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There is a lot of great shawarma for sale around here. I’ve never made it at home, and it wouldn’t be the same without a rotisserie anyway. I am not certain what all the spices used are.
There is a lot of great shawarma for sale around here. I’ve never made it at home, and it wouldn’t be the same without a rotisserie anyway. I am not certain what all the spices used are.
Well, needless to say, the Piggly Wiggly doesn’t carry shawarma spice, but I had all the spices for an online recipe....cardamom, cumin, smoked paprika, black pepper, coriander, turmeric, ginger, cinnamon.
We always had roast beef and all the fixin's. What I remember (and liked) best was what came later when everyone was sitting around in the living room:
Eggnog, nuts, some sort of little pastel colored soft peppermint candies, licorice allsorts, Claxton fruitcake. Ribbon candy too but didn't like that very much. Then maybe another piece of pie. Like that until they laid out a buffet of leftovers for supper. Seemed like all you did all day long was EAT.
After presents and stuff at home, we would go to my Nana's house for the big meal. The aunts, uncles and cousins would come too. I have no idea how my Grandmother did it in her pretty small kitchen but she managed to turn out a Turkey, Ham, all the fixings along with apple, mince and pumpkin pies. All homemade. We had potatoes, sweet potatoes, peas and onions, pickled beets, all sorts of condiments. Amazing. I remember a battle with my cousins at the kids table over a toy centerpiece, and my Dad's brother eating so much they nearly had to take him to the hospital. Good times.
The most memorable was when my parents had a huge, screaming, cursing, chase-each-other around the house fight. After I ran out of the house my father suddenly remembered his 8 y.o. daughter, heated up a can of Campbell's chicken noodle soup & threw in a sliced hot dog. I still hate that soup.
Ha - I hated turkey and every year for both Thanksgiving and Christmas I had a hotdog...and a few of the side dishes. A couple Christmases we had a SMOKED turkey which to me tasted just like ham so I enjoyed those dinners!
Otherwise, the only distinctive thing we had was oyster dressing. Apparently an acquired taste that I didn't like until I was a teenager but once I "lowered" myself enough to taste it I got hooked.
Our Christmas dinners when I was a child were probably ham, mashed potatoes with gravy, homemade applesauce, corn, green beans, and sweet potatoes. There were always pies and cakes and cookies made by my mother and an almond letter made by my grandmother. We also had what we called "Aunt Edith cookies" because my father's childless aunt brought us a tin and presents every year. They were butter cookies made through a press with red and green candied fruits in the center.
One of my sisters still makes Aunt Edith cookies. Always had lots of candy, too. Our dinner food was usually good but rather bland and ordinary, but there were always lots of sweet things for afterward.
The best part was that there were always board games and cards. My family played games a lot, both as children and adults. Even 20 years or so ago, we'd play a few rounds of Scattergories on Christmas, adults and children old enough to play.
Those days are gone now forever, along with the family members who we've lost, but I have good memories.
The only foods I can remember for Christmas dinner are cole slaw and mashed potatoes. My mother would get out the box grater and make cole slaw for every holiday dinner. It was delicious. I remember the mashed potatoes because I was the potato peeler for a few years.
I remember the orange and candy cane in the stockings. A big bowl of nuts with a nut cracker. Assorted hard candies. One aunt would give all the kids transparent colored lollipops shaped like train engines and Christmas trees.
I don’t remember Christmas foods when I was a kid. I know it must have been abundant and good, but I don’t think kids really notice....at least I didn’t. It must have been roast beef or ham.
Thank you for sharing. I love reading all your stories.
In my Italian American family, we always did the fish dinner thing on Christmas Eve with linguine. All the women in the family would cook everything. It was always amazing. Christmas Day was always pork - a real special loin that was purchased at a small butcher shop and I have never been able to replicate the flavor. I have no idea what marinade the butcher used, I suspect it had caraway seeds but the rest is lost to history. My family now does spiral ham instead.
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