with the good old fashion house style food. But I don't just like eating turkey, potatoes, and gravy. Seems bland so I am always trying weird and cooky ideas that turn out good. I'm weird when it comes to holidays. But this year I'm not the chef or the one serving, so everyone is safe. I like making banana bread for the holidays as well as apple pie.
I guess I'm going to have to start running again *sigh*. Anyways, a good tip is if you've got any food allergies, don't point them out to your family if they try to guilt you into eating stuff your allergic to. Unless the allergy is going to kill you, just suck it up. Its better to get hives or throw up rather than get angry glares from whoever cooked it.
There are lots of cultures that are like that. It's a Jewish Bubah's great joy to feed her grandchildren. That's her job.
Well, I had already decided that recipe didn't sound much like what you were describing. In a way, I'm a little disappointed. If my mother weren't part of the equation, I'd probably be tempted to kick it up a notch anyway, because I DO like things spicy. But I would still like to do it the traditional way first, or as close to traditional as I can get without banana leaves and a fire pit.
The only one I found with olives so far also uses a bunch of bottled hot sauce. Also Worcestershire Sauce and pepperoni sausage. Doesn't sound quite right either...
My family, being from the south ate strictly turkey and stuffing for Thanksgiving, and then I got married. During my pregnancy of my second son, my father in law made a dish for Thanksgiving called paella. He had to make a special one just for me that had no shell fish in it. I was so nervous, because it looked and smelled strange to me, but then I tasted it and oh it was heaven. He died seven years ago of a massive heart attack and I have since stopped eating meat, but I still crave that dish like mad sometimes. This is the man that got me hooked on sushi though. He completely opened my eyes and my tummy to different foods. Mmm paella.
Actually, if anyone has a good recipe for paella, I would be eternally grateful...just IM me with it. I will eat meat just this once, just to taste paella again.
Paella is wonderful. Right now, though, I have to find a good pernil recipe! The very basic one keeps popping up, with garlic, olive oil, adobo, black pepper, and oregano, some with onion, cumin, vinegar or citrus juice... I'm tempted to take one of those and add a green olive tepanade, but I'd love to get an authentic recipe.
There are lots of paella recipes online - I bet you can find one very close to what your father in law made.
