Seasonal Sundays (Week 52) Christmas 2020

Hey, I know you've got cookies in the oven so this'll be quick, a Christmas-week collection of recipes, including Unusual Choices for Christmas Meals; Inspiration for an English Christmas Dinner; a few ideas for winter fruit salads; some quick 'n' easy Fun with Kids ideas; plus the usual Trending, New, Just Updated. And a new feature that for the moment I'm calling "Made Me Think".

~ Skip Straight to the Good Stuff ~

Welcome to Seasonal Sundays ...

For Christian believers, Christmas is already a time of hope and promise. But in 2020? With the first vaccines being distributed and injected?

HOPE is the hallmark of Christmas 2020. HOPE has us wondering when we'll get our own injections. HOPE has us newly committed to masking and social distancing. HOPE has us girding to stay strong and resilient – especially after a twelve-year old twin grandson exhorted to his grandfather this week, "Hang in there, PopPop." HOPE has us fantasizing about travel destinations. HOPE already knows the day I see my elderly father in person again, there will be lots of tears.

But as long-time reader / follower GreenGrannie wrote this week, HOPE isn't a substitute for forgoing traditional holiday gatherings. Instead, sing along ...

"Someday soon we will all be together
If the fates allow.
Until then we'll have to muddle through somehow.
So have yourself a Merry Little Christmas now."

Merry Christmas, All ... Merry Christmas.

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PICK ONE

Pick One is for those of us overwhelmed by life's unending choices. If that resonates, then check out this one recipe and then call it a day. It's one that I think could make the most difference, the one I hope will become a regular in your kitchen, as it is in mine.

• THE RECIPE Cranberry Linzer Tart An impressive European fruit tart, made easy with an almond press-in crust.

Music for the Kitchen

I finally got organized – again, for the umpteenth time – using technology to play my own huge collection of Christmas music.

Spotify and the like? Not for me. I want MY music not random/sponsored selections. One of the few things I regret giving up when my husband and I merged households? A CD player that held 300 CDs. Yeah, three hundred, all at once! Organization was clunky but once done, all my Christmas music on shuffle would play for d-a-y-s.

Here are a few favorites, not your usual fare, I think. Hearing these for the first time each year, it's like reconnecting with old friend. Please note, all these selections are affiliate links, here's My Disclosure Promise.

And hey, any recommendations? My "buy now" finger is primed ...

• Christmas With The Puppini Sisters, this is such a fun, spirited side to Christmas.
• Everything You Want for Christmas from Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, again, pure fun, pure energy.
• Spirit of Christmas by Ray Charles, this one's more traditional but oh jeez, Ray Charles ...

Out of the Ordinary Christmas Choices for an Extraordinary Year

• THE RECIPE Lazy Man's Ciopinno A simple but celebration-worthy stew.
• ANOTHER TAKE Oyster Stew Fresh oysters in a milky broth.

• THE RECIPE Celebration Salad (Maple-Roasted Carrots with Arugula, Dill, Cranberry Vinaigrette, Pomegranate and Glazed Pecans) An exultant platter of texture, color, flavor and mood.
• ANOTHER TAKE Egyptian Kamut Salad with Roasted Carrot & Pomegranate

• THE RECIPE Chicken Cacciatore The classic Italian dish, chicken slow-cooked in a rich tomato sauce.
• ANOTHER TAKE Italian Lemon Chicken Italian-style baked chicken, lemon-y and garlick-y.

An English Christmas Dinner

• THE RECIPE Perfectly Cooked Roast Beef An easy-to-remember formula.
• ANOTHER TAKE Frozen Steaks Perfectly cooked steaks, starting with frozen meat!

• THE RECIPE Yorkshire Pudding My mom's recipe and secret technique!
• ANOTHER TAKE Cheese Puffs (Gougère) A make-ahead appetizer, served hot from the oven.

• THE RECIPE Christmas Trifle My family's traditional show-stopping English trifle.
• ANOTHER TAKE Mexican Mango Trifle (Ante de Mango) Layers of bread and mango pudding, studded with sherry-soaked raisins.

Fun with Kids

• THE TRADITION A Birthday Cake for Jesus: A Story My sister's gentle way of keeping the spirit of Christmas.
• AND ANOTHER How to Plant Lenten Grass (Easter Grass) An old Finnish tradition, good to mark the season of Lent with children.

• THE RECIPE Homemade Microwave Caramel Corn No mess, no fuss in a paper bag.
• ANOTHER TAKE How to Cook Popcorn in a Microwave in a Paper Bag How to make airpop popcorn in the microwave, just popcorn kernels, a paper sack and NO oil.

• THE RECIPE Christmas Tree Vegetable Platter
• ANOTHER TAKE Thanksgiving Turkey Vegetable Platter

Winter Fruit

• THE RECIPE Winter Fruit Salad Colorful fruit salad when fresh fruit is available.
• ANOTHER TAKE Five-Minute Fruit Salad It's all in the presentation!

• THE RECIPE Mexican Fruit Salad A light and simple fruit salad with a surprising mix of spices and fruits.
• ANOTHER TAKE Eloisa's Jicama Salad Bright with orange.

• THE RECIPE Spinach Salad with Fruity Vinaigrette, Fresh Fruit & Maple-Glazed Pecans A big green salad with a rainbow of fruit.
• ANOTHER TAKE Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing The traditional spinach salad with bacon, hard-cooked eggs, mushrooms.

Made Me Think ...

THREE NICE THINGS Or sure, Five Nice Things, an idea from Cup of Jo. It's a variation on the High-Low my sister and her husband have long practiced (and my husband and I started up again before Thanksgiving) and gratitude conversations.

And yesterday I started "Three Nice Things" with my dad, that seems plenty for someone who's 93-3/4 and confined to a small room, albeit one that just this week cheered up considerably thanks to this half / corner Christmas tree from Wayfair. He's been grumbly and upset for a couple of weeks but this morning, quickly listed three nice things from yesterday. No Paris trips! No hugs! But three nice things in a day. I'm loving my own mental and Notes list ...

VACCINE DEVELOPMENT For all of us who are on alert that the Covid-19 vaccines are coming out of the pipeline extraordinarily quickly, this episode from Fresh Air provides a detailed description and how fast development may well be the norm from here on, thanks to scientific advancements.

Another bittersweet reason? The virus is so widespread in the U.S., testing happens way more easily: more subjects. In China and elsewhere that have tackled the virus straight on? Testing is more difficult if not impossible.

RECIPE WRITING CONVENTIONS Really, recipe writers?

You know how Kitchen Parade and A Veggie Venture recipes include time information, both "hands-on time" and "time to table" and when appropriate, information like "chill time" or "rise time"?

Call me shocked but this week I learned that the "official way" is to ignore all prep time.

If you need to cut up a butternut squash, say, which takes about 10 minutes, magazine/cookbook recipes ignore that. It presumes, by magic! that the squash is ready and waiting, all cut up and ready to go. I don't know about yours but my kitchen lacks such magical powers. So I do it like this How to Cut, Peel & Cube a Butternut Squash and Keep All Ten Fingers and include the prep time.

THUD.

That big crashing sound you keep hearing about coming out of St. Louis? That's me, the needle-averse Alanna who's triggered into a dead faint by the endless images of needles jabbing upper arms.

Anyone else? Just writing about it makes my hands sweat and my head begin to get woozy ...

THUD. There I go again.

Trending

My Top 10 Recipes are predictable, hello Ham 101: What to Know Before Buying a Ham and (Sloooow) Baked Potatoes (How Long to Bake a Baked Potato). But every week, seasonal recipes catch the internet's attention and start to trend.

• THE RECIPE Swedish Rye Bread Slightly sweet, densely delicious.
• ANOTHER TAKE Best-Ever Oatmeal Bread Hearty and substantial, slightly sweetened with molasses. A family favorite!

What's New?!

• THE RECIPE Finnish Glögi (Hot Red Mulled Wine) Scandinavian-style hot red wine "mulled" with spices, fruit and for good luck, an almond.
• ANOTHER TAKE Mulled Apple Cider Fruit and spices turn supermarket apple cider into something special and irresistible.

• THE RECIPE Fast Pan-Roasted Brussels Sprouts
• ANOTHER TAKE Creamy Brussels Sprouts Gratin

Just Updated!

• THE RECIPE Stir-Fried Shrimp with Asparagus or Other Summer Vegetables Tossed in an addictive sweet 'n' sour hot sauce.
• ANOTHER TAKE Shrimp with Tomatoes, Spinach & Feta Shrimp cooked in a nest of tomatoes, spinach and feta cheese.

• THE RECIPE Greek Greens (Flash Cook to Eat Later)
• ANOTHER TAKE Asian Greens

Don't Be a Stranger!

I'd love to hear from you. Comment, send me a quick e-mail via recipes@kitchen-parade.com, dot-dash in Morse code, build a fire for smoke signals, launch a message in a bottle, send a Christmas letter, get the dog to yip, toss me a note wrapped in a rubberband, write a message in the sky, scratch a note in the sand, listen to a seashell, whatever.

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Kitchen Parade is written by second-generation food columnist Alanna Kellogg and features fresh, seasonal dishes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences. Quick Suppers are Kitchen Parade favorites and feature recipes easy on the budget, the clock, the waistline and the dishwasher. Do you have a favorite recipe that other Kitchen Parade readers might like? Just send me a quick e-mail via recipes@kitchen-parade.com. How to print a Kitchen Parade recipe. Never miss a recipe! If you like this recipe, sign up for a free e-mail subscription. If you like Kitchen Parade, you're sure to like my food blog about vegetable recipes, too, A Veggie Venture. If you make this recipe, I'd love to know your results! Just leave a comment below.

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2020