liuzhou

Yesterday's Christmas dinner(part). The centrepiece: Steamed Whole Seabass with Watercress and 虫草花 (chóng cǎo huā), Cordyceps militaris. Dessert No. 1: Hot Christmas Pudding with Cold Cream Dessert No 2 Frozen Grapes in Pernod The grapes I had were too large and very difficult to peel. Definitely works better with small grapes. But tasted OK.

1) Pierogis are basically the same as the Chinese 饺子 (jiǎo zi) 🥟 and are probably derived from them. 2) In summer 1997, I was in Beijing and visited a jiaozi restaurant near Beijing Zoo. This place boasted a menu of 50+ possible jiaozi. I forget exactly how many. There were the usual meat or fish or other seafood types, but also less common meats such as venison, horse, donkey, yak, camel etc. Then the vegetable jiaozi containing your choice from a list of every vegetable known to China, which is a lot. There was also a list of fruit jiaozi, again of most varieties you could think of. Most memorable was the ice cream jiaozi again n enough flavours to shame an Italian gelateria. So, if it's good enough for one culture, I vote it's good enough for all. I still prefer the more traditional Chinese types, though. Donkey Jiaozi

8:30 pm Christmas Eve, this arrives at my door clearly addressed to me. Now I'm trying to work out who sent it!

The market people will send it for you here, but they give you funny looks. Few people want fish already deadified, Freshness is paramount.

One of the few things I haven't done to my fingers.

Pork, flower shiitake, Zhangshugang Chilli (樟树港辣椒 - zhāng shù gǎng là jiāo), red chilli, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, Chinese chives, coriander leaf.

I was just about to ask what that is, but found it's what I know as cavolo nero and which I have used many times in minestrone soups. Good choice. I'll try that.

.,,, and another. This one is fun. For tough jobs. One edge of the blade is serrated and tears through most things! Takes no prisoners!

The centrepiece of my Christmas dinner is here. Got it a day early to give me time to send it to fishy heaven, scale and de-gut it in advance. Still have to decide how to cook it. Steam or Roast? I'll think about that later; the basic prep is the same.

I have both. I don't see them as competing. For me, they have different uses. The Y shape is good for large, smooth skinned vegetables such as daikon radish or large spuds; the stick version better for smaller knobbly-surfaced veg such as ginger and some potatoes.

Unless you forget to set the timer.

1) The Guardian exposé on Champagne grape malpractice. 2) The Great Guinness shortage.

All drinks are flavoured water.

Chinese cooking often involves marinating, either for half an hour or overnight. Where I live is very green and in summer we get a lot of insects (few flies, though I don't know what species they are) which like to investigate. Many marinades go in the fridge and don't get visited there, but some sit on the counter. View from my window Also, in the fridge, aromas can transfer to other items which I don't want them to. I found a solution! These are shower caps. But not in my shower. They live in the kitchen and nicely cover bowls containing stuff I don't want the nasties to intrude upon. The elastic collar fits tightly around my bowls, preventing ingress. The plastic doesn't touch the contents but I don't know if it would hurt if it did.

I worked that out! 🍾🍷

The restaurant used white (green) grapes but I suppose any type would work. I have green grapes in the freezer now in readiness for making it later in the week.

A mixture of malted barley, yeast and hops works well for me. 🍻

牙签牛肉 (yá qiān niú ròu), Toothpick Beef. 24 hour marinated beef slices in soy sauce, oyster sauce, Shaoxing wing with garlic, cumin and chilli flakes, then threaded onto toothpicks. Quick fried and finished with white sesame seeds. Usually eaten as a snack or as a 'tapa' in bars, they are available cooked from some supermarkets but I make my own to get control of the chilli level and the cook on the meat. I find the supermarket ones under-spiced and over-cooked. I go for a medium rare, which only takes seconds. Threading the toothpicks takes makes longer.

Ha! I learned it from an uncle almost 70 years ago. He was Irish! Where he got it, I don't know.

Boiled sausages Are the worst. In your stomach They do burst. Fried sausages Are the best. In your stomach They do rest. Everybody knows dat!

Thanks for this. It triggered many memories and good to see familiar sights after far too long.

It's a desert I encountered in the 1980s in a French restaurant in London very near my home. Simple frozen, peeled grapes in a one part Pernod to four parts water pond. I was always glad my house was just round the corner. Now I can only have it at home, which is probably for the good!

Some last minute supplies for Wednesday. There is a local brand of digestive biscuits, but seriously only McVitie's make the grade. Great with cheddar. (Don't grate with cheddar!) and For with my manchego. These are BIG. Here they are with a regular black olive for scale Then this To be used as a desert with frozen grapes. All I need to do now is decide what to eat. Probably fish, but what type? Decisions! Decisions! Possibly not with this gravy! The back story. The lyrics.

I'm confused by this and @donk79's comment. On the link I posted, at least for me, there is a download button which should show you the complete 30-page PDF of the paper. If you can't download it and are still interested. please let me know. I can post it here or send by PM.

Yes. My grandmother in France had something very similar, too. The article has an American viewpoint but they were all over Europe, too.