All That Gorgeous Holiday Food: How Can I Decide What To Eat?
My strategy for enjoying your choices
Happy holidays! If you are a new subscriber, welcome to my weekly newsletter. If you’re a returning subscriber, welcome back.
When you walk into Trader Joe’s, or go to a holiday party, or visit a restaurant with a special menu, it is easy to be boggled by the choices at this time of year. You want to eat everything, caution be damned. But you might pay for it later, with food or drink hangovers, not to mention tighter clothes.
Many people don’t care, and more power to them. Their metabolisms allow them to burn calories like newsprint used for kindling. But for others of us, spring arrives and that extra five pounds that mysteriously showed up since fall just refuses to budge.
I have a system for maximum enjoyment with minimal damage. These aren’t diet tips, per se, but more of a strategy for enjoying your choices. Zero judgment on my part of what you decide to consume; I simply want to make sure you have no regrets.
1) Before you go, figure out what is likely to be available. Check the menu for a restaurant, look at the lineup of food stands at a holiday fair, think about what your party giver serves every year. Single out a few possibilities of seasonal must-haves, and head straight for them.
For instance, I love the Christmas market that’s held in Chicago at this time of year. The organizers sell hot beverages in commemorative mugs, either gluhwein (hot spiced red wine) or hot chocolate. I definitely want a beverage. I’m not interested in sausages, pretzels or sweets, although I might get some cookies to eat later.
2) Is there a limited time to consume it? Some places offer holiday treats for several weeks. The Reveillon dinners in New Orleans are a good example. They get their name from the big feast that Catholic families ate after they returned from midnight mass on Christmas Eve. Restaurants come up with special set-price menus, usually with a choice of appetizer, main course and dessert.
The dinners usually begin around now and run through Christmas, or perhaps a few days after. That gives diners a chance to pick a convenient evening and squeeze in more than one if they’re so inclined.
Others make holiday meals a one time special. In a number of cities, restaurants are offering the Feast of Seven Fishes, which is an Italian tradition on Christmas Eve. There’s even a documentary film about them. The feasts can take days to prepare, and you need to book well ahead of time.
3) Can you stop with one serving? Some holiday goodies, like Buche de Noel, or Yule Logs, are so rich that a single portion is enough for a meal and maybe the season. In Paris, bakeries compete to offer extravagant Buche de Noel that are as much table decorations as they are desserts. I’ve always found one slice satisfies my sweet tooth.
But other treats, like holiday cookies, Puppy Chow and Chex Mix, make you want to go back again and again. The only problem with snacks is that when you fill up on those, there’s no room for anything else.
As with my menu advice, I’d start by assessing what I’ll really enjoy eating. Personally, I’m happy with an occasional dinner that’s just Chex Mix and maybe some soup. I don’t recommend that as an every day diet, but one indulgence during the holiday shouldn’t hurt you too much.
4) If you really want it, reserve it in advance. Now that restaurants, bakeries and food shops allow online ordering, you have a way to snag the specials you most want to try. Don’t risk arriving at the business, and finding they are out of the stollen you drove 30 miles to buy.
It helps to follow your favorite place on Instagram or sign up for their newsletter so that you’ll know when your goodies will be in stock. For instance, Flour Moon Bagels in New Orleans often teases its upcoming specials so that its fans can nab them once the menu goes live.
5) How will you feel when you’ve had it? You younger readers probably never think about this, but once someone is old enough to run for president, their digestive system can start to become problematic.
For instance, I love the flavors of eggnog, but it’s too rich to sit comfortably in my tummy. Likewise, there are some lethal punch recipes that may knock you flat if you don’t drink much alcohol throughout the year. And if you usually try to avoid carbs and sugar, the holidays can send you into a tailspin.
Listen to your body: your physical reaction is a good guide. And if you don’t want to resist, try a taste instead of committing to an entire serving.
I went to a holiday reception hosted by the Detroit Tigers last week, and encountered a gorgeous dessert display. It was populated by mini cupcakes, eclairs, cannoli, lemon bars, brownies, chocolate chip cookies and tarts. I could have eaten one of each, but I picked out the two little treats that most appealed to me.
As it turns out, I’m not the only person who is making choices when it comes to holiday eating. Read on.
Nigella Lawson Waves Goodbye to Christmas Cake
Nigella Lawson is the ultimate example of judiciously eating what you most enjoy, but this season, she’s decided to no longer eat what she does not enjoy. Nigella has parted company with Christmas Cake, a traditional British cake that’s akin to fruitcake, and covered with fondant icing.
As with fruitcake, many go uneaten and are nudged to the back of the fridge, only to be thrown out when they get too stale. This year, Nigella says she’s going to make chocolate cake for her family instead.
“Much as I love a slice of dense, damp Christmas cake, especially when eaten with a slice of strong, sharp cheese, I am surrounded by those who abominate dried fruit in all its seasonal manifestations,” she said in the Sunday Times.
“If no one in your family likes dried fruit, there’s no point having a Christmas cake gathering dust or just being eaten on sufferance. If chocolate cake appeals more, go for it.”
She hasn’t ditched all British holiday traditions. She still plans to make a plum pudding and a trifle.
Restaurants Close And Food Shops Merge
It was a tough week last week for food friends in New Orleans. Two more locally owned places, Seafood Sally’s restaurant and the Rabbit’s Foot gourmet store, announced that they are closing.
In Chicago, two food places announced that they are merging. Foxtrot Market, an upscale group of convenience stores, and Dom’s Kitchen, which has three sophisticated food shops around town, will form a new entity called Outfox Hospitality. It will be managed by Foxtrot.
Foxtrot has been an investors’ darling. It has 15 stores in Chicago and another 17 in Washington D.C., Austin and Dallas. Dom’s has two stores and plans to open a third soon.
Foxtrot launched in 2014 as a delivery-only concept. It soared in popularity during the pandemic, when local restrictions forced sitdown restaurants to close. Once limits were lifted, it evolved into a combination of grocery store and coffee bar, with lots of grab and go items suited to its busy customers.
Dom’s has some of the most delicious quick service and grab and go food that I’ve ever seen. My friend Ina Pinkney insisted that I check one out during a visit to Chicago last spring. I could have spent hours browsing the different stands for salads, sandwiches, juices and hot items. They even have a vegetable butcher who will chop the produce you pick out.
I’m assuming that the items Dom’s sells will join the lengthy menu of grocery items at Foxtrot. It’s a concept that would work in many cities across the country where people are stressed for time and have money to spend on top quality groceries. Such as Ann Arbor, or Nashville.
Esquire Publishes Its 50 Best New Restaurants List
“From New York to San Diego, here are the 50 places we couldn’t stop dreaming about,” Esquire Magazine declares in its list of the best new restaurants in America.
It’s a helpful guide to visit these places, whether you live nearby, or in your travels. Many of them are just as chic as the magazine itself.
I have a few issues with the list, however. For one thing, it’s written by four men — Kevin Sintumuang, Jeff Gordinier, Joshua David Stein and Omar Mamoon. Since Esquire is basically a men’s magazine, I suppose that writers lineup shouldn’t be a surprise. But with all the talented female food writers out there, you’d think one might have been invited to join the treehouse.
I was glad to see a social media post from Les Dames D’Escoffier congratulating the female chefs and owners of some of the restaurants involved, so women weren’t completely ignored.
Second, the list primarily includes coastal cities, with only a handful inland places. It’s no shade on any of the chefs who were honored, but more geographic representation would be appreciated by those of us outside California and NYC.
Keeping Up With CulinaryWoman
Tomorrow, in Red Beans & Advice, I’ll bring you my review of the Great British Bake Off finale, which hit Netflix on Friday. Hopefully, the winner wasn’t spoiled for you, as it was for me (drat). If you’re interested, you can read my review with a paid subscription.
I had a blast talking about the classic movie Kind Hearts and Coronets on the latest episode of the Lions, Towers & Shields podcast. Our next episode looks at It Happened on Fifth Avenue, an often overlooked Christmas movie.
Here’s how you can get in touch with me.
Website: www.michelinemaynard.com
Email: culinarywoman (@) gmail.com
LinkedIn: Micheline Maynard
Threads and Instagram: (@) michelinemaynard
I hope you’ll have a good week and that the early sunsets aren’t too depressing. See our paid subscribers tomorrow and everyone else next Sunday.
Satisfaction Guaranteed: How Zingerman's Built a Corner Deli into a Global Food Community https://a.co/d/dEZX7IA