What a Happy Christmas That Was!

(With more than a Nod to William Blake)

And did those beets in ancient time
Walk upon England's mountain green?



And was the Lamb stew of God M & T
On England's pleasant pastures seen?
And did the gougere divine
Shine forth upon our clouded rain-drenched Potrero hills?
And was Jerusalem builded here
Among those dark satanic beets?



Bring me my bowl of burning gold!
Bring me my meatballs of desire!
Bring me my roast beef! O clouds strudel, unfold!
Bring me my empanadas of fire!
I will not cease from each delicious bite,
Nor shall my sword spatula sleep in my hand,
Till we have built Jerusalem
In England's green and pleasant land.



Sam's Seasonal San Francisco Christmas Salad

Rub the skins of some ugly, evil-looking dark satanic beets with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast in a pan, covered with foil, in the oven until tender. This takes at least an hour, probably more. Leave beets to cool and then deskin. Refrigerate until chilled. At the same time make sure you have some blood oranges and ripe avocados on chill too. To assemble salad, shortly before serving, thinly slice beets and layer them on the bottom of a plate or bowl. Grate a bold serving of fresh horseradish over them. Next layer thinly sliced avocado on top, followed by supremed slices of blood orange. Crumble some of your favourite blue cheese over the top. Squeeze excess orange juice over the salad, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.



Yesterday, we had a Christmas dinner for 20 at our friend Vinny's house. It was so much fun and a great mix of people who all brought scrumptious dishes to share. Gougere, freshly made ricotta, lamb stew with noodles, meatballs, empanadas, potato pie, strudel, roast beef, horseradish cream, salads, cheese, mashed celeriac, cheesecake, cookies galore and choux puffs filled with burnt caramel pot de creme. Secret Santa was followed by sessions of karaoke and rock guitar on the Play station. Outside it was so warm and raining so hard that I decide the best footwear for walking the one block to Vinny's house was nothing more than a pair of flip-flops. It wasn't a traditional Christmas, but it was certainly a good one.



PS. Becks & Posh is going to take an eight day break. Have a Happy New Year and see you in 2006.

PPS. A thought just crossed my mind: How come Arnie is against killing a goose for its liver, but will do nothing to save the life of an imprisoned human being?

Archive Alert! On this date in 2004: Home cured Gravadlax on Loft-cooked Potato Chips.

Food | Eat Local | Farmers Market | San Francisco Recipe | Salad | Christmas | William Blake

What a Happy Christmas That Was!