Food
Celebration Halloween treats to make with your kids
Holiday dishes from around the world
Chef’s corner Sara North
Publisher Mario Walker Editor at Large Chelsea Carrick Editorial Team Amanda Tapp Chris Clark Sales Manager Andria Keelin Sales Team Mario Walker Design Team Lead Pamela Guardado Website Team Lead Ajeesh John Website Team Rabeesh Rajappan Digital Marketing Keerthi VS
Editor’s Letter T
he holidays revolve around different traditions for different people. That’s part of what makes the world beautiful. One commonality we all share though, no matter what we celebrate and how, is that we often incorporate food. And usually, that food is more than just something to eat. It’s there for a reason. It’s there because it’s rooted in deep (often unknown) traditions. It’s there to keep a culture alive, or because our families have always done it that way, or because it reminds us how our past can be incorporated into our present.
fresh
For this issue of , we want to focus on the ways that food is more than food, the depth that it contains and the ways it brings our families, friends, and communities together. In this issue, we have new recipes for you to try for this holiday season, ways to incorporate something new with something old. We have treat ideas to make with your kids and ways to wine. We show you how the rest of the world celebrates their holidays and the origins of why we celebrate the way we do here at home. And speaking of home, we have a special interview with a local chef Sara North from Stonegate. We hope you enjoy all that we have in this issue and that it can bring you some inspiration for the holidays, no matter how and what you choose to celebrate.
Sincerely Chelsea Carrick
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Content Food Celebration | Fresh Magazine
08 How to indulge this holiday season without going overboard
12 Halloween treats to make with your kids
19 Holiday dishes from around the world
25 How to mix-up your thanksgiving side dishes
33 Chef’s Corner Sara North
36 Best ways to wine this holiday season
42 Chef’s Corner Dennis
45 A more interesting take on Christmas cookies
50 What we eat for The Holidays and why
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HOW TO INDULGE THIS
HOLIDAY SEASON
WITHOUT GOING OVERBOARD Here’s the thing - for the holidays, you probably will indulge. You will eat sweets, have drinks, and most likely consume some fatty foods. Any magazine that tells you you’re not is lying. To completely deny yourself a treat or two is not only very nearly impossible, but also sort of sad. Holiday indulgences can be a really delightful part of the celebratory experience! That’s why we put together a guide on how to indulge without overindulging.
One of the best things you can do to avoid eating and drinking too much is to stay on top of the amount of water you drink. If you drink about two full glasses of water before a huge meal, you will eat less. Also, if you have a glass of water for every glass of wine you drink and every cocktail you sip, you’ll be much less likely to drink too much. And, you’ll avoid that dreaded next day headache. Often during the holidays, people fast in preparation for the main meal of the day.
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They want to be as hungry as possible for their feast. First, this doesn’t even really work. It will make your mood plummet, you’ll be tired and anti-social. Also, although delicious, chances are your holiday feasts do not have the full nutritional value you need in a day. It’s a far better idea to have a bowl of fruit and yogurt or a veggie omelet, so that way you know you got at least a bit of healthy food in your body. Also, if you eat breakfast you can still have the food you love later, you’ll just naturally have less of it. Experiment with healthy replacement ingredients in some of your favorite
dishes. You can make a smaller dish with a traditional recipe and then an alternative with healthier ingredients, such as cauliflower mashed potatoes. Also, while sweet potato pie is delicious, you can have a savory set of sweet potatoes made with olive oil and vibrant seasonings that don’t include sugar. Don’t forget to bring out the roasted veggies and green beans. This one is simple - don’t stand next to the appetizers. If you do, you will keep on noshing, guaranteed. Put what you want onto a small plate and walk away. You may then find yourself in a conversation that distracts you from all the food. But, even if you’re having
a riveting conversation next to the appetizer table, you will likely keep on grabbing. Watch for seconds. Often, people get seconds just because they feel like they should. It’s Thanksgiving, right? I shouldn’t finish without feeling so full I’m sick. But maybe you don’t actually want seconds? Or if you do, maybe you want to be more exclusive with what you want to pile on your plate. See? You can still enjoy the holidays without putting on all the pounds. Eating a bit more mindfully doesn’t need to wait until the New Year!
Halloween treats to make with your kids Halloween doesn’t just have to be about the candy your kids collect, it can also be about the sweet treats you make together. Fall in and of itself is the perfect time to bake and to bond with your little ones, but halloween provides the perfect
excuse to make it really fun. Not only will the kids love taking the time to create with you, but they will also love how fun and, maybe even a little scary, their delicious treats turn out.
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Pumpkin MINI-PIZZAS What you’ll Need: • • • •
Pizza Dough Shredded orange cheddar cheese Black Olives Any other toppings your family will enjoy
What to do: • Either make or buy your pizza dough and then spread it out into little circular crusts. • Set your toppings on the table and let your kids go to work adding cheese for a pumpkiny orange base and toppings for little pizza pumpkins that will surely be unique. While black olives make the most realistic jack-o-lantern faces, there’s no reason your kids need to stick with that. Let them be as creative as they can and want to be! • Put them in the oven for about 15 minutes, or until the dough is fully cooked and the cheese is melted.
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Picture from: www.sheknows.com
Chocolate BABY BATS This one is so much fun for even very young children. What you’ll Need:
• • • •
Mini Reeses Cups Cream Cheese Frosting Oreo cookies Edible eyes
What to do: • Take the reese’s cups out of their wrappers. • Separate the oreo cookies and then break the separated pieces in half (for each cookie you’ll have four bat wings) • Use a plastic bag with the corner cut to apply the frosting. Use the frosting to stick the bat wings onto the peanut butter cup. • Use the frosting to stick the edible eyes to the middle of the peanut butter cups. • You now have bat treats!
Monster APPLE BITES These treats are a healthy alternative to our other options! What you’ll Need: • • • • •
2 green, quartered apples Your favorite nut butter 32 sunflower seeds 2-3 sliced strawberries Edible eyes (how many eyes your monsters have depends on you!)
What to do: • To make a mouth out of your apples, cut the middle out of each quarter. • Spread whatever nut butter you chose into the apple mouth and stick sunflower seed teeth to the top of the mouth. • Stick the strawberry in there to make a monster tongue. • Next, use nut butter again to stick the eyes to the top of the apple.
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HOLIDAY DISHES FROM AROUND THE WORLD: While there are some variations to the way we celebrate the holidays here in the United States, we tend to adhere to tradition: Turkey or ham on Christmas, latkes and donuts for Hanukkah, and mazoa or macaroni and cheese and jerk chicken for Kwanzaa. But how do people in other countries celebrate their holiday festivities? Let’s take a look.
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England: You may have heard of England’s infamous and alcohol based Christmas pudding, but what exactly is it? It’s essentially a fruitcake, but aged and set on fire. The cake is usually made in November and then steamed and saturated with brandy or whiskey before serving on Christmas. Often, people will hide a coin or charm into the cake, bringing good luck to the person who finds it!
Norway, Finland, and Sweden: Lutefisk, a salted or dried whitefish that serves as a winter delicacy for this region. Okay, fish. Cool. You might be thinking. But here’s the catch - it’s treated with lye. If lye doesn’t sound edible that’s because it’s a corrosive chemical normally found in soap, not food. But what it does for the fish is to give it a gelatinous texture by breaking down proteins. The lye won’t poison you because it’s soaked out afterwards.
Venezuela: The traditional Christmas food in Venezuela is Hallaca, which has similar qualities to tamales. But the hallaca is more than just a food to the Venezuelans who make and enjoy them - it’s an excuse to gather and celebrate. Making Hallacas is a big job, which means entire families get together and create batches that will last all season long. It’s a beautiful tradition and each family has their own variation dependent on history and region.
Lithuania (and occasionally other parts of Eastern Europe): In Lithuania, people set up an entire Christmas smorgasbord consisting of one dish for each of the twelve apostles. Sounds pretty extravagant, but the catch is that no meat, eggs, or dairy can be served. That would eliminate a lot of what we consume during Christmas in the U.S. Often, they will serve herring with vegetables such as carrots and mushrooms, or sauerkraut filled dumplings. FRESH MAGAZINE | 21
Spain: In Spain, once the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve to signal the start of a New Year, you might see people stuffing 12 grapes into their mouths as quickly as they can. Eating one grape for each month of the year before the clock stops chiming is supposed to bring good luck.
Japan: In Japan, they celebrate Christmas in a way both familiar and strikingly odd: Kentucky Fried Chicken. While the majority of Japanese citizens do not celebrate Christmas in a religious sense, a number of people celebrate secularly through, well, KFC chicken buckets. It’s grown to be such a popular tradition that most hoping to engage in this particular past time must order their dinner in advance.
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Italy: We all know that Santa brings kids who don’t behave coal for Christmas, right? But where did this tradition start? Quite possibly, in Italy. On the eve of Epiphany, a magical old woman called La Befana fills children’s stockings with sweets. But, only if they are well-behaved. If not, they get coal. Or, now, candy that looks like coal.
There are your Christmas traditions from around the world! If you particularly enjoy them, you could even consider incorporating some into your own Holiday routine!
How to mix-up your thanksgiving side dishes
It may be true that there are some thanksgiving recipes you just don’t mess with. That amazing sweet potato casserole your grandma makes, for example, is certainly worth holding onto. However, there is also a whole slew of ways to mix up old favorites or
to add something completely new. Whether you’re bored of the old or just want to add something new, we’ve got a few recipes for you to try this Thanksgiving. FRESH MAGAZINE | 25
LATE NIGHT DELIVERY FRIDAY & SATURDAY UNTIL 3AM
Southwest squash casserole Squash is a fall staple. We tend to think cozy evenings, cooler weather, and farmers markets. But let’s add a little autumn heat with a slightly spicy southwestern squash casserole.
What you’ll Need: • • • • • • •
• • •
2 cloves of minced garlic Lemon zest from one lemon ⅓ cup of parsley leaves 2 cups of yellow squash, sliced thin (about ¼ inch) 1 diced onion 1 10oz can of green chili peppers 1 cup of a cheese of your choice (havarti and provolone are great choices) 2 tablespoons of butter 1 teaspoon sugar 1 cup milk
• • • • • •
2 cups of breadcrumbs 2 eggs 2 tablespoons chili powder A pinch of cayenne pepper Salt and pepper 2 tablespoon olive oil
What to do: • On a cutting board, mix the minced garlic and the lemon zest together. Place the parsley leaves on top and then chop everything up together.
Once the mixture nearly looks like a paste, set it aside. • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. • Heat one tablespoon of olive oil and add onion, red bell pepper, and garlic until the vegetables are tender.
• Mix your green chilies,spices, eggs, milk, cheese, and one cup of breadcrumbs together with the
cooked onion and bell pepper mix. • In another bowl, mix the other cup of breadcrumbs with the paste you made first and the other tablespoon of olive oil. • Spread squash into the bottom of your pan. An 8by8 inch casserole dish should be fine. • On top of the squash, add your onion, pepper, and seasoning mix. On top of that, add the breadcrumbs and paste mixture. • Bake for about 20-25 minutes.
THIS IS
OUR VERSION
OF A
Canvas Pizza making is an art form. It begins with selecting fresh ingredients from trustworthy sources, creating thoughtful recipes, and crafting them into masterpieces our customers crave. We approach the process with old world sensibilities, making each pizza by hand for the customer who ordered it. Every morning we roll dough, whisk sauce, shred cheese, and chop vegetables. There are no machines involved and each pie is a reflection of the person making it.
A subtly sweet alternative to sweet potato casserole Rather than sweet potato casserole this year (or maybe in addition to it, it is thanksgiving after all), try this delightful roasted winter squash recipe. What you’ll Need: • • • • • • • •
1 firm winter squash of your choice ¼ cup maple syrup 1 cup dried cherries (tart) 2 tbsp coconut oil 1 tbsp cinnamon ½ tsp nutmeg 1 tbsp butter ¾ cup chopped pecans
What to do: • Preheat your oven to 350 degrees • Slice your squash into half moon slices and place it on a baking sheet • Whisk together the coconut oil, maple syrup, and the spices. Then, pour the mixture onto the squash. • Bake the squash for about 25 minutes, or until soft. • While it’s cooking, combine the cherries and butter in a saute pan and cook for about 5-10 minutes. • Remove from heat, add pecans, and then pour over squash once done.
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CHEF'S Corner CHEF SARA NORTH FRESH MAGAZINE | 33
1. WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO BE A CHEF? My mom. We grew up eating really eclectic, homemade foods rather than easy mac and sandwiches. I hated it at the time, but it definitely built my palate.
2. WHERE WOULD YOU PERSONALLY LIKE TO GO THAT YOU’VE NEVER BEEN TO TRY THEIR CUISINE, GLOBALLY? LOCALLY? Probably somewhere in Africa. #goatstew
3. WHERE DID YOU GET YOUR START IN THE RESTAURANT BIZ? The deli at Market Street, on my 15th birthday.
4. WHEN YOU’RE NOT IN THE KITCHEN WHAT DO YOU DO TO RELAX? Sleep.
5. YOU’RE OPENING A NEW RESTAURANT WHAT WAS THE INSPIRATION FOR THAT? I can’t take credit for the inspiration - that’s all my mom... I think she got tired of eating chain restaurant food and being an English professor. How does it differ from golf course food? The food at Brunch is pretty simple and pretty darn American. King Street Pub and Queen of Tarts Bakery will be super eclectic, a little heavier and the atmosphere will definitely take you out of Lubbock.
6. HOW DO YOU FIND NEW ITEMS TO PUT ON THE MENU? LIKE WALKING THROUGH FARMERS MARKET? I wish I could spend more time at the farmer’s market! ...most of the time my staff will come to me and say, “we should do this!!” ... my response is usually, “Okay, but let’s add bacon and jalapeños...”
7. WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE FOOD MEMORY? That’s tough. Probably eating fresh mussels off the coast of Italy, in a little town called Sperlonga.
12. FAVORITE THING TO COOK WITH? ANYTHING YOU JUST DESPISE COOKING WITH? LOVE PEPPERS. ... HATE CUMIN. OR DID YOU MEAN UTENSILS? Love using a whisk.... Hate a scratched egg skillet.
13. ARE THERE ANY FOODS YOU JUST DON’T DO PERSONALLY? Chitlins.
14. WHO DO YOU ADMIRE MOST IN THE FOOD WORLD? Dr. Sally Good, my Mom
8. WHERE WERE YOU TRAINED? My mom’s kitchen, mostly. And Manna Bread and Wine. I moved to Rome in 2009 and studied culinary there for a while.
9. DOES YOUR FAMILY MAKE/ASK YOU TO DO ALL THE COOKING FOR EVENTS? No, actually. My family is full of amazing cooks, and they are really cool about not making me work outside the restaurant(s).
10. FAVORITE KITCHEN GADGET? The Dishwasher.
11. BEST ADVICE TO A HOME COOK? ASPIRING CHEF? Work hard, take criticism with a grain of salt, and keep tasting all the foods you hate.
15. WHAT’S THE NEXT BIGGEST TREND YOU SEE COMING IN THE FOOD INDUSTRY? Bowl food . check out London right now! whole meals in a bowl
16. WHAT’S YOUR LAST MEAL/DEATH ROW MEAL? Easy mac and a good sandwich. ;)
Best
ways to
wine this holiday season
During the holidays, we tend to drink more wine than the rest of the year. Winter is a great season to drink your fuller red wines, a weightier option than summer whites. And of course, with with the various holiday parties you’ll be attending it helps to know what wine to pull out when. And we can’t forget a sparkling New Year - what strain of bubbles will you pull out for that New Year’s Eve toast? We’ll help you with all your wine related holiday needs right here.
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A wine to warm you up
Port wine
Port wines, hailing from the Douro in Portugal (one of the oldest wine regions in the world) is a sweeter red wine. Due to its fermentation process in which some of the grapes’ sweetness are preserved, this particular wine is ideal both for warming you up and catering to that sweet tooth so many of us tend to feel during the holiday season. Tawny and Ruby are the two most common styles of port wine, with the former spending an extended amount
Madeira
a wine that pairs perfectly with dessert. Madeira is a tiny portuguese island that produces a delightful wine carrying tastes of dried fruit, nuts, and toffee. What else contains those flavors? That’s right, winter desserts. Also, the alcohol level is about twenty percent, meaning it will certainly warm you up when you need it. This wine is versatile, meaning you can find styles both incredibly dry (Sercial) to sweet (Malvasia).
of time barrel-aging, which gives the wine a bit of a nutty, caramely flavor. The latter, Ruby Port, takes on a dark berry flavor, making it an excellent match for chocolate based desserts.
Doux sparkling wine: This sparkling wine is perfect to toast with as you flip the switch into a New Year. Sparkling wine screams festive. Simply sitting around on the couch with a few friends can turn into a wildly sophisticated celebration as soon as you pop the cork. And this particular variety, although often underappreciated, adds a sweeter touch than what one is used to with sparkling wines. The acidity present in so many other wines is less prominent in this wine, making it excellent for a celebratory feel. Although, be wary of drinking too much if you don’t want to wake up to a pounding headache the next morning.
For a splurge and a unique wine-drinking experience, try Ice Wine. Ice wine is harvested exactly as the name sounds - in the frigid cold at night in cooler places in the U.S., Germany, and Canada. How it works is that the ice around the frozen grapes draws out the water inside, thereby concentrating their flavor, acidity, and sugar. The resulting flavors are citrus and stone fruit with candy aromas. The product is intense and pure, and although the difficulty of the picking process means this wine will be expensive, its unique process could mean that it’s worth a try for a special occasion.
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CHEF'S Corner Born and raised in Lubbock, TX Chef Dennis brings 40+ year of culinary experience and expertise to the MCM Elegante Hotel & Suites and the Rustlers Café. Dennis was an integral part of feeding the athletes of the world at the Sydney (2000) and Beijing (2008) Olympic Games. Dennis specialty is anything TEXMEX and is credited with developing the Texas Smokehouse BBQ concept of ARAMARK. We interviewed Chef Dennis to get a better understanding of his culinary take.
CHEF DENNIS 1. TELL US HOW YOUR CAREER AS A CHEF UNFOLDED?
3. WHAT IS YOUR SPECIALTY AND WHY DID YOU CHOOSE IT?
The loving smiles I put on people faces when I see them enjoying my food.
BBQ because I love everything about it, the rubs, seasonings and taste of good BBQ.
2. WHO WERE THE BIGGEST INSPIRATIONS FOR YOUR CAREER?
4. WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR BIGGEST HITS DURING THE HOLIDAYS?
My Dad who taught me the value of life and to be respectful and humble to people
My cornbread dressing and my family’s recipe for Sweet Potato Pie. No matter how much I make, there are never any leftovers.
6. WHAT ARE SOME THINGS THAT THE 8. OTHER THAN CREATING GREAT AT HOME CHEF CAN DO TO JAZZ UP THE FOOD, WHAT ARE THE MOST NORMAL HOLIDAY FOODS? IMPORTANT QUALITIES THAT MAKE A SUCCESSFUL CHEF? Thinking outside of the box and experiencing new types and kinds of food.
7. FAVORITE INGREDIENTS TO PLAY WITH OR PLAY OFF OF DURING THIS TIME OF YEAR? You can never go wrong with butter, garlic and sage.
Being honest, respectful, true to yourself and loving what you do.
10. WHAT SETS YOU APART FROM THE OTHER CHEFS IN TOWN? Love and Passionate about what I do. It gives me great pleasure to make being happy with my cooking.
11. WHAT IS MCM ELEGANTE AND 9. WHAT IS THE MOST ESSENTIAL ITEM RUSTLERS SERVING UP FOR THE HOLIDAY SEASON? IN YOUR KITCHEN? My Team, because without a team you cannot be successful in life.
We do a great traditional Thanksgiving Buffett with all the trimmings including my cornbread stuffing and sweet potato pie, for a reasonable price.
FRESH MAGAZINE | 43
A more interesting take on
Christmas cookies
Sugar cookies are a Christmas staple. Usually, the dough is either handmade or store-bought and it’s covered in frosting, sprinkles, or other festive decor. These cookies are great in their simplicity, but sometimes we just have to mix it up a little bit. So here are some exciting ways to make a festive and traditional cookie a little more unique.
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MELTING SNOWMEN What you’ll Need: • Sugar cookie dough • Colored icing • Black decorating gel
• Colored decorating chips • Chocolate sprinkles • Marshmallows
What to do: • Bake your sugar cookies
• Once the marshmallow has set, draw two stick melted into the puddle using black gel.
• Once the cookies have cooled, use white icing to make your melted puddle.
• Using your colored decorating chips, make eyes and a nose on the marshmallow. You can stick them on using a small dot of icing.
• Immediately place a marshmallow on your “melted puddle.”
• Using your colored icing, make the scarf and buttons.
ELEGANT SNOWFLAKE SUGAR COOKIES These cookies are layered, giving them a particularly sophisticated look. But don’t let that fool you -they’re easy to make!
What you’ll Need: • • • •
Sugar cookie dough Vanilla frosting Large sugar crystals Snowflake cookie cutters of at least two different sizes • Any other creative (but edible) decorations you could want What to do: • Bake the star-shaped sugar cookies (make sure that you cut an equal number of large or small, with two different sized smaller cookies for each full cookie) • Decorate the two different sized cookies using vanilla frosting and sugar crystals • Stack the smaller cookie on top of the larger cookie and then you have a snowflake!
Picture from: ww.cakeandallie.com
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REINDEER COOKIES What you’ll Need: • Sugar cookie dough • Pretzels • Chocolate chips
What to do: • Press the pretzels into the dough to look like antlers. • Press two chocolate chips into the dough for eyes and one below them for a nose. • Bake the cookies
What you’ll Need:
MINTY CHRISTMAS LIGHT SUGAR COOKIES
• • • •
Sugar cookie dough Colored candy balls Crushed blue or red (or both) starlight mints Shoestring licorice
What to do: • Cut or shape the dough into bulb shaped cookies (it may be best to use a cookie cutter) • Cut a hole into the top of each bulb with a skewer or other small, pointy kitchen utensil • Bake the sugar cookies • Spread a layer of frosting onto each cookie, decorate with the candy, and thread the licorice through the holes to make a stunning and delicious string of Christmas lights.
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What we eat for The Holidays and why M
ost all of us have a culinary tradition, and for most of us we engage with this tradition most prominently during the Holiday season. For example, in the U.S. at least, we tend to eat Turkey on Thanksgiving. Why? Most people would say that we eat turkey because the early settlers ate the bird at the “First Thanksgiving.” But the reality is a little more mysterious. Some say that it can actually be attributed to Queen Elizabeth, who ordered a second
goose in celebration of a sunken fleet of Spanish ships that were on their way to attack England. The settlers, still celebrating the English crown, followed suit. But, with a turkey. Others say that Benjamin Franklin claimed that the turkey should be an emblem of the U.S. because it is a bird Native to North America. As such, it was given enough significance to be eaten on one of the nation's most important holidays.
Most of us have been eating some of the same food on holidays for the bulk of our lives. We have been raised on ham at Christmas, mashed potatoes and gravy on Thanksgiving, or latkes on Hanukkah. But where did those foods come from? Why have they been so stable in our nation’s culinary consciousness for so long?
Let’s find out.
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Why do we trick or treat on
Halloween? L
et’s start with the fall holiday that serves as the precursor to all the others: Halloween.
S
ome would say that halloween is not really part of the Holidays, but it’s still a celebration and as such I think we should learn a little bit more about why we indulge so readily in the sticky sweets we gather from our friends and neighbors.
Trick or treating goes way back. It’s origins can be traced to the middle ages when children would dress up as saints, angels, or demons on All Soul’s Day and ask for food and money in exchange for songs, prayers, or other performances. The children would perform and in exchange they would be given what was then called a “soul cake.” The practice spread to North America during the 1920’s and 1930’s, but wasn’t so entirely widespread until after WWII. But rather than performing for their treats, children would threaten to vandalize (usually idly, but we have all heard of a house or two getting covered in toilet paper) and the practice remains a prominent tradition today.
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C
m a t s s i : r h
Turkey
M
any people eat either turkey or ham on Christmas, but it wasn’t always that way. In fact, most people used to celebrate Christmas by eating a goose. During the earlier Christmas celebrations, people simply couldn’t afford to butcher a chicken or a cow upon which to feast. Chickens were too valuable because of the eggs they laid and cows because of the milk they produced. Geese lay eggs rarely, and so it made more sense to eat the goose.
Also, you know how I said we eat turkey on thanksgiving (possibly) because the turkey is a bird native to North America? Well, this plays into the Christmas tradition too. A man named William Strickland brought six turkeys that he acquired from Native Americans back to Britain. Henry VIII was the first to eat the bird, and then Edward the VII made it a Christmas staple.
People gradually began realizing that it was easier to raise and butcher turkeys than other farm animals, but it wasn’t until refrigeration became a major household item that eating turkey on Christmas actually became feasible for families in both the UK and the United States.
So why do many people in the U.S. eat ham instead of Turkey? That’s simple. After Thanksgiving, people don’t want another turkey. It’s time to mix it up a little bit and go for the ham.
FRESH MAGAZINE | 55
H
Candy Canes:
ow did the classic red and white twisted peppermint candy become a recognized Christmas symbol? The candy cane originated in Germany, but at that point it did not have the curved shape we know today. A choirmaster was concerned about keeping kids quiet during the Christmas church service, so he gave them all a piece of hard candy that would allow them to keep their mouths busy doing something other than talking. When people think of the curved candy cane today, people often explain the story behind it in religious terms: they say that the J shape was made to signify Jesus, and that the red and white symbolize both the purity behind his image and the blood he shed on the cross.
Fruit Cake: T
he story (whether real or fictional isn’t entirely clear) behind fruit cake is one of my favorites. It’s romantic and spirited - perfect for a Christmas dish. The bread was developed by a poor baker’s daughter and her love interest. The bakery was not doing well, but she needed money to marry. So the two worked in secret at night to develop a bread with dried fruit and citron. Because the bread was wildly successful, the two were able to save the bakery and get married. Of course they lived happily ever after. A less romantic (perhaps more realistic, although none of us want to admit that) scenario was that the fruitcake is reserved for Christmas time simply because the ingredients are more expensive and because it takes a long time to make. Let’s go with the first story, shall we?
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Hanukkah: Latkes: L
atkes are perhaps the most emblematic food of this holiday. First, in case you don’t know, the latke is a delicious fried potato pancake fried in oil. Hanukkah means festival of lights. Here’s a little history necessary for context: In 168 B.C.E., the Syrians desecrated a Jewish temple and attempted to re-establish its use to be for the worship of Greek gods. The Jewish people were then told that they either need to convert or they would be killed. They chose not to convert and instead fought and (against all odds) defeated the Syrian army. After the fight, they wanted to purify and rededicate the temple. In order to do so, they needed to relight “the
eternal light.” But, they only had enough oil for one day. They sent a messenger to retrieve new oil, but it took him eight days. Miraculously, one day’s worth of oil lasted that entire time. This is why Hanukkah is an eight day celebration and why people still celebrate by frying food (such as the infamous latkes) in oil.
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Kwanzaa: K
wanzaa is one of the newer holidays on this list. It’s just about fifty years old. But food plays a crucial role in this week long holiday taking place immediately after Christmas. Kwanzaa, in addition to being a holiday dedicated to self-determination and creativity, is meant to encompass the harvest celebrations that occur in African communities. It is, above all, a way for people of African descent to celebrate their heritage through different culinary traditions. There isn’t an exact food people eat on Kwanzaa because the goal of the holiday is to celebrate all people who have roots in Africa and the cultural legacy. Therefore, people eat everything from traditional African dishes to soul food to Caribbean food.
All of the holidays differ on this list. Some of us celebrate one of them, some of us celebrate a few of them. But what they all have in common is that food plays a central role. Of course, it’s not the food so much as what the food symbolizes. It’s about tradition and heritage and having something around which to gather. The holiday season is a reminder that food is more than food, it’s more than something to get us through the day. Food is part of what makes our cultures, our communities, and our families tick.
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