Christmas Dinner 2014

Most of us were able to gather together on Boxing Day, the day after Christmas, so we had our family Christmas dinner then. Just imagine how busy I was the morning after that extraordinary(!) Christmas Dinner-out with hubby. Anyway, what an accomplishment. My kitchen was "fully-booked" for the entire day! Except for the pannnetone that I made using my homegrown "chef" about two weeks ago and the squash dish I made the day before, all were prepared on this particular family dinner day.

Here's the menu:

ONION SOUP served with homemade bread-croutons ( Sorry no photo )

VEGETABLE ANTIPASTO

Mixed Vegetable Antipasto

Recipe for the ANTIPASTO MARINADE: 

Whisk together till emulsified: l large garlic clove, minced; 2 T balsamic vinegar; 2 T red wine vinegar;1/2 tsp dried rosemary, crumbled; 1 tsp dried basil, crumbled; 1 tsp dried oregano, crumbled; 1/4 tsp dried hot pepper flakes; 1/2 cup olive oil ( add oil in a stream while whisking.

Pour over blanched vegetables of your choice and chill the antipasto for at least 4 hours.

HONEY ORANGE SQUASH

Honey Orange Squash

Recipe for the HONEY ORANGE SQUASH: ( can be prepared in 30 minutes or less)
Peel and dice into 2-cm pieces a 500-gm squash; put in a steamer and steam covered for 5-6 minutes. Melt 1 T butter in a skillet, add 2 tsp honey, 1/4 tsp orange zest, 2 T orange juice. Stir then add the steamed squash, salt and pepper to taste. Stir gently for 1-2 minutes till squash is coated well with the orange mixture.

ROAST CHICKEN for the main dish!

Roast Chicken with Wild Rice and Vegetable Stuffing served with
Apple-Pear-Craisin Sauce

I actually roasted two whole chickens just to make sure there would be enough for everyone---but missed taking a photo of them after carving it! No photo but everything tasted great!

It would also be interesting to note here that those whole frozen chickens were imported from Brazil, labeled in English and Islamic writings,  and were certified to be of "halal certified quality"... meaning that those poultry have not fed on avian meat or related by-products.  My online search led me to the info that "in order to be obtain HALAL designation, the conditions of Islamic breeding and processing must be met".  In other words, animals bred for meat must not have consumed any meat or meat by-products and that they are handled in a humane way that minimizes suffering.

Other items on the menu were:
LASAGNA using "gyoza" ( pot stickers) wrappers - one with meat sauce and another with eggplant slices.  Those were prepared by my second daughter, her 8-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter. Sorry but no photos!


CARVED FRESH PINEAPPLE

Diced fresh pineapple decorated with carved parrot figure

I carved this pineapple but wished the pineapple had a taller or longer crown which would have given the parrot a bigger body!


PANETTONE

A piece of Panettone served with vanilla ice cream and raspberry sauce

Panettone (baked in Bundt mold)  frosted with fine confectioner's sugar

The raspberry sauce was courtesy of a friend who grows raspberries, cranberries, black currants, "La France" pears, plums, and several varieties of beautiful roses (!).

On Ginger and Beans

Studies have shown that polyphenols have important roles in preventing degenerative diseases such as osteoporosis, neurodegenerative diseases, diabetes mellitus but particularly cardiovascular diseases and cancers. Ginger and beans have antioxidant properties.

GINGER

Did you know that there are various polyphenols that could be extracted from ginger? I have only eaten and prepared ginger grown in Japan and China. Hubby and I love grated fresh ginger on our tofu,  on raw bonito (鰹) sashimi; minced fresh ginger on our steamed fish slices; sautéed ginger in boiled fish and meat dishes...ginger, ginger and more ginger...make food a lot more palatable for us! 

Ginger has a wide range of antioxidant properties. It also helps reduce digestive disorders. These are reasons for it be a popular household remedy. Mixing grated ginger in hot water or tea and sipping it slowly makes one's throat and body warm - the reason for its use in relieving sore throat and in fighting off the cold in the winter months.  Preparing it with brown sugar gives it a molasses flavor and adds more minerals like calcium, potassium and iron to the finished product, which, according to Chinese medicine,  relieve menstrual cramps(!).

Sometime last autumn, a friend gave me a small portion of the ginger candies she had made and a vivid explanation of her recipe. She also gave me a big bunch of fresh ones so I could try making some myself.  I followed her recipe but instead of slicing the ginger into thin, coin-like pieces like she did,  I cut them into little chunks. I thought I could preserve and enjoy more of the ginger juice that way. (See photo below). 

Sugar-coated Ginger 

About two weeks after that, I found lots of fresh ginger being sold at a nearby produce. I could not resist buying some, so I did.  I thought I'd prepare it using a different recipe. After all, I always like to try something different. I preserved the ginger by cooking it in brown sugar and a little cinnamon. Yumm! Sweet and very pleasant to the palate! (Photo below)

Ginger cooked in Brown Sugar and Cinnamon

Both outcomes tasted good and could be kept in the fridge for more than six months.
However, cooking ginger in brown sugar has an extra advantage. The syrup has a ginger taste and could be added to any drink, hot or cold. It could be added to plain hot water or even Japanese "shochu"- a Japanese traditional hard liquor made from grains and vegetables like potato, sweet potato, barley, rice, buckwheat and sugar cane. (I will write a separate post on Japanese "shochu")


 Further reading about GINGER  led me to following information:

 Zingiber officinale -  a medicinal herb/spice in Nigeria- is thought to help in the amelioration of liver damages caused by diabetes. Studies showed that polyphenol extract of ginger has higher antioxidant potential that nutmeg or alligator pepper. (Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine Sep 2012;289):727-732) 

I guess we learn something everyday!

BEANS in general are excellent sources of protein containing polyphenols ( antioxidants) and are low in calories.

Beans can be prepared in various ways but my favorites are bean soups and sweet beans.

My family often gets three different kinds of beans during the year-end "o-seibo" period here in Japan. Someone who feels obliged to a person and is thankful for something they received during  the year express his or her appreciation by giving something back in the form of presents( or gift certificates!)  within the 3-week o-seibo period just before Christmas. Well, someone has been giving us three different kinds of BEANS during the o-seibo season for years now. Sometimes, I wish they were  "Jack's Beans"(!) - then I could throw them out in my garden and climb their stalks ( lol) instead of taking time to cook them. Oh well...

Of the three kinds of beans we get -  white hanamame, adzuki, and purple hanamame- I like the last one best. The ones pictured below are the beans called "murasaki hanamame"(purple hanamame)

Sweet Purple Hanamame 紫花豆(Kidney beans variety) or
Benihana Ingen ベニハナインゲン

Sweet Hanamame served with milk

As with sweetened yams, I like having mine with milk. My grandchildren like theirs with ice cream!

Dining Out on Christmas Day 2014

For the FIRST time in our long married life in Japan,  hubby and I celebrated Christmas Day by dining out at the Chinese restaurant at the former Sheraton Hotel nearby.  We eagerly looked forward to this Christmas Dinner Special as the menu was to include 'soup with truffles'.  Hubby was most eager to taste truffles since there was a TV special on it recently... but I truly think that he must have had truffles in the so many luxurious dinners and banquets he had been to - without him knowing what it was! @(^!*)@

Here's what the full course dinner included:

Hors D'oeuvres
特性クリスマスオードブル

Above were the six kinds of hors d'oeuvres served on individual trays. From top left clockwise: 
chicken meat ball, jelly fish, fish cake, gizzard strips, roast beef slices topped with greens and white asparagus, sashimi.

Below was the creamy pumpkin soup with the tiny raisin-like "dots" of truffles! We were a little disappointed at the scanty serving of truffles but the soup tasted great.  At this point of the dinner,  both of us started looking forward to tasting the Brie Cheese with Truffles that we had especially ordered online!

Creamy pumpkin soup with bits of truffles
トリュフの香り　パンプキンスープ

Prawns with Chili Sauce( made from fresh tomatoes) with 
deep-fried buckwheat noodle "net" and  melon breadstick
オマール海老のフレッシュトマトのチリソース、
スチックメロンパン添え

To get rid of the aftertaste of the oily shrimp dish, we were served a small serving of sherbet. 

Basil and Lemon Sherbet （バジルとレモンのシャーベット) & 
 "ShouKouSHu"(Chinese Shaoxing wine) with dried hibiscus leaves

North Furano local beef with onion slices and red and green pimentos
上富良野産和牛もも肉　ニュースタイルチンジャオロース

Abalone and Shark fins  in creamy sauce served with 
hot fried rice ball topped with scallions
フカヒレ姿煮と鮑の煮込み；熱々の揚げご飯とともに

For dessert, we were served an array of sweets: Almond custard or 杏仁豆腐, deep-fried o-manju, gelatin cubes in syrup, sherbet with strawberry syrup,  sweet Japanese mochi roll. 

Served with hot Jazmine Tea.

Santa's presents
サンタの贈り物
楽しいクリスマスデザート