It seems pretty obvious lately that I have been homesick for my original home country, the Philipines . The result was my several installations of how Christmas is observed back there. I invite you to read them if you haven't yet. And post me some comments about your favorite Christmas traditions.
Feeling nostalgic about how I spent many beautiful childhood Christmas moments, I was prompted to prepare a Christmas feast, the way my mom used to prepare it. I have never felt ambitious nor homesick enough to aspire to successfully pull this off, but this time I was.
So armed with a newly found inspiration, or desperation, I raced to a Safeway supermarket near our home and bought all the ingredients I thought would help conjure my dream Filipino Christms feast. I got all of them. From the round honeycured ham, down to the hotdogs! I have not eaten hotdogs the past twenty years. But hotdogs were mainstay in my mom's Christmas table! I was so excited I couldn't wait to start cooking.
The day before Christmas, my husband came back from his business trip. I told him about my plans and he got excited so he volunteered to help me cook. He said despite some "strange stories" he heard about Filipino cooking, he's really excited to sample my "mom's cooking". I was caught off guard by his comment but was too distracted to mind. My new kitchen adventures await.
In Manila, spaghetti is a favorite dish served during Christmas. My mom served it every year (and in every occassion) we dubbed it "the immortal spaghetti". And my mom has a killer recipe for it. So there I was cooking the sauce, while my husband looks on as he talks to his mom on the phone. Proudly telling his mother about his wife's culinary skills. Then it's time to add my mom's secret ingredient.
As I spooned it into the pot, my husband's eyes started going big when he noticed this special ingredient being added. He started stammering a bit, while his eyes were almost falling out of their sockets. His mom must have sensed his discomfort, and he started explaining to her. "Oh mom, I think my wife just added some cat food into our spaghetti".
I was confused for a little bit but then understood what he was talking about. I told him, "Don't worry, honey. It will be good. It will be, very, very good".
On Christmas day ,our guests came in as early as 11:30 in the morning, and stayed till 10 pm. They kept eating all day and have enjoyed everything I served them, down to the hot tsokolate (Filipino chocolate drink) I served them. And the spaghetti? A smashing hit!
Everybody kept saying there was something deliciously different with my spaghetti. The women kept asking me for the secret ingredient. My husband and I would glance at each other, everytime they said this. A sly smile would come to our faces and we told them, "Eat up!".
After the last plate of spaghetti was served that evening, and another bowl of fruit salad ingested, our guests, reluctantly called it a night. They seemed to have really enjoyed everything we served them. And we totally enjoyed their friendship and company on that beautiful Christmas day.
Well, the next time Christmas rolls around and you find yourselves in the neighborhood of Hawaii, drop me a post. I may include spaghetti on the menu list again. I hope you all had the best Christmas this year!
(Still wondering what the secret ingredient was? Okay, I'll tell you. It's liver pate. My husband is not too fond, nor too familiar with stuffs like these. He calls them fancy foods. He does not usually watch what I do in the kitchen when I cook and is therefore oblivious of the many "strange" ingredients I add into my cooking. He is so adorable, I tell you.
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