Eat, Sing and Be Merry
Several Holiday Celebration performers share their favorite holiday customs and recipes.
FOOD | GIFT GIVING | FAMILY GATHERINGS
FOOD
Jung Im Lee of Jung Im Lee Korean Dance Academy
"We dress up in traditional Korean robes called hanboks. In these hanboks, we dance and sing to the sound of Korean drumming and the women dance with a special fan made for the dance. During the holidays, we eat homemade Korean grilled beef. It is served with rice or you can eat it the Korean restaurant-style, where it is served with spicy bean paste, slices of garlic, spiced up scallions, kimchi,and other side dishes including rice and red lettuce leaves for a wrap. Sweet rice cakes are another holiday favorite of ours."
| | KOREAN RIBS
NOTE: This recipe is from Young Sohn, a Korean relative of a Holiday Celebration staff member. Young says, "This recipe is kind of salty, cut back on the soy sauce if you'd like to dilute. Taste it and you'll know what I mean!"
5 lbs beef short ribs (Order them cut about ¼ inch thick; sometimes they are called Hawaiian ribs.)
½ white onion (sliced)
2 ½ cu. light soy sauce
1 c. water (You can use half pineapple juice, half water, which it also works as a meat tenderizer.)
½ cu. sugar
¼ tsp. black pepper
1 tbsp. sesame oil
1 tbsp. roasted sesame seeds
4-5 large cloves of garlic (use a garlic press to process)
Marinate ribs or chicken for a total of 24 hours. I put it all in a gallon size zip lock bag and turn it a few times while it's marinating.
Use a grill to cook the ribs and do not cover while on the grill. Put ribs on the grill and, based on how well you want it cooked, leave on the grill anywhere between 12-15 minutes. |
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Musicians of Los Pinguos
"In Buenos Aires, on Christmas Eve, the families gather together for a late dinner (10:00 p.m.) which is normally pasta, then wait for midnight when it is officially Christmas. They call this 'Noche Buena' (the good night). At midnight the family does a toast, then open presents. After this, many times the younger people go out to see their friends until the wee hours of the morning.
"The next day, always for Christmas lunch, families have a big Argentinean asado (barbeque) because December is the middle of summer in Argentina. This includes sweetbreads, steak, beef ribs, blood sausage, intestines...everything cooked over wood coals, usually seasoned only with coarse salt, and everything is served with chimichurri (a special sauce, recipe below). Of course, every family has their own special recipe for chimichurri. The one below is the most basic variation.
"Most families have open brick barbeque 'ovens' built outside on their roofs (if they are in the city) or in the backyard at homes, with a grate that you can raise or lower with a chain depending on the heat of the wood coals and what you are barbequing."
| | CHIMICHURRI
¼ cup coarsely chopped parsley
3 tbsp. red wine vinegar
4 large garlic cloves, minced (2 ½ tablespoons)
2 tbsp. oregano leaves
2 tsp. crushed red pepper
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Make the chimichurri ahead of time. In a food processor, combine the parsley, vinegar, garlic, oregano and crushed red pepper. Process until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer the sauce to a bowl and pour the olive oil over the mixture. Let stand for at least 20 minutes.
The chimichurri can be refrigerated overnight. Bring to room temperature before serving. |
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Yolanda Hernandez of Mariachi Sol de Mexico
"Tamales and pozole are always a part of our tradition, plus posadas (an enactment of St. Joseph and the Virgin Mary looking for lodging in Bethlehem), singing sometimes in our old neighborhood. Also kids break a piñata with little gifts and candy."
| | TAMALES
2 cu. Maseca (a particular brand of corn flour)
2 cu. lukewarm water or broth
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
2/3 cu. lard or vegetable shortening
Dried corn husks
Soak corn husks for at least 6 hours.
Combine Maseca, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Work in broth or water with your fingers to make a soft, moist dough. In a small bowl, beat lard or shortening until fluffy, add corn flour and beat until dough has a spongy texture. Prepare tamales with desired filling. This recipe will make enough dough for 16 small tamales. It easily doubles.
Filling
¼ lb. boneless pork loin or shoulder (optional: chicken or beef)
1 ½ oz. chile pasilla or California pods (stems and seeds removed)
1/8 cu. cooking oil (corn)
¾ cu. water
½ tbsp. salt
16 corn husks
2 ¼ lbs. prepared corn flour mixture (above)
Cover meat with water, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until done (about 2 hours).
Lightly sauté chile pods in cooking oil. Place in blender, add water and blend until smooth.
Cut meat into small pieces, cook in cooking oil until browned. Add chile mixture and salt to meat. Cook approximately 7 minutes.
Soak corn husks for a few minutes and rinse well.
Spread corn flour mixture evenly over the smooth side of the corn husks, place a tbsp. of meat mixture in the center. Fold over sides towards the center, fold end of husk and pinch the open end, place tamales in steamer with the folded side on the bottom. Cover with a wet cloth or more husks, add water and steam, approximately 1 ½ to 2 hours.
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Larisa Carlson of Showtime Katusha
"(In the Russian tradition) on Christmas Eve, before the opening of the presents (which takes place right after midnight); it is customary to go to church to pray and give thanks for all that we have. Once the church service is done, a big family dinner takes place where one of the dishes that is always present is kutia. Kutia is made from wheat which is cooked and mixed with honey, walnuts and poppy seeds. It is eaten cold. Before the family sits down for dinner, each member must eat a spoonful of kutia."
| | KUTIA
2 cu. wheat berries
½ cu. chopped walnuts
1 cu. honey
3 tbsp. poppy seeds
3 tbsp. raisins
Stir warm water into casserole with wheat berries and let stay for 12 hours. Cover with plastic wrap.
After that remove plastic wrap and boil for 2 hours in light heat. Let cool.
Combine in mixing bowl: cooked wheat berries, walnuts, honey, poppy seeds and raisins. Let stay for 1 hour in refrigerator.
Kutia is eaten cold.
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GIFT GIVING
Celia Diaz Defato of Kultura Philippine Folk Arts
"Gift-giving during the holidays among family members and friends is always part of the Christmas celebration. Homemade or hand-made gift items have become popular during hard economic times like now. My family started this "emotional gift-exchange" tradition about 10 years ago to show appreciation for each other in a non-material way. We pick out names in a basket, one writes things about how the person whose name is picked has made an impact in your life, how you appreciate that person, etc. After a Christmas Day special lunch, we gather and execute the emotional gift-exchange activity. This has brought the family much closer as we don't usually say all the good things to each other and what a perfect time of year to do so...at Christmas."
Larry Rowland of Harmonic Bronze Handbell Ensemble
"Typically the holiday season is a time for our members to reach out to local community groups. We particularly enjoy sharing music with senior citizen homes and centers during the holidays. The elderly are often a population of people who go 'unnoticed' or 'overlooked' during holiday gatherings. We hope that our presence and music will inspire them and encourage them to connect with us. Before a senior center performance, the group tries to make some type of gift for each audience member. In the past we have made hand-painted wooden ornaments and created bell-inspired gifts. Even though they are simple gifts, the senior citizens seem to treasure the fact that complete 'strangers' made the gift personally FOR THEM. These same senior citizens have often gathered around their television sets on Christmas Eve to support us as we perform at the Dorothy Chandler. Some years we present them with candles to remind them to light a candle for us during this special Christmas Eve performance so that they feel like they are encouraging and inspiring us to perform to the best of our ability. Each year it's exciting to return to the same senior centers, for they welcome us as 'family' - and always, they want to know exactly what time we will be performing on television so that they can share the moment with us. (It is) one of those inexpressible moments of bridging the young to the old."
FAMILY GATHERINGS
Celia Diaz Defato of Kultura Philippine Folk Arts
"In the Philippines, it is customary that after the early morning mass (Misa de gallo), that takes place every day for nine days before Christmas, a native delicacy called puto bumbong (a sweet rice dessert) is served with coffee or hot chocolate.
"The lighting of Advent Candles is widely observed by many Filipino families, which is a Catholic tradition. Christmas caroling of both Filipino and American Christmas songs is still common and usually a group of ten or 12 goes to different families or establishments and is received with warm hospitality, food served and some cash donations are made by the host family."
Martice Brumfield & Family of UCC Chorus
"The holidays for the Brumfield Family are filled with remembrance, gratitude, and thanksgiving. During this time of the year, our family takes comfort in the joy of being together. We often sit around the fireplace and talk about the things that have taken place over the year, whether good or bad. This is particularly important for us because it allows to recognize just how blessed we really are. It is also a time for setting new goals and dreams we have for ourselves, whether it's individually or collectively as a family."
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