Figgy Pudding!

Bobby's parents have been visiting for Christmas, and I wasn't in the mood for turkey or ham this year, so we decided to play with a "Traditional English Christmas Dinner" theme. Figgy Pudding anyone? I found a not-too-crazy website that laid out the feast from beginning to end, and thought it looked delicious, even if it was from the 8th century:

Honey Mustard roasted chicken leg joints
Almost Impossibly Perfect fried potatoes
Brussels Sprouts
Christmas Pudding (aka Plum Pudding, Figgy Pudding, Steamed Pudding)

Well, I must confess that the folks in the 700's didn't know how to marinate a leg quarter properly, but the chicken was still delicious. Cooking meat on the bones makes a WORLD of difference, people. Sometimes I forget that. I had a multi-tasking failure with the potatoes, though, so we ended up with mashed potatoes instead :( The brussels sprouts weren't done until most people had finished eating (d'oh!). I like them better as leftovers anyway. And the pudding...

Oh! The pudding! First, I had to find a recipe that wouldn't get me drunk. Then, I tweaked it just a hair to swap out the dried figs and dried plums (aka prunes) for dried craisins and cherries. That was a good call on my part. I don't regret it. The pudding recipe I used is essentially a pile of minced dried fruits with a little egg, a little flour, a few breadcrumbs, a little nut meal, a hint of molasses, the juice/zest of a whole lemon, and a good dollop of milk. Then you put it in a water bath and steam it for 5 hours. It looks hideous. Smells divine. I was pleasantly surprised at its bright flavor. It had the texture of very firm, soggy bread pudding with the flavor of molasses and dried apricot and dried cherries. It's potent. A little goes a long way. I think I like it better cold, actually, because it's firmer that way.

We weren't sure how the Christmas Pudding was going to turn out, though, so Bobby whipped up two flavors of fruit trifle just in case :) And they were delicious!

I found the whole Christmas holiday very satisfying. The kids make it fun. Five years ago, they were way too young to enjoy it, and 5 years from now they'll be getting too old for it. But this year, right now, it's the best thing ever. They got into both the fun and spiritual sides of it. We served other people more and tried to "Light the World" with our advent activities. I loved seeing them genuinely wanting to do good things for other people. And the joy/surprise on Christmas morning just made me smile deep down inside. 

Christmas night, I was helping James into his PJs and he asked with big eyes, "How many days 'till Christmas comes again?"

"365," I replied.

His eyes got a little bigger, his mouth opened a little, and I saw him grow weak for a moment. It was literally a shock to his 4-year-old brain. He had been counting down to this Christmas for the last 24 days, and that was an ETERNITY! How could he possibly wait 365 more days?! He didn't cry. He just soaked it in and let out a small whimper. Sweet little man.