Eatdrink #68 November/December 2017 "The Holiday Issue"

62 | November/December 2017
The Lighter Side
Sugar Plums Optional
eatdrink.ca |@eatdrinkmag
By SUE SUTHERLAND-WOOD
Charles Dickens knew what he was
doing by stitching past, present
and future together and then using
that great marker of them all —
Christmas — for a final jolt of existential
oomph to really get Scrooge going. Today the
Christmases that many aspire to seem firmly
divided between two ideals that are getting
more distant every year: the stately Victorian
Christmas (bowls of punch, plum pudding)
and the idyllic post-war Christmas (think
Bing Crosby and scrubbed children
whose expectations did not even warrant
a wish list). It’s becoming a challenge
to maintain tradition without it
becoming meaningless.
Indeed, Christmas stress
is the easiest of all annual
customs to perpetuate, and
it’s not being Grinchy to say so. In Victorian
times those who were having swanky, opulent
dinners usually had at least some hired help,
and when Bing was crooning most women
were not working outside the home and nor
were they miles from their extended families,
so there were many hands. Nowadays the
holiday expectation is ramped up high,
yet both parents are working (if they are
fortunate!) and are somehow still expected
to cram shopping and wrapping into the day
and ultimately, may also have to travel to join
their families. Yes, it’s a wonderful life — but
it’s not easy.
I definitely don’t recall all the presents
I received as a child, but I do remember
carefully rotating the tiny handle on a wee nut
grinder in order to dispense the finely flecked
powder into a little bowl for marzipan. I was
made to feel that my role was a vital one. I
also recall coconutty “Coppers’ Hats” which
my mother created using a buttered egg cup
as her mould, expertly running her finger
round to release them. There was also the
dark smell of rum as it glugged into waiting
mincemeat. There was a “Money Bag” cake too
— one year with a golden cord, a pound note
symbol piped neatly on the side, and a ruched
opening at the top, housing golden-wrapped
chocolate coins. (Interestingly, this cake only
ever appeared once but I have never forgotten
its elegance).
The very best traditions sometimes
evolve on their own. One Christmas Eve,
desperately sad and exhausted,
I went against history and
took my sons out for Chinese
food. We were the only ones in
the restaurant and shy, smiling staff
made us feel especially welcome.
We ate steaming dumplings greedily
and enjoyed heartfelt conversation and
laughter, our chins sticky with sauce. That was
ten years ago and we’ve done it many times
since, (minus the sadness and exhaustion)
with great enthusiasm.
As families absorb new members (some of
whom may have dietary preferences) menu
plans have to be modified. This can be rattling
but the show must go on. The person that I
love and live with (usually known as sane) was
specifically dispatched last year to procure
some last minute appetizers for vegan guests.
Upon his return, I watched incredulously as
he displayed on his forearm, not one, but
three flats of cocktail sausages.
“You bought three trays. Of sausages?”
“Well yes!” he beamed. “They were on sale!”
This same year, I had carefully made
vegetarian stock for soup and a pie brimming
with root vegetables only to find a veggie
guest tucking into seconds of the roast
potatoes. “So crispy!” she enthused. “How do
you get them like this?”
Sadly, the answer was duck fat — but
since the deed was done, I just brayed with
laughter and topped up my glass. It’s only
once a year.
SUE SUTHERLAND-WOOD is a freelance writer and
occasional contributor to Eatdrink. Read more of Sue’s
work on her blog www.speranzanow.com