Boxing Day dinner: lobster ravioli with poached lobster tails in lobster dill cream sauce with trout roe.
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Iāve been calling them Flakey McFlakefaces.
So many flakey people these days. Usually, theyād donāt have the backbone to say no, not realizing that flaking on a host or not following through, is much more rude than saying āNo, thank you, Iām not interestedā or letting a host know they wonāt be able to make it to an event.
Also, as far as Iām concerned, if a guest bails out to 2 events or cancels last minute 2 times in a row (obviously health or poor weather might be understandable explanations), the ball is in their court to make the next invitation or host the next event.
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Amen. I canāt imagine anyone bailing without a rock solid, unexpected problem. But then, itās also fair to note that I donāt invite folks very often, and Iām pretty sure of them when I do.
To be a bit more fair, if I had more frequent parties here, with a broader list, I might get more upsets.
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Thank you! Iām going to be cooking pigeon peas again on New Yearās Day, but will be using some green seasoning with some turkey tail/āParsons noseā/ālast part over the fenceā before then. The NYT recipe only mentioned keeping for one day, but I am working with it.
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Goose looks lovely!
Please talk about the goose. How was it? The legs/thighs? The breast?
I havenāt had goose since I was a young kid at my grandpaās farm, but I do recall loving the flavor.
So - Spill Da Beans!
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Agreed x 10000! Acquaintance at best! This year I spent Christmas with the gang by choice. It was peaceful and full of prayer and music and joy 
.
A guy I just met this year wanted to spend Christmas together but I opted against that idea. When my friend asked me why, I told her that Christmas is a very important religious holiday for me, and Iām not going to risk having it ruined by a guy I barely know and who might leave a bad impression on what is a super special time for me, 
. I have a very small number of real friends, and unless itās one of them, any other social event is optional and usually declined. I love and yearn for days I can do (nothing) 
Also, been meaning to say - Sunshine is super fortunate to have you in her life! Iād welcome a boyfriend/partner in life who would cook for me! 
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I make one every couple Christmases.
I had to order this one in advance, from a specialty butcher shop in Toronto. The pickup was on the 21st. I stored it in my apartment fridge overnight, then drove it the 3 h to London Ont on Friday. I am very careful about meat and poultry, so I froze it Friday, then started defrosting it in the fridge on Sunday morning. It was still frozen around 10 am Monday, so I put it in a bowl of water for a few h.
Took the liver, giblets and heart, to use later, rubbed it with salt. Preheated the oven to 250. Decided to make a quick stuffing (apple, sauteed onions, pecans, celery, currants, dried apricots and sauteed liver and gizzard. Stuffed up the cavities.
Pricked the skin all over, with a skewer, not poking the flesh.
Baked at 250 for 5 h. Low and slow works better for me. Goose can be tough and it is a greasy bird. The 7.5 lb goose rendered over 2 cups of fat.
I aim for 185-200ā° F internal temp for all over the flesh of the bird, and at least 170 ā° F throughout the stuffing.
I checked the temp in about a dozen places, took it out, let it rest an hour under foil while we baked the Spanakopita.
The goose tasted good, especially the legs. The joints werenāt as loose as Iād like. There was one leg that was slightly pink at the joint, must have still been slightly colder, even though the stuffing was reading 170-175ā°.
Since we have a small fridge, I decided to take the goose off the carcass before storing the leftovers. While I was taking the stuffing out, I discovered I had missed a rather large chunk of liver 
. Despite 5 h of cooking, one hour of resting, an hour on our table,it was still rather raw 
. I guess I missed it because it was stuck frozen to inside the carcass. I had taken out at least 6 pieces of offal. I almost wonder if slaughterhouse or butcher gave me bonus offal. Luckily none of us got sick.
I braised the goose leftovers in Riesling tonight until they reached 170ā° F, and reheated the stuffing to 180ā°F.
I usually serve goose with potato dumplings from a mix, and red cabbage. Apparently I donated our last pack of potato dumplings to the food bank a couple months ago. We had our goose last night with Spanakopita, angel hair ( I found out we had no dumplings 25 minutes before dinner), Clementine Pineapple Red Grape ambrosia without marshmallows, stuffing, gravy. Sour cherry preserves instead of cranberry or lingonberry sauce.
Christmas pudding. Chocolates.
Tonight, we had braised goose leftovers with sour cherry preserves. I made a skillet imam bayildi, canned white kidney beans with tomatoes and onions. The leftover angel hair became angel hair Mac and Cheese with some local Five Brothers cheese we received as a gift. CrĆØme caramel from a bakery and more Xmas Pudding. Raw persimmons after thaf.
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The first plate of leftovers tonightā¦ how I love the holiday leftovers! I think I enjoy them more as leftovers than I do on Christmas or Thanksgiving day itselfā¦ maybe because on that day I am usually both stressed and super-hungry, so I donāt enjoy the meal quite as much.
One interesting note: my brother decided to smoke the Christmas ham in his Green Egg. It came out too dry and too smokey for my taste, but a modest amount of it, finely chopped, in my omelet this morning was pretty darn good.
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You are quite wise!! Unfortunately, this incident really put a damper on our Christmas. Sunshine was sad & upset, which angered me. She has been through a lot this year (health wise) and was looking forward to a nice Christmasā¦ getting rejected and stood up by someone she called friend messed up the holiday. She put on a smile (for me) as we ate dinner, but I know she was feeling less than festive.
Thank you!! Weāve been together for 12 years. Sunshine used to cook, but she has developed some memory issues. After a small kitchen fire, I could no longer let her cook and took over that task.
I am thankful to everyone here on Hungry Onion, as I have learned so much and we have a bit more variety in our meals.
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Great feast - thanks!
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Finally getting around to Christmas dinner pics. Just the two of us, so dinner happened at our own pace. Cheese plate (not pictured) while prepping.
The main was duck breast with a pan sauce, served over braised lentils and Swiss chard. I made a sauerkraut and onion stuffed bread to accompany. The bread, which many call pagach, is traditional for Christmas Eve for those of Slovak and Czech heritage.
Letās talk about prepping that duck, shall we?
I was forewarned that I might have to pluck a few errant feathers before cooking. Well, I spent an hour with needlenose pliers extracting bits of feathers from the skin. The dog, watching from the dining room, began crying because the process was taking too dang long. My husband says Iāll remember this as the Christmas dinner that almost drove me quackers.
Barbera dāAsti wine paired nicely with the duck.
Another planned side dish didnāt happenābecause, duck feathersābut there was sweet consolation in a cake from a local cafe. This level of festive decoration is beyond me.
Hope that everyone is enjoying some relaxing moments this holiday week!
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Thanks for the mention of this bread. Recipes I found look interesting and Iāve added to my (ever-increasing) make-sometime list.
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Iām planning to start a topic for pagach when I get around to it later. I donāt yet have a preparation that I consider to beāāthe oneāāas my grandmotherās version was never documented. Until then, this version of pagach is the one I made (though with a sauerkraut and onion filling).
Not quite what I was looking forāit benefited from being eaten warm, and the top rubbed with a cut clove of garlic dragged though kosher salt.
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Likewise, Desert-Dan!
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How do you braise the lentils (what is the liquid?)
What a festive table! Love the ivy dinnerware, and the Santa mugs for āother beverageā. I have a cut glass deviled egg tray that holds 6 deviled eggs and has a long section through the middle for stuffed celery, plus a few compartments for olives and gherkins. I use it for Thanksgiving.
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I like it. Simple, but holiday-ish!
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My goodness thatās a long time to tweezer out duck feathers! Where did you get it from? (Iām assuming it wasnāt a DāArtagnan from Wegmans!)
And LOL at your husbandās pun. 
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This recipe has us draining off the pea cooking liquid(*). Have you tried keeping that as base/broth for a bean soup? Or is it too āmuddyā or bitter flavored given how black eyed peas can have some bitterness when first cooked?
(*) For those who havenāt yet looked at the recipe, the cooking liquid has chunks of carrots, celery, onion and a bay leaf, and some smoked turkey pieces.
