EU Xmas
Or, around the glorious federation in a delicious meal. Follow felix on a tour of some traditional christmas delicacies from countries across Europe. Bonus points if you’re sober at the end.
It’s time to get ready for the Christmas dinner – if you already had it, well, it’s never too late to have a second or third one. I mean, it’s Christmas – you can celebrate it as many times as you want. And now that you are a student, time to try something different. I’m not saying that the food your mom has made in the past (well, your whole life, actually) is not good, just that you deserve a change – and go international! Or, if you come from one of those countries/families that don’t make such a big fuss about Christmas, celebrate it with style for the first time. Start your Christmas dinner French – l’aperitif must be French. Have some foie gras on slices of bread and some smoked salmon – the pretentious kind, served in small bites. Of course, have wine and cheese from France too.
Continue it with some Romanian traditional “sarmale” – really just some cabbage leaves stuffed with a minced pork and beef mixture – served with warm “mamaliga” – polenta cooked in a really delicious way: boiled in water until it’s thick and then baked a bit in the oven – with some cream.
Time to have German drinks, too. I don’t have to spell it out for you: beer. Or, if you feel brave enough, go all Russian, but don’t mix them, and try to enjoy an almost sober Christmas party. Try some Czech salad: potatoes with mayonnaise, hard-boiled eggs and boiled veggies. You can eat it as a main dish, too.
Make your Christmas table look gorgeous with the Austrian traditional pig head – it tastes even better than it looks and if you want some delicacy – pig cheeks. Or, if you fancy some poultry, you can return to France with their amazing dinde aux marrons – another fancy way of cooking turkey, but, hey, it’s Christmas so you must go fancy! And complement it with something you cannot pronounce yourself: Rødkål (red cabbage).
Time for the best part – dessert! I recommend Italian, panettone with zabaglione cream. I know you understand me, and it’s not a bad decision to invest in a good one. Don’t forget the “British” part – you must celebrate the country you currently live in – with a gingerbread house. You will get extra points if you actually bake and assemble it yourself, but you can totally rock the table with a good looking bought one. Really, any dessert will do, but make sure that it either has a lot of chocolate or it’s damn good.
End in style with some hot chocolate and stroopwafflen – compliments to the Dutch. P.S. you can, if you want, go all Japanese and have KFC. No, I’m not crazy – they really do go wild for fried chicken at Christmas!
