Christmas, Boxing Day, Food,

We ended up with a white Christmas, but as they are forecasting lots of rain I am not sure how much will remain. It is the first time, in four decades, that the whole of Canada had a white Christmas. I guess they don't get much snow out west in Vancouver, etc. Which means they may not be really prepared for it so could be really cursing it. The brined turkey breast turned out beautifully moist again, I really do like doing that recipe. I also had forgotten to check on packets of bread sauce which I like with turkey, a fairly old fashioned sauce which not too many people seem to eat any more. I honestly don't remember if you can buy it here or whether I imported it from Britain. Anyway, I can't do without my bread sauce, so I grabbed my Mrs. Beeton (circa 1935) checked the recipe, shoved a few whole cloves into an onion and then sweated that onion for several hours in milk. Just before supper I added dried breadcrumbs (didn't have any fresh white) and stirred it til it was thick enough, at which time I added a knob of butter and a dollop of thick cream. It was delicious. Probably better than the packet if not as easy. Traditionally we eat Brussels Sprouts with turkey; a lot of people in Ontario seem to add rutabaga (Swede) as well. However, although we both like it, we don't add it to our Christmas meal. I can't remember if I have commented about rutabaga and/or Swede here, it seems to be a much harder vegetable than the one we had in the UK. As a boy, Matt would buy a Swede on his way to school, get the greengrocer to cut off the top then spoon out the flesh and eat it. You couldn't do that with the ones we get here, you would break the spoon. However, when cooked, they taste the same, so I really don't know what the difference is. According to Wikipedia there isn't any difference, but if you have ever tried to prepare one in this neck of the woods having been used to preparing them in the UK, I assure you the Canadian one is much tougher. I can't handle them, Matt has to do the cutting. I didn't mention, on Chrismas Eve Matt bought me a live lobster as an extra present. For some reason, I turned squeamish and wouldn't cook it, I made him do it. I wasn't squeamish about eating it though, it was delicious. He also bought some Borgonzola cheese which is a Canadian version of Cambazola which is a German combination of French Brie and Italian Gorgonzola. Funnily enough, we neither of us like Cambazola, but we do like Borgonzola click here which is less sharp and more creamy. In fact, I think I might have some for lunch. I mentioned, in my last blog, about daughter #2's chocolate fountain, I asked her if she had used it again, she said she had once, but that you really needed a bunch of people to make proper use of it. I didn't get the impression they would be using it this Christmas. Apart from which, she said they had been given so many chocolates, or chocolate cookies at school, they had had a surfeit of chocolate (is that possible?) Both she and her oldest son are teachers. I figure no-body needs recipes right at the moment, unless its for using up leftovers and my favourite leftover turkey recipe can't be made any more without a lot of work. It included a packet of Bird's Eye white onions in cream sauce which are certainly not available round here and I am not sure if they are still available in the UK. One could always make them from scratch, but that is the kind of thing one should have done before Christmas. I just Googled and they are still available somewhere, but not in Kitchener. So, if you live somewhere where these are available, here is the recipe.

Turkey With Creamed Onions
	8 oz pkg Birds Eye Creamed Onions 8 oz Cooked chicken or turkey 1 Tbs medium sherry 1 oz grated cheese (cheddar) pinch Nutmeg Prepare onions as directed on packet. Add poultry in slivers, together with the other ingredients. Simmer gently for 10 minutes. Add chopped parsley and serve on a bed of rice. Servings: 2

Have a great Boxing day.