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Mexican Lifestyles Food & Dining 'Tis The Season To Savor Holiday Cuisine
Mexican Lifestyles Food & Dining 'Tis The Season To Savor Holiday Cuisine | 'Tis The Season To Savor Holiday Cuisine |
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| Written by GR Staff | |
| Saturday, 23 December 2006 | |
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As in other Christian countries around the world, the celebration of Christmas in Mexico is an amalgamation of religious, family and social customs, enjoyed with greater gusto when accompanied by traditional foods. The cena navideña (Christmas dinner) is a late-night feast customarily served when the family returns home after attending Christmas Eve church services.
For many Mexican households, tight financial circumstances will dictate an economical spread of tamales, pozole or roasted chicken. However, for those who can afford it, the classic holiday menu is composed of a variety of dishes representative of the country's unique mestizo cuisine. Naturally pavo (turkey) – the feasting fowl native to the Americas – is the most popular choice for the main course. The bird is usually prepared for Mexican tables with a rich stuffing based on ground meats and sausages rather than the familiar Anglo bread dressing. A popular holiday main dish of Spanish origin is bacalao a la vizcaina, a toothsome stew of dried cod and potatoes flavored olive oil, onions, garlic and green olives. Another standard is romerito, a spicy concoction made by combining wild greens similar to rosemary and tortitas de camaron (dried shrimp fritters) in a rich mole sauce. Ensalada de Nochebuena, a colorful salad platter made up of lettuce, beets, oranges, jicama and peanuts, helps refresh the palate. To accompany their cena, diners may uncork a bottle of wine or sidra, a sparkling apple cider. Another option is pop open frosty bottles of Noche Buena, the classic Mexican dark beer marketed only during the holiday season. For the sweet tooth, favorite holiday treats are buñuelos, paper-thin flour wafers that are fried to a golden crisp and garnished with sticky syrup or sprinkled with sugar. Enshrouding the Noche Buena feast is a family fiesta that generally encompasses gift exchanges and camaraderie that won't wind down until dawn. As result, December 25 is a quiet day of rest and relaxation, even for the Mexican housewife whose usual kitchen duties may reduced to simply spooning out warmed up leftovers, known as the recalenton. |
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