The Current
38 • DECEMBER 2015
Festive food facts and figures
12
Courses that Ukrainians prepare in a traditional Christmas Eve meal
$188,906,668
Average cost each year to feed cookies, milk and carrots to Santa and his reindeer on Christmas night
Soup and Salad, Forza Coffee Company
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Soup and Salad Nothing warms a soul more than a bowl of steaming homemade soup. Soup selections rotate daily, served with Forza house salad and focaccia bread. The house salad is mixed greens with slivered almonds, cranberries, blue cheese and poppyseed dressing. Place your order: Available for $8.99 from Forza Coffee Company, 325 S. Sullivan Road, Spokane Valley.
Pastrami Burger This all-American classic burger provides a little extra with two slices of American cheese, grilled pastrami, lettuce topped with Thousand Island dressing and served with a choice of soup, salad or endless steak fries. Place your order: Available for $9.79 at Otis Grill, 21902 E. Wellesley Ave., Otis Orchards.
Unforgettable Sandwich Bacon, turkey, cream cheese, mayo, tomato, sprouts and avocado served on fresh 12-grain bread earns this sandwich its “unforgettable” name. Served with a homemade chocolate chip cookie. Place your order: Available for lunch for $7.99 at High Nooner, 523 N. Pines Road, Spokane Valley.
Hot Bacon Dip Need we say any more? This dish blends bacon, caramelized sweet onions and Point Reyes blue cheese, served with kettle chips. Place your order: Order for $9 off the starter menu at CorkHouse, 1400 N. Meadowwood Lane, Liberty Lake.
Arroz con Pollo Starting with a bed of rice, this dish is loaded with chicken sautéed with mushrooms, tomatoes and green onions then smothered in melted jack cheese and special Mexican sauce. Served with tortillas. Place your order: Dinner menu price is $12.95 at Palenque Mexican Restaurant, 1102 N. Liberty Lake Road, Liberty Lake.
1646
The year England’s Long Parliament banned mince pie, Christmas pudding and Christmas dinners of more than three courses. These laws were never repealed, so technically they are still in effect.
Bacon Avocado Florentine Benedict, Little Euro
Bacon Avocado Florentine Benedict Smothered in hollandaise sauce, this unusual benedict entices the most discriminating taste buds with its unique combination of spinach, bacon, tomato, and avocado on an English muffin. Served with fresh hash browns. Place your order: Available for $11.99 at Little Euro, 517 N. Pines Road, Spokane Valley.
466 Chan’s Chow Mein, Chan Bistro
1.75 million
Candy canes sold around the world during the Christmas season
Chan's Chow Mein Bring your favorite holiday chop sticks and dig into fresh pan-fried Udon noodles with hand-cut vegetables stir fried in a home-made clear garlic sauce. Place your order: Choose from beef, chicken, pork or tofu for $10.99 or prawns for $2 extra and a seafood combo for $4 extra at Chan Bistro, 1409 N. Argonne Road, Spokane Valley.
Grilled Mac & Cheese Sandwich with Extra Cheese Bacon makes this twist on the mac and cheese sandwich worth taking a shopping break. Grilled on French bread and served with Buffalo ranch dressing. Place your order: Available for $5.99 at Halletts Market and Café, 14109 E. Sprague Ave., Spokane Valley.
Szechuan Scallops Heat up a cold winter day with this hot, chef-recommended dish. The meal includes large scallops with peppers stir fried in hot garlic sauce. Place your order: Available for $16.95 at Ding How, 1332 N. Liberty Lake Road, Liberty Lake.
Voodoo Pasta Awaken your taste buds with Andouille sausage, Cajun cream, red bell peppers with choice of prawns or grilled chicken makes this dish magical. Place your order: Max at Mirabeau, 1100 N. Sullivan Road, Spokane Valley.
Weight in pounds of the largest gingerbread man, baked by The Gingerbread House in Rochester, Minn., in 2006
23
December day that Oaxaca, Mexico, residents celebrate the Festival of the Radishes
Grilled Mac & Cheese Sandwich, Halletts Market and Café
Sources: www.foodreference.com/html/ fchristmas.html; patch.com/washington/ woodinville/10-weird-facts-about-christmasfoods-woodinville
Did You Know?
December Christmas Pickle Celebration in Berrien Springs, Mich., with a Pickle Parade lead by the Grand Dillmeister.
• Carp is a common item on the Christmas dinner menu in the Czech Republic. But guests who dine on traditional fish soup and carp should beware: lore says if there aren't an even number of guests at the table, the person without a partner will die after the New Year.
• Mince pies are commonly made of fruit today. But when they originated in Medieval times, the Christmas Eve treat was made of chopped beef, nuts and spices with dried plums, according to FoodReference.com.
Holiday Food Edition
• Europeans baked fruitcake with nuts at the end of the nut season and saved them for one year, to be eaten at the beginning of the next harvest for good luck. Apparently, eating fruitcake was prohibited other than on special occasions because it was "sinfully" rich and delicious. • A German custom dictates that good luck or an extra present goes to the first one to find a glass pickle ornament hidden on a Christmas tree. There is an annual
• Wassail comes from the Old Norse "ves heill" which means to be of good health. This evolved into the tradition of visiting neighbors on Christmas Eve and drinking to their health. • It is a British Christmas tradition that a wish made while mixing the Christmas pudding will come true only if the ingredients are stirred in a clockwise direction. Sources: patch.com/washington/woodinville/10weird-facts-about-christmas-foods-woodinville; http://www.corsinet.com/braincandy/xmastrivia. html