Our Christmas meal started out to be a late lunch at Russ and Debs, but turned into an early dinner. Christmas shouldn’t be too tightly scheduled. It’s best to built in some time for extra visiting and playing with the Christmas “toys.”
Earlier in the week, I had asked my son, Russ, what they were serving. “Something with feather, fins, or hooves?” I asked. “You might say all of those,” he replied, with a mischievous smile. And, he was right. As it turned out we had goose, scallops and mini ham loaves.
Goose on the Loose
As to the goose. It’s an old holiday favorite. The dark, delicious meat was a favorite for Christmas meals of the 19th century. In Dicken’s Christmas Carol, the Ghost of Christmas Present describes the goose served by Bob Cratchit: “There never was such a goose. . . Its tenderness and flavor, size and cheapness were the themes of universal admiration.” Well, our Christmas goose was quite good, too, as were all the trimmings.
Below are some photos I snapped throughout the festive day.
Mid-morning was perfect for an old family recipe: Breakfast Casserole (upper left). It’s made with eggs, bread and sausage. Here it’s served with cups of herbal tea.
Russ dishes up the mashed potatoes.
Smashed Brussel Sprouts are first parboiled slightly, then smashed with the bottom of a glass, lightly brushed with oil, and seasoning. After roasting, they’re topped with a white cheese.
Andrew and the Christmas goose.
Debra knows I love well-prepared collard greens and she knows how to cook them just right.
Austin made this kale salad after massaging the kale. He added spicy, roasted garbanzo beans and some carrots he had pickled and canned.
The Christmas Feast: (from bottom left clockwise): collard greens, mini ham loaves, goose, mashed potatoes, kale salad, Brussel sprouts, scallop. I later found room for the red cabbage.
Christmas 2017 comes to a delicious close.
