Christmas in England

Scrooge (Alastair Sim) and the Ghost of Christmas Present (Francis de Wolff) watching the Cratchit family carve their Christmas goose

The 1951 Christmas Carol (or Scrooge) is the definitive film version and Alastair Sim is the definitive Scrooge. I sometimes feel a little irritated when films are made of my favourite books (I don't think they've made a perfect Tale of Two Cities yet and the most recent Brideshead Revisited film was a travesty) but this Christmas Carol, while changing a couple of things, is the most faithful to Dickens' vision and spirit. It's inspiring. It's tradition.


CHRISTMAS IN ENGLAND WITH MULLED WINE AND ROASTED CHESTNUTS


Mulled Wine




2 x 750 ml bottles of red wine
2 oranges, sliced thinly
4 cinnamon sticks
10 whole cloves
1/4 cup dark rum
4 tablespoons dark brown sugar



Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan over medium-high heat and cook, stirring every few minutes or so, until steaming but NOT boiling! Serve warm in mugs or heatproof glasses, garnished with a cinnamon stick. Mulled wine makes beautiful music, especially when accompanied by roasted chestnuts.



Roasted Chestnuts

Chestnuts (however many you can beg, borrow or steal ;)
Water (enough to cover the nuts)


Soak your chestnuts in room temperature water for 20-30 minutes to soften the shells.


Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.


With a sharp knife, make slits in the flat side of each chestnut (to allow the steam to escape and prevent the nuts from exploding) in an X shape. Place the nuts on a baking sheet with the cut sides up and bake for 20-25 minutes until fragrant and easy to peel (the nut inside will be golden brown). Peel when cool enough to handle and eat while warm.



God bless us, every one!

Remembering my Aunt...

I freely admit that I have only seen two James Bond movies, a Sean Connery and a Pierce Brosnan and I have no intention of seeing another one any time soon. Having a dad and brothers, though, I felt impelled to mention it. But I'm really here for the food, which is a savoury, zesty chili. Whether you’re watching Bond, James Bond by yourself or invited to a friend’s house for an hours long Bond fest, this is the perfect thing to make. It’s manly and suave, while also being comforting and filling.

Incidentally, if you like chili, check out the book Chili Nation by Jane and Michael Stern, a wonderful, humorous and homey cookbook with a recipe for chili from every state in the Union.

This is my aunt's recipe for chili. She didn't like to cook, and relied on the same few recipes over and over. Each one was perfected over years of making them. When I remember her, I picture her sitting at her kitchen table with a mug of coffee in front of her, chin resting on her hand, pondering before she spoke. She didn't talk loudly or a lot, but when she did, as my mother said, "words of honey dripped from her lips." Her home was a haven for many people, not because the house itself was anything out of the ordinary, a little house in a little town. But because she was something special. Lorraine made it her business to get to know everyone a little bit, to see how they were feeling and give them exactly what they needed, whether that be silence or conversation, laughter or commiseration, a hot cup of coffee or a big bowl of chili, a slow walk around the neighbourhood or a good long time slumped in front of the TV. She was loved dearly. She is much missed. May she rest in peace.

AUNT LORRAINE'S CHILI

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef

1 large onion, chopped

4 celery sticks, diced

1/2 green bell pepper, diced

1 x 28 ounce can plum tomatoes

1/2 small can tomato paste

1 x 14 ounce can kidney beans

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons dried parsley

1 tablespoon chili powder

2 teaspoons cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon salt

Pinch of nutmeg

5 garlic cloves, minced

Brown the meat over medium heat, breaking it up and stirring regularly, until most of the pinkness in the meat is gone. Add the onions, celery and green pepper and continue frying and stirring until the meat is nicely browned.

In another large pot, combine all of the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Add the meat and vegetable mixture and stir to combine. Simmer for 15-20 minutes and serve hot, maybe with biscuits to accompany.

And They were Sore Afraid...

A Charlie Brown Christmas is a holiday classic, played countless times every year on several TV channels, beginning in mid-November. It's a perennial favourite for Christians and non-Christians alike, its showcasing of Luke 2 notwithstanding. At Christmas time, we all want meaning. The original meaning of Christmas bursts everywhere in our culture, political correctness uncomfortably unable to keep a lid on it, with "Season's Greetings" and "Happy Holidays." And somehow people love Charlie Brown, whatever their beliefs. It isn't just the awesome jazz piano composed by the late great Vince Guaraldi. It isn't just the quotable lines ("All I want's my fair share!" "He never got his picture on bubblegum cards!" "I know when I've been insulted; I know when I've been insulted!"). It's the children singing together. It's the little tree: pathos on a spindly trunk. It's Linus reciting from the Gospel of Luke. This is the meaning of Christmas, Charlie Brown.

CANDY CANE HOT CHOCOLATE (serves 1, but is easily doubled, tripled, etc)

2 cups milk
1 scant tablespoon cocoa
1 generous (but not exactly heaping) tablespoon of sugar
1 tablespoon creme de menthe or peppermint schnapps
2-3 tablespoons whipped cream
Candy cane or Christmas sprinkles to garnish (optional)

Combine the milk, cocoa and sugar in a small sauce pan over medium-high heat, stirring every few minutes until very hot. Do not allow to boil! Remove from heat.

Pour into a medium sized mug and stir in the creme de menthe. Dollop the whipped cream on top of the hot chocolate and garnish with the candy cane and/or the Christmassy sprinkles, if using.

Comfort Film, Comfort Food

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
1986; Matthew Broderick
Directed by John Hughes

This movie was made when I was four years old and I watched it for the first time at the age of 23, but I think the concept is timeless. Ferris Bueller (Matthew Broderick) may be seventeen, but he has the outlook of an innocent and joyful twelve year old who reads comics and lives in a world of bumbling villains (his Dean of students, Mr. Rooney, played by Jeffery Jones) and afternoons of freedom consisting of driving down the highway in a red Ferrari, hair blowing in the wind.

Whether I am having a twelve year old moment myself or simply grinning in remembrance, there is something quirky and loveable about Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, something that makes me realize that childhood really wasn’t that rigorous after all.

In honour of your Kraft Dinner days, I offer Mac and Cheese, homemade and with some grownup elements. This is a far cry from the bright orange packaged stuff, but familiar and creamy enough to transport you back to your own days of dreams and schemes.

CREAMY MACARONI AND CHEESE

500 grams elbow macaroni

1 cup butter

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

5 cups whole milk

2 cups grated Cheddar cheese, the older and sharper, the better

1 1/2 cups grated Parmeggiano Reggiano cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

Put on a pot of water to boil for the macaroni. Boil the pasta for 2 minutes less than the package directions call for. While the pasta is boiling, melt the butter in another pot over medium-low heat. When melted, stir in the flour and keep stirring for about five minutes, long enough to toast the flour and get rid of that raw wheat, pasty taste. After five minutes, remove from heat and stir in the nutmeg and SLOWLY whisk in the milk. Too fast will result in lumps. When the milk is whisked in, return to the hot plate and whisk constantly for 10-15 minutes, until the floury taste is gone and the sauce begins to thicken slightly. Remove from heat and stir in the cheese, reserving 1/2 cup Cheddar, until it is melted.

When the pasta is cooked, drain it and dump into a large pan or casserole dish. Toss with the cheesy sauce until well combined. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup Cheddar over the mac and cheese. Bake for 20 minutes or so, until the mac and cheese is bubbling and the cheese on top has melted and is beginning to brown a bit in places. Let stand out of the oven for about 10 minutes before serving, comfortingly, with a salad, or just as is.

The Taste of Love is Sweet...

Walk The Line
2005; Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon
Directed by James Mangold

When Walk the Line came out, I was anticipating it for weeks. I grew up listening to Johnny Cash, both from our stereo and from my father’s voice singing me to sleep. I dug up all of Johnny Cash’s albums hits and listened to them over and over in the weeks leading to the film’s release. I read about the film whenever I saw an article on it, adding to my trove of knowledge facts that are now well known. Like that Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon (playing Johnny Cash and June Carter) did their own singing and that Phoenix learned to play the guitar as well. The day before I went to see Walk the Line, I realized that I might have built it up too much in my mind. Yes, I love Johnny Cash and I love Joaquin Phoenix, but I was setting myself up for disappointment, right? So I reeled in my enthusiasm and went to see the movie in a sceptical mood with great expectations bubbling beneath.

This is one of those occasions that I thank God I’m not a film reviewer. If I had had to rush home from my viewing and write up a neat review of Walk the Line for the next day’s paper, it would be nothing but a gushy love letter. I left the film saddened, (because Johnny Cash’s life was an ultimately hopeful one but touched with extreme sorrow) but certainly not disappointed. Walk the Line is a story of lasting and sacrificial love and it surpassed my expectations, not least in Reese Witherspoon’s singing. Yes, Joaquin Phoenix is mesmerizing as the Man in Black, but he had to be for the film to work and I knew he would be. I wasn’t sure about Reese Witherspoon, but she sang and acted just as strongly and perfectly as Phoenix, which is saying a lot.

On to food…. It started with a southern preoccupation. Johnny Cash was from Arkansas and I was thinking of southern food. A few months before seeing this film, I had checked out a pile of back issues of “Bon Appetit” magazine from the library. There was an interview with Roseanne Cash in the July 2004 issue. Ms. Cash said that her grandmother was a fantastic cook and that “every meal had at least three entrees, six side dishes, corn bread, biscuits and three desserts.” She also mentioned that her father used to crank homemade ice cream on the porch. I located this magazine again while writing this and thought, ‘Biscuits, that’s it!’

The thing is, I don’t want to eat much while watching Walk the Line. It’s too riveting, too poignant, too sad to want to use my non-film-watching-senses. But biscuits are soft and warm, gentle on the palate, southern, comforting, reminiscent of a mother’s love (whether your mom made these or not) and easy to eat. I'm not sure if a Southerner would think they were authentic and as a Canadian, this isn't really my area of culinary expertise, but I stand by my biscuits. This recipe, which I'll admit I came to through trial and error, is very easy and tastes divine served warm and slathered with butter.

BISCUITS

4 cups all purpose flour

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup cold butter, cut into pieces

1 3/4 cups buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Combine the dry ingredients and cut in the butter until it resembles coarse meal. Stir in the buttermilk until just combined and moist clumps form. Don't overmix or the biscuits will be tough. Shape into 12 biscuits and place on a greased cookie sheet. (You can see from the picture that I'm not Martha Stewart-ish in my biscuit shaping.) Bake the biscuits for 20 minutes or so, until the bottoms are golden-brown and the tops are beginning to be golden as well. Serve warm with butter, jam, or just as is.