Merry Christmas

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! Mine was excellent. believe it or not, you can make a decent Christmas dinner in China; especially if you do a sort of pot-luck thing. It helps of course if your family sends you some things like cookie mix, but most of the things that we generally think of as belonging to a Christmas meal are available in China.

Things that are not available:
Turkey------replace with chicken or pidgeon or duck.
Ham---------same as above
Cranberry sauce----------replace with a home-made currant or raisin sauce.
Dried cranberries***-----replace with dried currants or raisins.
pumpkin pie filling------replace with a home-made pumpkin or sweet potato puree.

***These can sometimes be found in foreign markets.

If you have an oven, you can cook a whole duck or chicken. You can even make a stuffing to put inside it.

Stuffing:

ingredients:

Dried, lightly toasted bread crumbs (most bakeries in China do have a selection of french bread. Just cut it into 1/4inch cubes and toast them in the or on the stove-top until they are dry)
Celery (chopped)
Green onions (diced)
Garlic (crushed or minced)
Chicken stock
113 g stick of Butter
toasted nuts (almonds or walnuts)
Chicken/duck gizzards and heart (optional)
carrots (cut up)
Salt and Pepper


Directions:

The amount of each ingredient will vary depending on the size of the bird or how much you want to make. One good handful of crumbs will make enough for 4 or 5 people.

Sautee the garlic in some butter or oil in a pan on the stove. You can add red onions if you want also. When the garlic is clear, add the butter and the bread crumbs. Gently stir until the crumbs are lightly coated. Add more crumbs if necessary. When all the crumbs are lightly coated, add in the remaining ingredients. Remember to cut up any larger organs before adding them. Add just enough chicken stock or water to make the bread moist. Salt and pepper to taste. place entire mixture in an oven proof casserole and bake at 375 F or about 185 C until the center is hot (30min-1 hour). You may have to add more more liquid half way through.

To stuff the bird:

Loosely spoon the stuffing into the cavity. DO NOT PACK IT IN.Tie the end shut with string. Cook the bird until the center of the stuffing is hot. If there is extra stuffing, place it in a casserole and cook as above for the last 45 minutes or so that the bird is cooking.

Stuffing can also be cooked on the stove top over med0low heat, turning gently until all the vegetables are cooked.

Salt and pepper to taste.