@movernie
Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones! I have to say, Christmas is my favourite time of the year, more than Chinese New Year, more than any other time. I just like the holiday season, it’s festive, joyful and just so relaxing. If there is a White Christmas, it’s icing on the cake.
Every year, it’s a tradition for our Chang’s family to have an annual turkey feast, prepared by my father, aka “Chef Daddy”, which I like to call him. Over the years, Chef Daddy has mastered in the cooking of the bird. He will order in advance for a fresh turkey at a local grocer. He never like to buy frozen turkey. Additionally, he uses his own signature recipe to prepare the Chinese sticky rice with Chinese sausages with cilantro and green onions as stuffing. Trust me, his Chinese style stuffing is WAY better than the traditional stuffing.
Chef Daddy spends the whole afternoon to prepare the entire meal. We have our friends over and enjoy a turkey feast.
Appetizer: We always start off with a sashimi & sushi platter that I purchase from a nearby sushi shop. We love sashimi and sushi and this is a great way for everyone to dig in and choose the sushi and raw fish of their choices to start off the evening. We usually do the beer & sushi pairing.
Main Course: Turkey aka The Bird. Chef Daddy will bring out the turkey, carved it in thin slice and serve to everyone. The turkey meat is usually very juicy and tender. That because Chef Daddy buys a fresh turkey and not frozen ones. Moreover, he put in the right oven temperature and also calculate how long the turkey should be in the oven based on the weight of the turkey he has for that year. And we pair the turkey withe a Chardonnay from Icellars Estate Winery from the Niagara region.
Side Dishes: Chef Daddy makes mashed potatoes from scratch, no stupid powder. He adds milk, boiled the potatoes and smashed them until it has smooth texture. We also love the mini steam carrots and brussel sprouts. Chef Daddy uses the turkey fat and juice to make gravy. He also has a plate of cranberry sauce for those who loves it.
That’s our Christmas traditional turkey feast. What’s your family tradition? What does your family makes during this holiday season? I love to hear and learn from your traditions.
