Our Christmas Eve meal is fairly traditional. It would be even more so if we were French Canadian. Some years ago my mother started making tourtière, which is traditional French Canadian Christmas Eve révillion fare. None of my family is French Canadian, but the tourtière is delicious!
Christmas morning sees us drinking champagne and orange juice (or orange juice and club soda depending on the age of the drinker!) and eating ‘sticky buns’ (homemade cinnamon buns). That’s the only time of the year we make those and nothing says Christmas to me more than they do.
Our Christmas dinner is the standard turkey with stuffing, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes or turnip, mashed potatoes, etc. Dessert is often whatever Christmas baking happens to be left over or cranberry pudding.
A current favourite cookie is Chocolate Chip Shortbread!
1 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 cup chocolate chips
Combine butter, brown sugar and vanilla with fork until mixed. Add flour and mix with fork or hands until combined. Add chocolate chips. Drop on cookie sheet- press down with fork. Bake in 325 degree oven for 10-20 minutes until lightly browned.
Excerpt from Where the Saints Have Trod, Judith St. John, 1974 (Oxford University Press). This book is based on the author’s childhood memories (ca 1914-1924). She was my great-aunt.:
“When we reached home, my father explained to Mother about the strange family in the old shack. My mother was busy cooking the dinner, but Aunt Rhoda minded the vegetables and roasting chickens while Mother cut cold ham and got potatoes, carrots, a turnip and some apples from the cellar.â€
