Christmas Eve at my home growing up always featured an amazing meal. My mom brought out special linens, fancy dishes and turned it into a beautiful occasion. I loved helping get things ready. My favorite job was getting out the silver chest and setting the table with special silverware. Even clean up was fun when I could put all the cutlery back into its special slots in the heavy-duty chest. The food, the atmosphere and of course the people sitting around the table with me made it a stand-out year after year. But sometimes what was memorable was when things got changed up a bit.
One year we left Christmas Day on a road trip to California and stopped at a family restaurant that happened to be open on the holiday. I can still picture the collection of decorations comprised of shiny stars, trees and snowflakes. There was no theme or pattern to the adornments, just random items hanging from the ceiling or placed on barriers between booths. Given the style of place, we likely ate comfort food or burgers of some sort. It was rather unusual for us, and a great deal of fun. The food, the atmosphere and of course the people sitting with me at the table made it a stand out.
A friend of mine recalls with delight a Christmas Day when she was travelling with her husband and daughters and a stop at McDonald’s was their Christmas meal. Another story shared with me was a family whose tradition of oyster stew on Christmas Eve went by the wayside when an unattended pot led to failure one year. A quickly improvised alternative has since become a new tradition—Christmas Eve macaroni and cheese.
There was a lot of talk around Thanksgiving that the rising cost of food will mean people will have to reconsider what would be on their holiday table based on what they could afford. The same discussions are taking place regarding Christmas favorites. Experts advise preparing fewer side dishes and reducing higher priced specialties to control costs.
Tell that to the chef known for creating one of the world’s most expensive Christmas dinners. For about $200,000 you can dine on exotic fare in a meal that begins with Champagne that tops out at more than $60,000, served alongside other high-priced drinks. You are then treated to caviar splashed with balsamic vinegar that has been aged 150 years. That is followed by white truffle accompanied by a $4,000 melon. The main dish is a rare breed of turkey served with beef heart and fillet topped with truffles and about $8,000 worth of pistachios. (just bring on the pistachios for me). This part of the meal comes wrapped in almost $10,000 of edible gold leaf. Dessert is comprised of beans from rare coffee berries along with a type of watermelon that is grown only on the island of Hokkaido. Various high-priced spices, garnishes and specially chosen drinks paired with each course push the tab into the eye-popping digits.
Planning special meals can add to celebrations, unless of course, instead of adding joy it brings on worrisome stress because there is no way to afford the extras that make a meal a bit more special.
Regrettably, there are many in our community, and in towns and cities across this nation and globe that do not have the means to do what others don’t give second thought to. It’s not that they are wishing for truffles or exotic fruit, but rather some meat, maybe some potatoes, and wouldn’t a vegetable or two be nice.
We have a few days ahead of us before Christmas weekend. It may not seem like a lot of time if you are juggling lists and wondering how it is all going to get done. Imagine having no lists to juggle since there is no big shopping trip nor need to find time to make special dishes, because you simply can't purchase the ingredients. But a few days is more than enough time to give. Give whatever we can so that others will have a little bit more and can experience the food, the atmosphere and the people sitting around the table with them to make it a stand-out year.
As you think about a holiday meal you are looking forward to, whether it is fast food on the road to a vacation destination, or gathered around a large family table, your food will taste that much better knowing you helped ensure someone else could have their Christmas dinner as well. That’s my outlook.
