[Sca-cooks] Happy Festivus To All, plus Xmas menus for those who do that...

[Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius]

Hullo, the list!

I just realized today is Festivus, a.k.a. The Festivus For the Rest Of  
Us, and while it's a "fictional" holiday, apparently people do  
celebrate it, and it probably has as much clearly documentable  
historical basis as many another traditional holiday established by  
somebody deciding to do Thing X and then deciding to do it again a  
year later, and then again the year after that...

So, while there's some argument as to whether there's a clearly  
defined tradition as to the Festivus menu (it is never really  
discussed, but something looking like meatloaf covered with tomato  
sauce can be seen, and probably roasted potatoes, in the "Seinfeld"  
episode which gives a brief digest of the Festivus tradition -- the  
Estelle Costanza character is apparently famous for the roasted  
potatoes which she makes for special occasions). Of course, the  
"Seinfeld" people didn't invent Festivus, although they probably did  
make it [more] famous.

We, however, will be making burgers tonight while finishing our  
various chores, then doing something more like real holiday food  
tomorrow and Tuesday. A lot of what we'll do will depend on what's  
available tomorrow morning, but very tentatively, we're looking to do  
vaguely Italian vegetables and seafood for Christmas Eve (somewhat  
hampered by major allergies in the house to both lemon and tomatoes),  
and then when the Christmas menu was discussed with my supervisor, I  
was informed that We Are Having Yorkshire Pudding. Which, of course,  
doesn't mean that that's the main course.

So, to that end, we'll check the local Chinese grocer's for whatever  
seafood is good and fresh, and I may even go wild with something with  
tomatoes and/or lemon in it if we can create a large enough variety of  
uncontaminated items. So, at the moment we have salt cod soaking, and  
I've located my stash of lower-salt home-cured cod in the freezer, to  
augment it; this will be poached in milk with a potato and mashed up  
with immoderate quantities of garlic and emulsified with extra-virgin  
olive oil and eaten with toasted baguettes. I'll probably use some  
shavings of the truffle I received as a gift a couple weeks ago for  
the salt cod brandade. I've got some large prawns in the freezer, but  
not sure yet what I'll do with them; it'll depend on what else is at  
the market in the way of bivalves, fresh squid or fin fish. This will  
all be augmented by a tomato-less lasagne quasi-primavera, with  
spinach and cheese, and roasted pepper, mushrooms and kohlrabi (for  
some firmness) in Parmigiano-flavored cream sauce, fillings. Not sure  
yet what else, vegetables and such; I'll rummage in the vegetable bin  
and see what's there ;-). I think the plan is a pear tarte tatin with  
creme fraiche for dessert.

For Tuesday, we took out a Home Equity Loan after discovering our  
apartment has apparently quadrupled in value since we bought it seven  
years ago, took the proceeds and bought a prime four-rib roast. We  
even got a few cents in change. The butcher had barded it, but I think  
I'm going to remove the barding fat and do some real interlarding with  
a larding needle. Then, I'm going to stud it with matchsticks of the  
rest of my truffle... I've always wanted to do that, never had the  
opportunity. Yes, there will be the requisite roasted veg (probably  
"turned" into a shape resembling a diamond cut into the shape of a  
football), taters, carrots, parsnips, turnips, plus Crimini mushrooms,  
"turned" differently). Very late 1930's fancy. Yorkshire pudding will  
be a given, plus either a beef jus or a thickened gravy, depending on  
mood and timing. Also sauteed baby bok choy cooked in a little peanut  
oil in which ginger slices and shallots have been previously browned  
-- usually needs no other seasoning. I believe there are plans for a  
nocturnal binge of Lindy's cheesecake-baking after dinner tonight, for  
Tuesday's dessert, plus some of the sour cream cookie recipe favored  
by my mother, if I'm not forcibly evicted from the kitchen, that is.

It's actually kind of nice to be evicted, once in a while, as long as  
it's not contingent on Home Equity Loans.

Happy Festivus And Any Other Holiday That May Be Celebrated by Any and  
All,

Adamantius