Pre-Xmas Christmas Dinner

Hello! I am currently en route to spend Christmas with my family in Wyoming, so I thought I'd take this opportunity to post something new. Friday night I stayed with Bill's sister, Fliss, and her fiancé, Anthony, in London so I didn't have to get up at stupid o' clock in Norwich in order to catch my flight Saturday morning. We had a lovely evening filled with music, wine and chocolate. But let me also tell you about the sweet thing that Bill, Pete, and our friends Rew and Laura did: they decided to plan a pre-Christmas dinner last weekend so that I could join in on all the holiday fun, English-style, before I left for America. So we went shopping to get all the necessary fixins' for a proper Christmas dinner and Bill, the chef extraordinaire, began cooking at 9am to create one of the most beautiful meals I've ever seen.

Here's what was on the menu:
1. Roast turkey with sage and thyme stuffing and gravy
2. Carrot and swede (i.e. rutabaga) mash
3. Roasted potatoes and parsnips
4. Steamed cauliflower and Brussels sprouts
5. Cranberry relish
6. Yorkshire pudding
7. Peas
8. Pigs in blankets (wrapped in bacon, not pastry)
9. Homemade mince pies with custard (for dessert)
10. Assorted cheeses, grapes, sliced apple, and savory crackers (for post-dessert)
11. Wine
12. Dirty martinis

Let's just say we all felt a little like the stuffed turkey we had eaten by the time we were finished. In addition to the fabulous eats, some of the highlights included Rew's first go at making martinis (which were delicious), giving Mathilde a Brussels sprout (which she didn't like very much), playing charades, Bill's impromptu trumpet playing, and my very first Christmas cracker. For those of you who have never seen a Christmas cracker, it's a real treat. They kind of look like big cardboard candies and when you pull the end of the one that the person sitting next to you is holding, they make a big POP! and out fly little plastic toys, jokes, and even a paper crown. Amazing! The things these English people come up with. I could be entertained for hours with these.

I also loved being around for the beginning of the Christmas season in Norwich. It's just wonderful. The city centre is all decorated with lights and tinsel, and there are beautiful Christmas trees in many of the stores. As one of England's top 10 shopping destinations (seriously, it's on their tourism board website!) the place is packed from about late November on while people scurry to get their shopping done early. Before our Christmas dinner on Sunday, we all went into the city on Saturday to check out some of the festivities, which included a reindeer viewing outside John Lewis (one of the large department stores). It was an adult and two babies (what do you call reindeer babies? A calf? A colt? No idea), and they seemed to be a bit annoyed to be corralled in such a small space, but not as angry as their handler. He looked as if he'd rather be washing windows than doing what he was doing. Scrooge. Get some Christmas spirit. We also went by the medieval market that was being held at Dragon Hall, which is one of the oldest timber framed buildings in Norwich. I think it dates back to the 14th century or something! Can you imagine? It was fun--lots of vendors and local artisans dressed in medieval costumes selling everything from kitschy dragons and fairies to really beautiful handmade scarves, carved wooden bowls, watercolor paintings, and soaps.

So that concludes my Adventures in England for 2008 (how sad!) but there will be lots more fun and adventures to come in the New Year. Here's wishing you all the happiest of holidays this season!