Day 8: Holiday Food and Drink

On the Eighth day of Blogmas, your blogger brings to thee…..

8 Tastes of Family

7 Ways of Playing

6 Holiday Movies

5 Golden Mem’ries

4 Quotes of Merry

3 Signs of Christmas

2 Acts of Kindness

and a brand new Chrrrrrissstmas Treee!

The Eighth Day of Blogmas: 8 Holiday Eats

Oh, food and drink.  Drink and food.  It’s one of the best parts of the holidays.  I was incredibly blessed to be surrounded by so much wonderful food.  My dad was (and still is) a chef.  My mom and aunts carried generations of wonderful cooking between them and share it with us in so many ways.  I used to love the week before Christmas when we would all get together and wrap hundreds of lumpia (egg rolls) for Christmas dinner.  Or the Ensaymada, sweet rolls, my dad would have rising in the corner of the kitchen while he mixed his concoction of butter and sugar to spread on top of the freshly baked rolls.  Delicious!  I remember feeling mature when my aunts would invite me to sit with them as they made siopao or pork buns as they’re more commonly known.

It is the epitome of Soul Food and generations of cooking knowledge and family bonding were shared in those moments.

We don’t get together so much for the mass cooking like that anymore but we still celebrate Christmas Eve dinner with a wide array of dishes and plenty of love and soul spread in the kitchen.

Here are just a handful of the wonderful dishes that will show up at our Christmas dinner:

Prime Rib

Ah, dad’s prime rib.  It can rival any restaurants and has actually served as the standard for my sister and I.  Juicy, moist and full of flavor.  It’s always the main dish at our Christmas dinners.

Pancit

Noodles for good fortune and long life.  It’s always appropriate to have this filipino noodle dish as just one of the many sides that comes with dinner.

S’mores Bar

This is a recent addition to our line up.  I love to set-up a s’mores and hot chocolate bar complete with marshmallows, ghirardelli chocolates, graham crackers and hot chocolate.  The kids love it!

Lechon

As our family continues to grow, the spread gets even bigger.  This year we have a full roasted pig at the buffet.  Crispy and juicy all at the same time.

Ginataan

My Auntie Celia is the absolute expert at making this dish.  It’s a Filipino dessert dish made of coconut milk, sugar, plantains and sometimes tapioca balls.  Served warm, it’s a wonderful comfort food that I always request she bring to our family dinners.

Chocolate Bark

Ah, this dish is mine.  No bake, handful of ingredients but incredible addicting and fun.  Made with chocolate, oreos, pretzels, toffee chips and a sprinkle of sea salt.  So yummy.

Ceviche

This is my sister’s signature dish.  Fresh seafood, avocado, limes, cilantro and tortilla chips  Oy – the best appetizer to start the eating festivities.

Senorita bread

Reminiscent of my dad’s ensaymada, this sweet bread is baked with butter mixed with sugar making each sinful bite so enjoyable.  We love coming to a party with a fresh box from Starbread bakery – the butter still burning our hands as we dig into the freshly baked pieces of bread.

Man, is it Christmas yet?

I’ll have to follow-up this post with a photo spread after Christmas.  And my bucket list includes a family cookbook to help preserve the wonderful cooking from our family.

Be sure to visit The Coastie Couple and The Petite Mrs who are hosting this season’s 12 Days of Blogmas Event.