Relish Cooking

Thanksgiving Day is a hard act to follow, isn’t it? What a brilliant culinary expression we’re blessed with. Usually by about now, however, the dust has settled, the leftovers are fertilizing a tree somewhere and all the love and effort that went into the glorious feast is but a faint memory to nearly everyone but you and your personal trainer. But not to worry! Looming just around the corner is yet one last chance to claim caloric bliss…the year’s crescendo…the mother of all Holidays…I’m talking about the one and only, the universally-celebrated New Year’s Eve!

“New Year’s Eve?” you ask. “But what about Christmas, Hanukkah Kwanzaa or even Boxing Day?! Surely you agree these celebrations far outweigh an evening of decorated dunce hats and drunken midnight smooches! You dropped the Times Square Ball on this one, Heidi.”

Allow me a moment to clarify. Yes, these dates of Gift Exchange absolutely are monumental merriments. People all across the world have embraced the spirit of giving with countless historically based reasons to do so, thus creating this one large joyous slice of the year we now call “the Holiday Season.” What each individual family is celebrating, however, is specific to their lifestyle, and is done so with such vast uniqueness, it would be impossible to talk food to everyone.

Christmas, for example, is a holy expression between a man and his Maker. It is the remembrance of the day that Christ Jesus, God’s son, was born to this world as a man, an honored day in my home. Kwanzaa, meaning “first fruits” in Swahili, was founded in 1966 by an African-American named Ron Karenga and observes seven days of celebration, each dedicated to a different “Principal” celebrating black heritage and ancestry. The Jewish season of Hanukkah or “Festival of Lights” commemorates the eight-day jubilation of the rebuilding of the Temple of Jerusalem, where one day’s worth of oil miraculously burned all eight days.

Now, I could offer you traditional tips and recipes like Cider-Glazed Christmas Goose with Cumberland Sauce or my old college roommate’s tried-and-true Latkes. I might possibly even throw caution to the Santa Anas with a Tanzanian fruit salad, but why attempt to re-invent your wheel?

And THIS is exactly where the Annual Grand Finale comes to play. With everyone’s halls decked a different color, the only day I’m almost certain we can all agree on this December is the day that 2007 becomes 2008. It’s the last sentence in your 12-month story that demands far more respect than the customary hat and kiss. In fact, it completely merits catered Hors d-Oeuvres, Champagne, shimmery new dresses and more! The great common denominator across the globe is new hope and fresh aspirations for a better tomorrow. So as the old Scottish hymn suggests, ring in the New Year reminiscing the good memories of family and friends, but as tradition suggests, clutch your list of resolutions and savor the magic of this season with style, panache, and lots of French Bubbly.

Posted by ChefHeidi at 02:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It was October, 1621, and the 53 Pilgrims in Massachusetts had just celebrated what we now refer to as “The First Thanksgiving.” Edward Winslow wrote in “A Journal of the Pilgrims at Plymouth” that his governor, John Carver, sent four men to hunt wild fowl, and the Wampanoag Indians with their king Massasoit offered five hunted deer to the table. Squanto had taught the English to grow corn on hills and fertilize with fish, resulting in an abundant harvest. Together the two cultures celebrated their bounty giving thanks to God, and with their newfound friendships, shared recipes and tradition that would mark the beginning of one of North America’s most beloved holidays. It was a remarkable day, and a story worthy of reflecting on each year at every modern Thanksgiving table.

Although its location on the calendar has moved throughout the centuries, US Congress in 1941 permanently fixed the Thanksgiving date to be the fourth Thursday of every November. While the Thanksgiving menu has changed from venison, fish and roasted pumpkin to turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie, the customary gathering of friends and family for the feast prevails year after year. The only thing that could perhaps be in jeopardy is the very thing we are supposed to be celebrating…the solitary reason that our God-fearing forefathers declared it a national holiday…the one, single, quintessential definition of Thanksgiving…to give thanks for all that we have!

So what exactly then, are we celebrating? Why spend 15 minutes per pound to roast a beast the size of a small car? What’s the motivation behind commissioning grandma to a long day of pie-baking, dad to his famous stuffing, and a visiting cousin to a case of Octoberfest? It’s a point worth pondering this season as we reflect on some of the devastating happenings of late. Fires, drought, earthquakes and hints of recession are all valid and very real reasons to simply show up just before ‘The Carving’ with canned cranberries this year, but that just wouldn’t be any fun.

You see, Thanksgiving is the opportunity - the choice, really - to celebrate our thanks regardless of who we are, where we came from and what we do. We’re all HERE and that’s the point. We have homes that get the newspaper delivered and eyes to read it. Most of us have people in our lives to help us when we’re in need, and please join me for a moment of reflecting deep gratitude for the freedom we are all enjoying by living in this country. Let us never forget what our countless global neighbors are experiencing that we’ve been protected from for hundreds of years. It is overwhelming to think of how blessed and how fortunate we are, even amidst tragedy.

A few days ago during the worst of the fires, my kids and I were assembling care packages for a large group of children who had been evacuated from their foster home when I got a phone call from my friends at COTO C.A.N., Deanna Vochelli and Kim Melsheimer. They had also heard about the situation and moved quickly to help. “Heidi, we need to feed all the foster children and their staff! Can we get you to cook a meal for 50?” Volunteering is so rewarding and I will testify that there is hardly a greater feeling than to see the faces of those in real need light up when you hand them a home-cooked meal.

Despite all that may be happening in your own world, can you think of someone you know who doesn’t have a home or is struggling to pay their bills? Do you have a neighbor, friend or family member who lives alone? If you don’t, any church, school or community organization like COTO C.A.N. can give you a list. What better, more rewarding way to celebrate our harvest, our bounty, this year than to bring them a bag full of groceries, a hand-picked bouquet of flowers with a little money or a meal and an invitation to your Thanksgiving table. Then, with your very best linens and china, with your favorite recipes and traditions, with each guest contributing their special touch, throw a banquet and really, truly give thanks just as they did nearly 400 years ago!

Posted by ChefHeidi at 11:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)