season's greetings
I hope you are enjoying a wonderful day wherever you are, however you are celebrating life and all its blessings. Thank you for being here.
My 2025 e-card contains snapshots of scenes from this week, including my mom’s welcome home dinner for Rory and me. She served us stuffed whelk (ốc nhồi) with lemongrass and ginger sauce and fried imperial rolls (chả giò). It was wonderful to enjoy such a relaxing feast after a day of driving and negotiating holiday traffic.
I took over from there to give Mom a rest, though she’s always willing to be my sous chef. Cooking together is very special for my mother and me.
What was on our Christmas Eve menu? Roast chicken with porcini butter, sticky rice and chestnut dressing, buttery chestnuts, roasted Okinawa sweet potato, stir-fried blooming cauliflower, chanterelle gravy, and of course, my homemade fruitcake (which has been marinating in liquor for over a month now!).
Things kicked off with my mini pâté chaud which is featured in the last photo on the bottom right. It’s my modern take on an iconic Viet-Franco snack. I’ve been playing around with it for years and my family and friends have been taste testing the latest vegetarian and meaty versions. Someone has to do it, or else I’d be as big as a house. Details coming on Sunday!
You have been a wonderful inspiration for my ongoing cooking journey to broaden knowledge and interest in Asian cooking. I love your long substack posts, and especially when you shareyour thinking about what inspires a dish to be more authentic or simply more delicious. I feel like reading your posts makes me feel like you and your readers are kind of like an extended family of like minded people. Here's to the new year!
Liz
Merry Christmas with tremendous gratitude for your beautiful message and year round good cheer. I hope you and your family enjoy a wonderful day. Thank you for sharing your menu and traditions!🎄🙏