]
Eve? And, how does your family celebrate Christmas?
Since I've been doing a lot of with SmartFish in Sustainable
Fisheries in Baja, this Christmas Eve I'll be preparing a line-caught
Yellow-tail from Abreojos in 10 different preparations from soup to ceviche to
asado. Christmas day, we will be eating
MSC certified lobster from Isla Natividad (in fact I'm bringing the lobster
myself as I am writing this mail from the island finishing a week of work with
the Buzos y Pescadores Cooperativa on the island) We will start with oysters on the half shell
with mignonette (muy frenchy) from Magdalena Bay and Cabrilla arenera, or spotted sand bass (from Lopez Mateos) rillette, and
finish with the lobster, two ways!
Growing up [in Atlanta], we always had standing rib roast and Yorkshire
pudding on Christmas eve. (then a cardiologist
exam on the 25th! My
father would read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas and we would
leave cookies and milk for Santa. Of
course they would always be gone in the morning!
Turkey, Ham and Tamales! We celebrate on the evening of the
24th with food, drinks and music!
so that on the 24th we are able to spend the evening with our wives/husbands
families.
Well the menu is quite extensive, there will be for appetizers: abulon al chipotle con aguacate (abalone in chipotle with avocado), angulas (baby eel ) con chiltepin (dried chiles) over
toasted bread, oysters and Manila clams on the half shell with habanero-lime sauce.Main courses: bacalao, turkey, pig's leg (that was fed buttermilk from Marcelo's (Ramonetti cheese) cows in Ojos Negros, nice eh?) Romeritos con mole, and desserts. Mezcal, wine, champagne, beer, [and] ponche (traditional warm tropical fruit punch).
2) When I was a little kid I spend most Christmas with my
grandparents Dubost, on my mothers side , but we would go to my grandparents
Molina before dinner and it was two different celebrations, on my mothers side it
was much more traditional Turkey stuffing etc., . romeritos (often called Aztec spinach) con mole. My uncle, who is a marine biologist would bring fresh oysters, shrimp and fresh fish from
the Pacific. At the Molina's, it was
much more Spanish, my grandfather was from Cadiz so there would be angulas (eels), suckling pig, bacalao (salted cod), duck. I
would wander into the kitchen following the incredible aromas and be amazed of
how many persons were working with such wonders. Over the years, bacalao made its way into the more French/Mexican/American Christmas.
Tamales made by my mother, daughters, and granddaughters–its a
tradition that the girls of the family get together and make tamales on the 23rd for
dinner the 24th. Another tradition is we get together the 25th to eat
breakfast that must include skillet-fried tamales ( [they] must have a nice brown
crust) with an egg on top.
Tijuana Si!: What are the essential foods and drinks you have to have on Christmas?
Deckman: OYSTERS! [It] reminds me
of my 10 Christmases I spent in Europe cooking. BUBBLY! This year it will be
Espuma de Piedra Blanc de Blancs (sauvignon blanc méthode champenoise) from
Hugo D'Acosta at Casa de Piedra.
Fitch: Tamales and Tequila!
Molina: Today I cannot
imagine a Christmas dinner without bacalao, the traditional bilbaina, (Bilbao style) style has evolved in a Mexican version with dried and pickled chiles. Mezcal, abalone, Champagne, oysters, Manzanilla
(sherry), angulas Soy un atascado, what
can I do?–I love excess, jajaja.
Plascencia: We will always open our best Baja wines at dinner. And drink
carajillos after dinner (licor 43 with coffee). We eat traditional turkey with relleno de carne (beef roll), gravy and mashed potatoes, [too].
It all sounds delicious–4 Baja celebrations that incorporate a little bit of both sides of the border; that's how to celebrate Christmas, Baja California style.
Follow Stick a Fork In It on Twitter @ocweeklyfood or on Facebook! And don't forget to download our free Best Of App here!
