Peds Family Christmas

Christmas is one of my favourite times of the year. I usually dedicate the entire month of December to planning presents, food and festivities surrounding this magical time. This year I was placed on call for the Christmas period and thus had the opportunity to spend the holidays with my new pediatrics family. Never wanting to miss a reason for a good meal, I quickly rounded up the troops and hosted a Christmas potluck. It so happened that a large number of us were of Asian descent, so we termed this the Asian Christmas Special (trademark pending).

One of my co-residents brought a homemade Spinach, Mandarin Orange, Candied Pecan Salad. The candied caramelized pecans were a revelation here and brought all the elements together nicely. Delicious!

Brown sugar and cinnamon tend to make any vegetable soar. These Roasted Yams were dusted with a healthy portion of the aforementioned deliciousness. The result: tender, buttery smooth, sweet, salty load of tasty.

Another co-resident brought homemade Mashed Potatoes. Well smashed, these potatoes had a buttery smoothness and were perfectly seasoned. They served as a canvas for the meats and gravy.

Homemade Cranberry Sauce is as simple as adding fresh cranberries to sugar water, waiting for them to pop and then finishing up with a few more fresh berries. Tart and sweet, this complimented the turkey, stuffing and mash quite well.

Homemade Stuffing consisted of the holy trinity of vegetables (carrots, onions and celery) mixed in with toasted breadcrumbs and fresh herbs, brought together by chicken stock and finished in the oven. I quickly realized it was crucial to use dry and, somewhat, overtoasted bread as I felt this came out too moist for my liking.

Holiday Ham is a must for Christmas. A small fully cooked ham is marinated with brown sugar, orange juice and maple syrup and finished in the oven for 2 hours with slices of pineapple. This was a crowd pleaser and the crowning dish of the night. Wonderfully juicy with a hint of the sweetness of the ingredients, this is a recipe I will carry forward.

You might be able to tell this already, but the Roasted Turkey was dry. As the first sin not to commit for turkey, I do feel responsible for the dry and altogether tasteless turkey. Thankfully my company did not seem to mind. Mental note to self: get a meat thermometer next time!

We finished off the meal by building a Gingerbread House. This was a pre-made house at Costco and came with all the icing and decorations.

I had a fantastic time and could not have imagined a better group of friends to spend the holidays with. I find that events like this brings us together and engenders positive workplace energy and cohesiveness. And ... it gave me an excuse to cook an elaborate supper. Merry Christmas everybody!