Christmas is here. Upon us. Not going away. Yes, Christmas is so very much upon us now that I think it’s safe to say we’re all very, very tired of hearing how very here and now it is. And worst of all, Christmas will be bringing with it the ever unwelcome guest that is Christmas dinner, a day of impending doom indeed. And I know I’m not the only one dreading getting this particular tradition hopelessly wrong for the second year running. Last year went so well we resorted to fast food Birmingham. I fear that’s all the detail I need to give.
It’s difficult to understand why we even bother with the effort: fact is, most of the traditional food we serve up is conspicuously neglected for about three hundred and sixty days a year. Obviously, sprouts are the gooey dishwater taste of public enemy number one. But turkey? Can’t this bird gobble back to whence it came from? Everything tastes like Chicken. Turkey tastes of nothing, whether it’s aiming to be Goose or not. When you have to slop gravy all over something, it’s really not worth bothering with. Do everyone a favour this year and put a goose in the oven, if you can afford it. Want to really show off? Boar and Peacock were the medieval equivalents, so try those.
But the truly brave this year will dodge Christmas dinner altogether and treat themselves to Chinese takeaway Liverpool. Is there nowhere open? Do it yourself. Roast duck is just one of the many poultry based dishes common in Chinese food that will still be peripherally traditional. What do you work in to replace pigs in blankets? Try bellypork or spare ribs with a side order of black bean sauce. Rice instead of potatoes and soy sauce for gravy. Beautiful!
Or perhaps your craving was for Indian takeaway Edinburgh. Because of the colonial ties, Indian Christmas dinner is disappointingly like most western dinners. At least turkey is less common, replaced as it is with duck and chicken. The festive colouring and stomach warming properties of a good madras deserve to become a Christmas tradition. Best of all, at a time of year when meat prevails, Indian food is always welcome to vegetarians. Nutroast really doesn’t cut when you could be trying so many more interesting flavours.
