Snapshot Chronicles

Susan Getgood's personal blog

Christmas traditions

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Like most families, our Christmas traditions are a blend of heritage, family and the things you add just because YOU like them. Or sometimes, as most of my family will attest in the case of my Christmas music, ONLY because you like them. But I digress.

At my house, our Christmas tree is a blend of old and new traditions, purchased, hand and home-made ornaments. From my childhood, a tradition that my mom brought home the to the US after living in Germany in the early 60s – a mushroom and at least one bird on the tree. I still have a two of the glass ornaments from that era – one on the tree and one on display year round in my office. From my 20s, when I first started having my own tree, handmade quilled ornaments and a needlpoint Santa. Starting in the 90s, an obsession with Scottish Terriers as well as ornaments for every animal in the house, past and present.

My son and I have started a couple traditions together. We have fun hiding (and finding) the glass pickle ornament, and we buy an ornament every year that represents something we did together during the year. This year it was the Empire State Building. We also have a Christmas Village, and have selected all the buildings together, making for an eclectic village full of fire trucks and flamingos as well as the homes, shops and restaurants one would expect.

We also have a few traditions that come right from the time I spent in France during high school and college. Our nativity scene is French santons, a collection I started when I was 16, and every year I make (or sometimes buy) a galette des rois for La Fête des Rois (Epiphany, January 6th).

Christmas Dinner however is straight up British Isles (at least until dessert) – Roast Beef, Yorkshire Pudding and a vegetable (usually steamed brussel sprouts or green beans to add some color to the plate). For dessert, I used to make BIG desserts like cheesecake, tartes, even the occasional Buche de Noël, but in past years I either make Gingerbread or Cranberry Spice Cake. This year we had two dinners, one on Christmas itself, and one Saturday when my son returned for  his holiday time with his father so I was able to make both desserts. Both were  originally from Bon Appétit and are linked above.

As I was preparing the meal yesterday, I tortured friends on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter with the progression of the meal. Here for your pleasure is the short version.

The Cranberry Cake (recipe)

Cranberry Spice Cake with Lemon Glaze and Cranberry Orange Compote
Cranberry Spice Cake with Lemon Glaze and Cranberry Orange Compote

Roast Beef and Yorkshire Pudding

A good meat thermometer is crucial to a successful roast beef. For medium with a warm very pink center , I cook it to about 140°F internal temperature. If you like it more rare, take it out sooner. It NEVER hurts to take it out sooner and check. You can always cook it more, but you can NEVER un-cook it.

The cooked roast should rest for about 30 minutes before carving, which gives you the necessary time to steam your chosen vegetable and cook the Yorkshire Pudding. My recipe for Yorkshire pudding is adapted from one that appeared in Bon Appétit (December 1988) as well, but it predates epicurious.com so I reproduce it here, with some of my twists and alterations.

Yorkshire Pudding (8 servings)
1-1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
3/4 cups milk
3/4 cups water
3 large eggs
3/4 tsp. salt (I use Kosher or Sea salt)

about 3 TBS butter
2-4 ounces sharp cheddar, grated. (I use the more generous amount, play around with proportion that pleases you. Even with a generous amount, the  finished dish does not taste cheesy at all.)

Blend first five ingredients in blender until smooth and foamy, stopping occasionally to scrape down side of container. About one minute. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 and up to 3 hours.

Preheat oven to 400°F. Heat butter in 14×11 roasting pan in oven until butter melts. I prefer a glass or oven proof ceramic dish (versus a metal roasting pan). Whisk batter to blend and pour into pan. Immediately sprinkle with cheese.

If you use the more generous amount of cheese you will cover the top. Bake 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 375°F. Bake until top is golden brown and edges are slightly puffed, about 20-25 more minutes. Cut into squares and serve.

If you make it when preparing a roast, melt the butter in the roasting pan during the last 15-20 minutes or so of the  roast’s cooking time. When you take the roast out to rest, adjust the oven temperature to 375°F and continue as above. Your Yorkshire Pudding should finish just about the same time you finish carving the roast.

Yorkshire Pudding in the oven, just about done
Yorkshire Pudding in the oven, just about done

 

Roast Beast
Roast Beast

 

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The December 2013 Bigot Olympics

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Just when you thought it couldn’t get any weirder, we have the December 2013 Bigot Olympics.

Granted, there were other notable examples of racism, sexism and homophobia in the news over the year, not the least of which was the verdict in the killing of Trayvon Martin.

But December was truly the lightning round, with three stupendous examples of bigotry for our consideration:

  • “Reporters” at Faux News debate Santa’s race, positing that, despite evidence to the contrary, Santa must be a white dude;
  • A minor celebrity from an odd (and oddly successful) reality show about a family business, in which many of the adult males resemble ZZ Top (but without the humor, and quite possibly, talent), goes on the record with his racism and homophobia;
  • A PR professional tweets a racist comment just prior to boarding a long flight to South Africa, setting off a Twitter-storm of reaction, immediate response from her employer and ultimately, termination of her employment.

Hard to pick a “winner” here. At first glance, it would seem the PR person and her clueless use of Twitter is the hands-down choice. Racist, check. Cultural ignorance, check. Professional suicide, check. Now perhaps the effects on her career are short term, as Peter Shankman argues on Facebook but still…

But I have to give Justine Sacco the Bronze Medal. Yes, from all the evidence, she is racist, but the thing thing about racism or any prejudice? Bigots don’t know they *are* racist or homophobic or sexist or xenophobic. If they understood it, they wouldn’t say and do the stupid, awful, damaging things they do. Apart from sociopaths, most folks, if we know it is wrong, we don’t do it.

That’s what makes the whole damn thing so sad and dangerous, and how people can say with a straight face, “But some of my best friends are _______,” and not understand how pathetic and wrong they are.

Sad that we (collectively) have to point it out to her, but I am holding out hope for Justine now that her own racism has been outed in such a BIG way. Third Place.

Next up, Phil Robertson of Duck Dynasty. Racist and homophobic though he may be, and irritated as I am that he has a platform to spread his views, I also have to admit to not being terribly surprised that he has these opinions. Perhaps that is my prejudice showing, but so be it. Phil edges Justine in my rankings  because I just don’t see him apologizing or retracting. Ever. In fact, he seems to be wearing his bigotry with pride.

It was funny when it was Archie Bunker, a fictional character whose purpose was to shine the light on prejudice. Not so much 30 years later. The good news is that sooner or later Phil and his family, and their influence, will fade like the echo of a duck call, so the long term damage of his hateful speech is minimal. He just won’t be relevant. For many of us, he is already irrelevant, and his only purpose is a good excuse to engage in the conversation about equality. [Side Note: For those that disagree with my assessment of Phil, please understand that I am simply exercising my right to free speech. Consequences included.]

That’s why the “top” place has to go to Fox News and its coverage of the holiday season — the “War on Christmas“(since 2004!) and NEW! this year,  the debate on Santa’s race. As a (sadly) leading “news” network, it has a long-term influence that it continues to abuse with faux stories like these. Here are two clips from The Daily Show,  the original Daily Show piece on Megyn Kelly’s “Santa is White” piece and the following week’s “explanation” by Kelly:

 

Pretty funny. Except not.

While there are many of us who disagree, Fox News is considered a legitimate news organization. Its militant bible thumping and rampant racism legitimize a cultural norm that accepts racism and elitism, and contribute to an environment in which people think it’s okay to gay bash and jurors can acquit a white dude for murdering a black teen without provocation.

So, forget about December 2013. Fox News probably belongs in the Bigot’s Hall of Shame.

What can you do? Well for immediate relief, watch Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert and Rachel Maddow.

Live equality. Show the people around you, and especially your kids, that equality isn’t just a belief,  it’s a fundamental part of your soul.  

Speak up. Keep talking about prejudice. It’s not  an easy conversation, whether you are talking with a friend or loved one, or simply doing some soul searching. If you don’t face your own biases, you can’t overcome them. Remember the words of Pastor Martin Niemöller: 

In Germany, they came first for the Communists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist;
And then they came for the trade unionists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist;
And then they came for the Jews, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew;
And then . . . they came for me . . . And by that time there was no one left to speak up.

Peace and love to everyone.

And to all a good night.

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Monster headphones deliver Monster sound (and cut out commuting noise!)

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Three days a week I commute 90 minutes each way into Manhattan. Most mornings, the train is fairly quiet; there is an unwritten weekday commuter rule (suspended on weekends!) that noise and conversation should be kept to a minimum. So most mornings I work or read or sleep. From time to time though I end up in a car with a couple of folks that just have to have a conversation. All the way. Nonstop.

Those are the days I resort to my iPhone and Pandora for enough peace to concentrate. I used to use the earbuds that came with my phone even they don’t really cut out the noise very well. I just didn’t want to cart around a set of bulky headphones on top of all the stuff I carry back and forth every night – iPad, laptop, shoes and so on, and smaller headphones generally didn’t seem much better than the earbuds.

So I was delighted when BlogHer and Monster asked if I would like to try the N-Tune noise isolating headphones.

photo

Things I love:

  • Great sound quality for my music and they keep out most of the annoying conversations I am trying to block.
  • Very comfortable, avoids the “itchy ear” syndrome that sometimes comes from using earbuds for an extended period of time.
  • Small form factor, plus they come with a little carry bag to protect them in my bag.
  • Tangle free cord.

I also asked my 13 year old son and my brother, both of whom also use headsets regularly, what they thought. My son, who primarily uses a headset for gaming and Skype calls with other gamers reported that the sound quality was good, but he prefers a wireless headset that completely surrounds the ears. Better to totally block me out when I speak to him I suppose. My brother also liked the sound quality for listening to music but wasn’t crazy about the microphone for making phone calls.  I received a call on the train the other morning while listening to my tunes, and I thought the quality was fine.

Net — if listening to music or watching videos is your primary use for a headset, the Monster N-Tune is good choice. I probably won’t replace my earbuds for phone calls, especially when walking down the street in Manhattan 🙂 but these candy apple red beauties will definitely get a spot in my commuting bag. And if candy apple red isn’t your color, there are 4 other choices – green, purple, blue and orange. The N-Tune would also make a great holiday gift for the music-lover in your life.

Want to try them out for yourself?  For a chance to win your very own pair of N-Tune headphones (valued at $150), read all about them here and let me know in the comments which color you prefer. The comments on this post will be aggregated with the comments on the posts from the other bloggers participating in this review, and 25 pairs will be given away.

Sweepstakes Rules:

No duplicate comments.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

  1. Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post
  2. Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: “#SweepstakesEntry”; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post
  3. Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post
  4. For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winner will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected. BlogHer will pool entries from participating blogs and select a sweepstakes winner at random and will contact the winner with details about fulfilling the prize. The Official Rules are available here. This sweepstakes runs from 10/2/13 – 11/1/13.