2022 Christmas Turkey Dinner    12/25/2022 Sunday

2022 Christmas Turkey Dinner

Christmas Day in 2022 fell on Sunday which was my day off. My friend Sunny invited me to their home for celebration of Christmas. He, his wife Susanna, neighbor Xiong junior from Taiwan and I participated. He gave me a big turkey to prepare. I arranged other delightful dishes for the evening. We enjoyed eating and drinking and felt very happy. After dinner, Susanna washed all the dishes. Unfortunately, this night was my last supper with her. I missed her.

Menu

British Traditional Christmas Roast Turkey + Turkey Risotto

Turkey Pumpkin Soup

Serbian Božićna Česnica

Montenegro Patišpanj

Chestnut Purple Yam Donut

▲British Traditional Christmas Roast Turkey

Ingredients: turkey 7Kg、olive oil, salt, black pepper, rosemary, thyme, sage, oregano, lemon, carrot, Brussel sprouts,  celery stalks, chicken broth, water 

Cranberry Gravy: cranberry, sugar, sage leaves, flour, butter, roast turkey sauce, water

▲Turkey Risotto 

Ingredients: Arborio rice, roast turkey sauce, green peas, carrot, tomato, olive oil, water

▲Turkey Pumpkin Soup

Ingredients: turkey heart, liver, neck, pumpkin, olive oil, onion, garlic, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, black pepper, maple syrup, cream, water

▲Serbian Božićna Česnica 

A key component of a Serbian Christmas meal is the Česnica, a special honorary bread prepared for this occasion. Similar to a Slava bread, it is decorated with various symbols of importance like a cross of course, grapes, a barrel, wheat, and other things. 

Other items usually included:

Dren/Drenjina (cornealian cherry) to symbolize good health;

Wheat, to indicate a good harvest/fruitful year;

A piece of the yulelog used in Christmas rituals to symbolize fertility and success;
Corn and beans to represent good health for any livestock.

Unlike Slava bread, the Česnica has special symbolic items hidden inside. One item in particular that everyone hurries discreetly to find is the coin.

When it’s time to eat, everyone breaks off a piece of the bread and whoever’s piece contains the coin is said to have good luck and lots of money the rest of the year.

Ingredients: flour, yeast, sugar, salt, milk, yogurt, olive oil, eggs

For brushing: egg yolk, milk

▲Montenegro Patišpanj

Sponge cake is a light cake made with egg whites, flour and sugar, sometimes leavened with baking powder. Some sponge cakes do not contain egg yolks, like angel food cake, but most of them do. Sponge cakes, leavened with beaten eggs, originated during the Renaissance, possibly in Spain.
Their original name is “Pan di Spanga”, which in translation means Spanish cake or bread.
Patišpanj is Montenegrin traditional sponge cake, influenced by Western Europe especially Spain. Its main ingredients are flour, eggs and sugar. Due to festive celebration, Christmas decorations are added.

Ingredients: flour, eggs, sugar, vanilla extract, salt, baking powder, butter, warm water

Christmas Decorations: cranberry, strawberry, mint, Kajmak cream cheese, icing sugar 

▲Chestnut Purple Yam Donut

Ingredients: chestnut, purple yam, mayonnaise, maple syrup

Decoration: strawberry

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Creative《Year of the Ox New Year Delights》

Publisher： Chef Kar Delight