by Susan on 12/07/09 at 4:22 pm
The French Celebrate the Holidays with the Buche De Noel
Christmas culinary traditions in America are as diverse as our individual backgrounds. The foods that families eat during the holidays are usually derived from traditions and recipes that were passed down through the generations. So if you can trace your ancestors back to Spain, it would not be unusual to feast on almond soup during the holidays. If your roots are Russian, your Christmas holy supper would consist of 12 hearty, meatless dishes, with a grain-based porridge (kutya) holding center stage.
The French are credited for creating the Yule log. The “buche de Noel” is a decadent dessert shaped like a log and filled with a rich butter cream. It is the much anticipated ending to the Christmas Eve meal, which is eaten after midnight mass. Foie gras on sliced bread, escargots and oysters are typical appetizers, with goose, duck and turkey the preferred main entrée, accompanied by chestnut stuffing. A cranberry sauce or relish would be a classic side dish. All of this is served (of course), with the very best wine.
The character we call St. Nick is really Germany’s Sankt Nikolaus, the Bishop of Myra whose devotion to God influenced him in giving generously to the poor. A typical German Christmas meal would revolve around a roast goose, stuffed with a mixture of apples and prunes. Also on the table would be a variety of German sausages, sweet and sour cabbage, potato dumplings, a beet dish, and a selection of tempting sweets, including stollen and strudel. It’s hearty food!
The Polish Wigilia on Christmas Eve is an all-evening food fest, which leads up to the family going to midnight mass. The traditional meatless meal includes a sauerkraut-bean soup, fried fish, jellied carp, grain-stuffed cabbage rolls, potato, cheese, prune or cabbage “pierogis” (filled dough), buttered noodles and fried doughnuts. It is delicious and filling comfort food from beginning to end.
Ethiopians celebrate Christmas with a spicy and thick stew called “wat,” which is made from meat and vegetables. Wat is eaten with injera, a sourdough type of flatbread that also serves as a scooping utensil for the meal.
The weather in New Zealand and Australia is summery, so it is not unusual for Christmas celebrants to enjoy a cold, picnic lunch or an outdoor barbecue, where chicken, lamb or beef are grilled and served with various side dishes. Many of our “down under” friends will also head to the beaches or other outdoor venues to celebrate their Christmas, instead of staying home. For those that choose to cook inside, a beef roast would likely be served.
"Argentina's Papa Noel Will Adore This Turkey"
In Argentina, the traditional Christmas dinner meals usually takes place on Christmas Eve, and includes roast turkey, roast pork, stuffed tomatoes, mince pies, a variety of sweet breads and puddings, and beer, wine and juice. At midnight, Christmas is toasted by preparing a specialty drink with different types of chopped fruits mixed with juices and cider.
Mexico celebrates the season of Christmas … not just one day. Some of the culinary treats you are likely to find are sweet buñuelos (a fritter-like pastry) and hot chocolate caliente. A traditional Mexican food for Christmas Eve is bacalao a la vizcaina, salted cod with potatoes, tomatoes, onions, olives and red peppers. On Christmas Day, you may find romeritos with mole sauce (shrimp patties with potatoes and herbs) or shrimp cakes on the dinner table.
During the Christmas season, Americans may roast chestnuts on an open fire, leave cookies and milk for Santa, make and decorate gingerbread people, and sip eggnog with reckless abandon, but in many homes, our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day meals draw upon traditions from our past as we rejoice in the true meaning of the season.
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