Une Table For Four

Whew! I finally have the chance to write something down here. The last couple of weeks were crazy! I started shopping for my Christmas gifts in November, but I still found myself scrambling to get the last few gifts at the last minute. I thought if I started shopping earlier it would make things easier, but no, I found myself buying more than I should have. Never has our Christmas tree been so overloaded. It was insane!

beautiful bloc de foie gras, top view.

December has always been my favorite month of the year. Growing up I always thought it was so cool that Dad and I shared the same birth month as Jesus Christ. It made me feel special. Now that I am older, I realize that this means I have more than just Christmas to prepare for. But as they say, all that ends well.

la piece de resistance!

This Christmas we went with the Filipino tradition of celebrating Christmas. Starting December 16, we woke up at 4:00 am every day until December 24 to attend “Simbang Gabi/Misa de Gallo” morning mass. It is said that if you attend all 9 masses, one of your wishes may come true. On December 24, we prepared and cooked the whole afternoon and at 9:00pm attended mass at the church. Then, we came home at 10:00pm, did some more cooking while others played parlour games. At midnight, all stopped so we could hug and greet each other MERRY CHRISTMAS and started feasting on our “Noche Buena”. This year’s theme was Filipino tradition with a twist: Western Food. What did we have? Well, I prepared a roasted turkey, roasted asparagus, sauteed garlic green beans, shrimps with a garlic butter dip, steamed crabs, creamy squash soup, raw oysters with vinaigrette, mixed green salad with warm goat cheese, chocolate cupcakes, apple pie with vanilla ice cream, profiterolles, chocolate eclairs, and fruit salad. And because I knew people were gonna be hungry, I served, before dinner, toasts with smoked salmon, caviar, pates, rilletes, chorizo, parma ham, and roquefort with butter. But the piece of resistance was definitely the bloc of foie gras I bought. If I could, I would buy this more often, but because this is really expensive, I’d rather wait for Christmas. Makes Christmas meal even more special, don’t you think? I served the foie gras with toasted baguette as you can see from the pictures. It was a beautiful meal! I don’t think anyone left the table hungry. hehe!

toasted baguette

And after the meal, we had the traditional Filipino manito/manita (exchanging gifts) and the opening of gifts. Buying the gifts was a major feat in itself. For weeks, the shopping mall was overcrowded and you had to wait at least 15 minutes in line to pay, but when I saw the faces of my little girl and my other loved ones opening their gifts, I didn’t care anymore. I’d gladly wait for an hour just to see those smiles! But of course, Christmas is more than just gift-giving. If I wasn’t financially capable, I’d be contented in eating a simpler meal and having no gifts, as long as I am with my family. I guess that’s why I love Christmas so much. Because for one day, just that one day, you forget everything that’s going on in the world and love just miraculously takes over everything.

serving per person

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