tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33211583.post1819653210037724714..comments2024-02-10T08:13:07.736+00:00Comments on Round-The-World Barstool Blues: Don't mention the T-word!!!Frooghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06738623732860210935noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33211583.post-2717751703554589272010-11-29T00:59:40.293+00:002010-11-29T00:59:40.293+00:00Peking Duck?? That sounds more like Moscow Duck!!...Peking Duck?? That sounds more like Moscow Duck!! I've never heard of using alcohol in the preparation before.<br /><br />I was shocked - shocked! - to learn a couple of years ago that the Welsh apparently favour a joint of lamb as their Christmas roast.<br /><br />In the UK we double up on our gluttony by making Boxing Day - December 26th - a holiday as well. Roast pork is the commonest choice there, although I have heard of some people opting for gammon ham instead. Of course, this means that the turkey leftovers last even longer. For many of us, a turkey curry - about 3 or 4 days on, when the last scraps of meat are just starting to turn a bit - has become another key part of the Christmas eating tradition.<br /><br />I did a post here last year on my <a href="http://thebarprop.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-top-five-christmases.html" rel="nofollow"><b><i>Top Five </i>Christmases (in Beijing)</b></a><i> </i> - although it was more about the drinking than the food.Frooghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06738623732860210935noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33211583.post-88796758765368744872010-11-28T16:18:39.320+00:002010-11-28T16:18:39.320+00:00The Christmas dinner menu around here is seldom pr...The Christmas dinner menu around here is seldom predictable. (By me.) Back in NJ, a couple decades or more ago, Thanksgiving's and Christmas's were pretty much indistinguishable except for the sweets (cookies, meringue kisses, all that at Christmas -- oh, and of course fruitcake -- while at T'giving we had "only" pie, albeit in a staggering array of types).<br /><br />Everyone down here seems to think turkey is acceptable at Christmas but not <em>de rigueur</em>. Someone inevitably suggests ham; I don't hate ham as actively as I did when a boy, but it's really not UP THERE on my (haha) personal Mt. Rushmore of meats. The other one often mentioned is prime rib. I am the only one within 200 miles, apparently, who does not care for prime rib; when that makes it onto the menu, The Missus roasts a Cornish hen just for me. We've also done lobster (one small one per person) and -- brace yourself -- "Peking duck." The latter actually quite fun to prepare, involving brushing the birds with vodka and drying their skin out overnight in a cool garage...<br /><br />Since I'm not often a Barstool visitor, now I'm wondering if you've ever done a "Christmas meals in the 'Jing" post here. (I don't recall such a post on Froogville either.)JEShttp://johnesimpson.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33211583.post-39320446803181737802010-11-28T01:36:23.212+00:002010-11-28T01:36:23.212+00:00Will you be doing it all again in a month's ti...Will you be doing it all again in a month's time, JES?<br /><br />I may e-mail you a 'Don't forget the GRAVY!' reminder.Frooghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06738623732860210935noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33211583.post-675526407334461082010-11-28T01:34:50.069+00:002010-11-28T01:34:50.069+00:00The original initiator of my aborted Thanksgiving ...The original initiator of my aborted Thanksgiving plan this year was bombarding me with text messages (from Thailand) giving 'helpful' suggestions. At one point he asked if we knew anyone who could host a dinner (for 20+ people!!) in their apartment. I told him to stop being SILLY.<br /><br />Cranberry <i>sauce</i> in bourbon sounds... er, rather nasty, I have to say. I don't know why you'd put <i>anything</i> in a decent whisky. Although I have been won over by certain of the Manhattan variations - a splash of madeira works particularly well, I think.Frooghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06738623732860210935noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33211583.post-79595863832686333282010-11-27T17:45:37.554+00:002010-11-27T17:45:37.554+00:00I'm still debating whether blogging about our ...I'm still debating whether blogging about our own Thanksgiving meal would be a good idea. All seemed going swimmingly until about 5 minutes before we were to grab plates and eat, at which point The Missus suddenly yelled, "The gravy! I forgot to make the gravy!" I knew this was my cue to make myself another "autumn cocktail" (sugar cubes and orange slice muddled with a dash of bitters in an old-fashioned glass, which was then topped off with crushed ice; then added 1/4 cup of good bourbon, couple tablespoons of cranberry sauce, and a "splash" of soda -- actually not bad, at least after getting through the first). While doing so in the living room, that's when I heard the second scream from the kitchen -- when The Missus and The Stepson lifted the turkey from the roasting pan and found that (a) it had been roasted with a wad of paper towel stuck to the underside, and (b) it had been <em>insufficiently</em> roasted, with red liquid running from the bird into the pan.<br /><br />I don't know. Relating all this in the harsh light of the Internet seems unchivalrous somehow, even if intended merely to be truthful.JEShttp://johnesimpson.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33211583.post-55797786217844193622010-11-26T08:50:52.440+00:002010-11-26T08:50:52.440+00:00The insult-to-injury climax of my dispiriting week...The insult-to-injury climax of my dispiriting week was a failed expedition late yesterday afternoon to try to purchase some turkey sandwiches for myself and the two guys running my favourite <b>12 Square Metres</b> bar last night (one of whom is a temp, an amiable young American who I thought might be feeling a bit forlorn at having to work on the holiday).<br /><br /><b>Sequoia</b> is the only place I know that does turkey sandwiches (good ones, too!), but the only location of theirs I'd ever used was the Guanghua Lu one which closed down a few months ago. I heard they'd just reopened just around the corner from that former site, so off I went... I blundered around for the better part of half an hour in Beijing's toxic twilight, but wasn't able to find a trace of the bloody place. Grrrr.<br /><br />So, my T-day ended up being completely <i>turkeyless</i>. And indeed <i>foodless</i>. But I drank a lot of beer and whisky to compensate!!Frooghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06738623732860210935noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33211583.post-81688799701402410662010-11-26T00:28:22.627+00:002010-11-26T00:28:22.627+00:00Yes, indeed. Last year, I delegated most of the or...Yes, indeed. <i>Last year</i>, I delegated most of the organizing to one of my young lady friends.<br /><br />I think I've passed a critical threshold with these things now. The modest satisfaction of arranging a pleasant evening no longer seems to outweigh the enormous hassle involved. NEVER AGAIN.Frooghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06738623732860210935noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33211583.post-69954774414702119822010-11-25T14:16:51.832+00:002010-11-25T14:16:51.832+00:00Yikes. Just... yikes.
Life is so much simpler whe...Yikes. Just... <em>yikes</em>.<br /><br />Life is so much simpler when you have someone to do all the social calendaring for you. Then you can just say, like, "Whatever you say, my dear! I'll figure out some way to get through it!"JEShttp://johnesimpson.com/noreply@blogger.com