I Still Believe in Santa…
I still believe in Santa. No matter how you may try to convince me otherwise, I know he is out there. Ever since I was a kid, the “magic” of the Christmas 
season took hold of me and never let go. Despite ups and downs, good years and bad, I have always tried to celebrate the holiday season 150%. I guess I figured out the scam on the bearded white guy in a red suit fairly early on, being the last of five kids, and with a Dad that blurted out at breakfast that he couldn’t digest milk and it would give him serious gas… Hmmm, no wonder the milk and cookies left out seemed untouched. Forget the explanation that Santa was too full to have a bite after hitting 32 million homes prior to ours. My wife says her neighbor told her that Santa was shot in Luneta and she went wailing to her mom, who responded with something like “yup, she’s right!” Our own daughter had one of those dopey kids in her class a few years ago who took great pleasure in bursting everyone’s bubble and The Kid came home crestfallen and in tears as Santa didn’t exist anymore… I told her only one thing… In our home and others, if you believe in Santa, he will ALWAYS exist. On this matter I do not jest. Ever.
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Now I know you’re thinking that sounds ridiculous, and perhaps it is, but we try to remember to give all of the folks that make our lives so much easier or more interesting over the course of the year. Of course there are family and friends at the top of the list (literally), then there are the nurses, the market sukis, our butcher, baker and if we had one, the candlestick maker. We give the security guards, school staff, all of our employees and all of their offspring and associated family members. Tennis trainers of the Kid, the doctors, service personnel, lawyers, accountants, etc. All of The Kid’s classmates (she bakes and decorates gingerbread cookies herself) as well as neighbors and business associates. The presents need not be elaborate, a banig bag with 6-8 homemade budbud kabog, for instance, or a bilao of tortas… But we try not to forget anyone (though I am sure we do nevertheless)…
priced for the number of folks served. Last year I almost did a taste test of locally available hams, even sending someone to Quiapo to buy samples of Adelina’s, Excellente, Majestic and other brands from around the city. I was so crazed at that point that I never got to post the results…and I have since lost my harried notes. I do recall however that the Majestic and Excellente brands were pretty good. So was Adelina’s. Actually, you can’t go too wrong with any of the three mentioned. But for me, axe the heavily pineapple influenced glazes, as I am allergic to pineapples. And worse, axe the overly sugared versions…for me, hams should be saltier rather than sweeter and the sickly sweet versions are on my hit list. But I have to cross national borders on this dish, and say that for me, the absolute must have ham for the holidays is a U.S. country ham, either a Clifty Farms Country Ham from Paris, Tennessee or a Smithfield Ham from Virginia (the latter saltier, I think).
wasn’t feeling that giddy so I decided to downscale my appetizers to large prawns. But on the day of the dinner, at the Salcedo market, I spied some terrific looking baby lobsters at just PHP560 a kilo, an utter bargain! I bought 10 pieces which amounted to less than 2 kilos and hoped for the best. This dish is also more stunning with bright red pomegranates but the only ones I could find locally were these more pinkish version. Not to worry, they tasted just as good. So here goes, a very elegant looking, fresh tasting lobster appetizer a la Marketman…
of the dinner, I picked out several kilos of baby carrots and was so thrilled at their freshness that I decided to serve them as is, albeit naked (peeled). First, I chose the specimens that were more or less uniform in size and straight and then washed them in lots of water. I then soaked the carrots in a large pail of water so that even the green tops would be re-hydrated and they would look good as an appetizer. Closer to serving time, I peeled the carrots and laid them out on a rectangular silver tray, greens and all (to serve as the handle) and added a simple anchoide dipping sauce…
Here is an overview of the menu, the dishes and a brief rundown of the evening…details of the roast beef, ham, etc. coming up as fast as I can type them so that you can use the recipes this holiday season if you want. But first, the big picture… As the guests arrived, they were served incredibly fresh raw baby carrots with an anchoiade, smoked salmon with dill mayonnaise on toast and sliced smoked turkey breast with spiced chutney also on toast. Several great bottles of white and red wine brought by guests were on offer along with the usual non-alcoholic beverages… After an hour or so and everyone had had at least a drink, we moved to the dining tables…