We are at that point in the Christmas holidays when we still have cannelloni or turkey in the freezer and a pang of hangover – and also a video in the Whatsapp group 'Fiestaca 2024' – reminds us of the conga to the rhythm of Georgie Dann from the New Year's morning. Halfway between an act of gastronomic contrition and good resolutions for the future, it is time to compile some things that we have experienced during these days in the kitchen, the table and the revelry, learn from them and apply them so that the Christmas to come is -even- better. Avoiding predictable indigestion, not drinking if you don't want to, distributing the work and remembering that it is not necessary to break your budget or 12 hours of work on a meal are some of them (and you still have time to apply them to the Three Kings meal) .
By eating “a little more that is very good, just a little that nothing happens”, sometimes something does happen
Everyone has a limit with food: the usual thing is that we know ours, but it is not unusual that on these dates of tragaldabismo and special dishes they encourage you with all the good will to cross it; and you did it, with the same good will, the resulting embarrassment and Toledo night assured. There is a pretty good alternative that makes it very clear that the problem is not that that turkey, goat, pularda, flan, whatever is not delicious, but that you can't take it anymore: next time, tell them that you will take the portion they offer you. home in a container and you will enjoy it with all the love that this delicacy deserves, but at another time. If you send a thank you message to the person who cooked it when you go to eat it, extra bonus (if you don't want to take your aunt's good container, grab a couple of the Chinese takeout ones that you must have somewhere Kitchen cabinet).
Celebrating Christmas is not necessarily eating from December 24 to January 6 as if we came from a famine and were heading headlong into the apocalypse.
My colleague Carlos Doncel begins to suspect that his family plans to sell him by peso before Christmas. “Every year, if I don't eat a whole breaded bison on December 27 at two in the afternoon, my father and mother ask me 'What's wrong, you don't want to eat?' And yes I want it, but what I don't want is a whole breaded bison. This need to constantly get fed up all the time means that every year, at least one day, something feels wrong and I end up returning more than the Treasury in May.” Special meals, good, eating until you burst for two weeks every day, not so good. “I'm also a person who gives in a lot to social pressure, and I end up eating the whole breaded bison.” Carlos's goal for next year: learn to say no to the bison of 27.
Sometimes you have to choose between appetizers and mains
Foods such as prawns or prawns, ham and other sausages, cheeses or smoked salmon – with which Christmas tables are usually filled before the main course – are already part of our daily food in all types of recipes, while thistle with almonds, roast chicken with nuts, roast lamb, suckling pig or escudella are normally only prepared once a year. Don't they deserve that we eat them with hunger, desire and even a spark of gluttony? If, on the other hand, we really like snacking and on those days we buy the best Iberian products, all kinds of quality smoked meats, kilos of top-notch seafood and a cheese board the size of a football field, why invest time and money and energy in cooking the seconds? Next time, we will prepare a feast of appetizers with good products and we will go through the kitchen just to grab plates, cutlery, glasses and put on the dishwasher.
If you don't want to drink alcohol, you don't have to.
This year Mikel López Iturriaga, foodie director and part-time teetotaler, has realized two things, one bad and one good. “The bad thing is the significant social pressure suffered by people who decide not to drink alcohol on these dates, when it seems that if you don't drink, you don't celebrate.” The good thing is that you can resist that pressure by practicing a kind of combative NO is NO when it occurs. “That is, if someone gives you the drink so that you 'cheer up' and drink, do not stay silent and sulk, but explain clearly what you are doing – violating and trying to force someone to do something against their will – and demand that they stop immediately.” “And if he asks you what's wrong, remember: no one asks people who drink alcohol to explain why they do it, so you don't have to give them either if you don't drink.” Of course, water (no, it's not the only thing you can drink when you don't want to get dirty).
It's okay if you don't like everything.
There is a world between being picky about food and liking absolutely everything, and when you are celebrating there is a real reason to eat only what makes your taste buds dance: the remaining 360 days we will give you the noise with the vegetables and legumes. If you don't love the taste of lamb, you prefer to eat scouring pads rather than roast turkey or the idea of putting a piece of nougat or marzipan in your mouth horrifies you, when they offer it to you – even if it's insistently – next time just say “thank you” , but I prefer (insert another meal here of the 18 available)” with a smile, and that day will be a year ago.
Work in the kitchen, better shared
Does that mean that next Christmas Eve you have to force your way between your cousin – who likes to cook alone – and her ceviche and rip the limes out of her hands shouting “leave, leave, I'll help you”? For the good of everyone, it's better not to, but you can do many other things such as setting or clearing the table, washing the dishes, taking care of the decoration – with some candles, some nuts and some apples you can do very nice things – preparing a list of songs to play during the meal, take care of the drinks or buy the snacks. Our very Italian foodie Anna Mayer reflects: “Knowing your limits helps: it may not be feasible to make consommé, homemade tortellini, stuffed pularda and Croquembouche. Simplify, use already prepared dishes, distribute orders among the attendees or focus on one dish alone, and the rest to accompany; At the end of the day it is about being comfortable together, it is not a competition.” If you are the one who has made a Bree Van de Kamp and he has taken care of absolutely everything, remember that for future occasions as well.
More expensive doesn't mean better (even if it's Christmas)
“It is increasingly clear to me that you don't have to spend a lot to have a good Christmas Eve or Christmas, or rather it is not necessary to resort to those classic products such as sea bream, clams, prawns or sirloin,” Anna Mayer wisely points out. “The prices go up and it doesn't make sense, and we have really enjoyed some (good) well-pickled homemade mussels, which for me are a luxury appetizer: at the end of the day it is about doing something out of the ordinary, which is not “You usually eat every day.” I fully subscribe; At home years ago we decided that on Christmas Eve we cook three things that we love but we rarely prepare because we don't usually fry: tenderloin books – eggplant for vegetarians – with different fillings, potatoes and fried eggs. We have been very happy with our annual dose of batter as a family.
More elaborate, either
Getting up at seven in the morning after Chri
stmas Eve to have a menu ready that you will laugh at No mom and arriving at Christmas lunch as if you had been hit by a truck: a classic that, if it has happened to you, you will never want to repeat. Anna Mayer remembers that the most important thing during the holidays is to be comfortable with your family – blood or chosen – and part of that pleasure comes from minimizing stress. “Not being stressed doesn't mean ordering a pizza; But between that and stuffing peas with deer tartar there is a middle ground, each one will know what theirs is.” If complicating your life is in your blood and you forget the consequences from one year to the next, you can always opt for stews, casseroles or other dishes that benefit from resting and reheating. Recipes that can be made ahead are also good allies. “For example, lasagna: it is a lot of work, but it can be done in parts the days before, assembled in the morning and ready for the oven,” says Mayer. It is also so opulent and complete that with two simple appetizers and a winter salad, you have the menu ready.
A change of location in time is a victory
Luckily this has not happened to me with my family, but it inevitably happens in one of the 76,098 social gatherings that there are during these days: while you eat, that “very sincere” person is leveraged next to you; translated, without any filter or education, “politically incorrect” -always towards the same side, what a coincidence- or the one who simply loves to hear his voice for hours talking about his favorite topics with no intention of listening to anyone in return . If you want to enjoy what you have on your plate and in your glass again, simply run away: there is an immense range of possibilities between an excuse like “sorry, but I have to go to the bathroom for a moment” and a declaration of intent like “look “I'd rather become a cloistered nun/Tibetan lama/hermit than continue putting up with the nonsense you're giving me.” Use it wisely, and let the party continue.
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