Chef’s Table
By: Michael Formichella
An old-fashioned holiday
One of my holiday favorites each year is Christmas plum pudding, an old-fashioned, steamed plum pudding with hard sauce. This is a traditional favorite that my wife makes each year shortly after Thanksgiving. She cures it with brandy for several weeks then serves it after our Christmas meal. The recipe has been handed down through several generations and tweaked just a bit along the way. I am really big on traditions.
One of the components of the family recipe is ground suet, which is the solid white fat found around the kidneys and loins of beef, sheep and other animals. Suet is traditionally used in British cooking, particularly in dumplings, mince meat pies, suet puddings and some pastries. We order the suet from our butcher. There are vegetable versions available now that are made from oils such as palm oil and are usually combined with rice flour, which can be directly substituted for the animal fat version in recipes. However, if you’re a traditionalist or in the meat biz, like we are, you need to use suet to get that special combination of flavors.
I know suet may not seem like the healthiest of choices, but I believe strongly in a couple of ideals I will share. One is tradition. I believe it is essential for one generation to pass along some living knowledge of our past, a common thread to our heritage, and what makes us all unique. Secondly, everything in moderation and nothing in excess seems to strike a harmonious balance for me. So a little suet (and brandy) is just fine. A couple of brisk walks will help it get through the arteries, I hope!
Another tradition: Each Christmas Eve we gather as a family, along with our extended family of friends, to celebrate the joys of the season with the traditional, and not so traditional, Italian seven fish. I have great memories of my mom, aunts and grandmother cooking for days before the big event. So now we prepare the seven (it usually turns into 10 to 12) fish that night. I won’t belabor the religious significance of this, merely that it is one of our family’s favorite evenings! It’s something from our childhoods, like the plum pudding, to pass along to our children.
I sincerely hope you consider making and keeping some of your traditions this season with your families. Of course, ours seem to always revolve around food. Please share your holiday tradition with us. Happy Holidays to all.
December 17, 2010
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PLum Pudding Reply
So what’s the recipe? I gotta try it.
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December 17, 2010 11:51 AM Posted by William McCall
Christmas Eve Reply
We have a friend that does the 7 fish. It starts in the early afternoon and lasts until about 8 or 9. The only problem is, we have never attended this feast because we have a standing tradition of having cheese and beef fondue on Christmas Eve. This has been our tradition since we were very small and it has carried on with our wives and children. The table seems to get smaller every year, but we always look forward to it. Only 1 more week from today and we fondue. Hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year. I always look forward to your blogs, I have tried several of your suggestions and have enjoyed everyone of them.
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December 17, 2010 11:29 AM Posted by OU812
Michael…our Christmas Eve tradition is that I cook around 40 Delmonico steaks for the adults and big kids and a few burgers for the little kids. Santa arrives and each of the little ones (this year we think 16) sit on his knee and get their little gift my wife has for them. Been doing this since 1978, we’re in the cattle and meat business so it just fits, sure hope it continues long after I’m gone. Seems like when someone passes another kid is big enough to handle a 16oz. rib eye. OH yes their all family…. Merry Christmas to all, and I hope your tradition is as much fun. If you don’t have one START one.
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December 17, 2010 10:46 AM Posted by Bob Rose
traditions and family Reply
Well said Michael… family traditions and values are key to living life to the fullest. Happy Holidays to you and family. May you and yours have a very prosperous new year.
Industry News
U.S. beef exports to China could generate $200 million in 2011
By Tom Johnston on 12/17/2010
The value of U.S. beef exports to China in 2011 would be in the range of $200 million if Beijing agrees to reopen its market early next year, the U.S. Meat Export Federation estimates.
U.S. officials announced this week that China has agreed to resume technical talks on the potential reopening of the Chinese market. Some media reports indicated those discussions could begin as early as Jan. 3, 2011.
“When the market closed in 2003, China was just beginning to show its potential as a major destination for U.S. beef. Obviously, China’s economy has grown remarkably since that time and so have the opportunities for high-quality beef products,” USMEF said in a statement.
At an estimated value of $200 million in 2011, China would rank among the top ten global markets for U.S. beef exports “with tremendous potential for future growth,” the organization said.
Industry News – PM
Montana ranchers export a herd of cattle to Russia
By Meatingplace Editors on 12/17/2010
Two Montana ranchers have successfully exported an entire herd of cattle to Russia, including cows, bulls and five quarter horses.
The shipment of 1,439 animals to the 14,500-acre Stevenson Sputnik Ranch in the Voronezh Region of southwest Russia is the fulfillment of a dream for Montana rancher Darrell Stevenson, who told the Lewistown News-Argus:
“These cattle are fully pedigreed, and the Russian buyers intend to manage them as such. Our Montana cattle will be the foundation of Russia’s future beef industry.”
Russia is rebuilding its beef industry and has enormous tracts of vacant grasslands, Stephenson, who has traveled extensively in Russia for three years, told the newspaper. A series of Russian agricultural delegations visited Montana beginning in 2008 to tour the state’s top beef cow operations and identify cattle they believed could be transplanted in Russia.
To fill the large order, Angus cattle were selected from three ranches in Hobson, Montana, and a herd of Hereford cattle were also supplied. Stevenson Angus Ranch and Holden Herefords announced the shipment this week.
“There is a window of opportunity right now, when land is available, the Russian government is offering agricultural subsidies and the price of beef is extraordinary,” the newspaper quoted Stevenson as saying. “Russians pay double and triple the value of what we pay for beef in the United States. Combine that with cheaper resources and lower input, and it opens up some possibilities.”
meatingplace.com
