Winter 2018 Issue

The holidays are upon us. Whew.

My family and friends often hear me remark that I would rather be happy on a random Tuesday in May than have to don what may be a mask of gaiety and “familial love” de rigeuer during the holidays. Thankfully, most Tuesdays in May find me happy, and they definitely always find me grateful for all the blessings, and even the seeming curses, of my life.

Georgeanne Brennan’s story in this issue on the 13 desserts of the traditional Provencal Christmas Eve dinner gave me occasion to consider the food traditions of my own family during the holidays. On my mother’s side, we had turkey with all the fixings for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. I always felt like the bland broad-breasted turkey was a waste of valuable real estate compared to the bourbon brown sugar sweet potatoes (stuffed into orange rinds and topped with marshmallows, of course—this was the South), cornbread dressing and green bean casserole topped with French-fried onions (again, of course). The holiday pies were also lost on me. Pass the gravy, please.

On my father’s side, we had turkey for Thanksgiving but delicious fried wild quail with wild rice on Christmas. These, too, were accompanied by gravy—reason enough to come to the holiday table.

Bourbon-spiked milk punch was another holiday-morning tradition in my childhood home. Daniel Ojinaga’s recipe for a Frozen Caffe-Cino cocktail in this issue that includes a coffee liqueur distilled by Petaluma’s Griffo Distillery using Equator Coffees & Teas coffee, as well as Straus Family Creamery ice cream, takes the milk punch notion up a notch, or several, and will definitely be gracing my holiday celebrations this year.

Since moving to Northern California over 20 years ago, I have wholeheartedly embraced the holiday tradition of serving Dungeness crab, and this year’s crab season seems to be off to an auspicious start. I have a strong suspicion that the Roasted Dungeness Crab with Garlic Butter dish contributed by Chef Matthew D’Ambrosi of Healdsburg’s Spoonbar, Pizzando and the rooftop bar at the newly opened Harmon Guest House in this issue is going to become a new tradition among our family and friends.

Whether you choose to adhere to your childhood or cultural food traditions during the holidays, or strike out to create your own, I wish you nourishing and delicious celebrations this season, shared with those you love.