🥇 Badge of the Month: Christmas/ December

Cathy Fanning

Hey, badge collectors!

I'm excited to be able to share December's Badge of the Month with you!

As part of Meister's Rewards Program, Badge of the Month gives you an easy way to connect with others, earn a new badge and get 10 points.

Want to know the rules? Check out this post.

Already know the rules? Read on to find out what this month is all about!

Badge of the Month: December 2023

The holiday season is upon us, and the magic of Christmas is in the air! It's a time for giving, cherishing moments with loved ones, reflecting on the year, and indulging in the joy of Christmas treats 🍪.

Wherever you are in the world, you likely have your own special Christmas traditions and celebrations, I'd like to invite you to share your cherished Christmas recipes or traditions with the community. Let's create a virtual feast of ideas and learn more about how each of us celebrates this festive season. I'll kick things off with one of my personal favourite recipes: a raspberry lamington trifle!

Wishing everyone in the community a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! 🎄🎁🎉

Rooster McNugget

Hi @Cathy Fanning and thanks for this Badge. Love it!

And this raspberry lamington trifle looks awesome! 😍

Like most of you know, Christmas time is always a bit hectic.. Although it was actually supposed to be a quiet and contemplative time. Well, that's probably my fault since I'm always late buying gifts. Mostly on December 22nd or 23rd! 😅

But what I always look forward to most is receiving the presents. Not for me, but the gifts for my children or my wife. The moments when they open their gifts and realize what they have received are priceless. But of course I also look forward to the food. My absolute favorite Christmas meal is Fondue Chinoise. Here is the recipe for it. There is also the variant in which you can add the meat/seafood/etc. cooked in hot oil, called bourguignonne. However, I like the Chinoise better. Plus a good red wine. 😋

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas, a lot of gifts and a good time with your families, friends and loved ones.

Best, Rooster

Cathy Fanning

Hi @Rooster McNugget

Good to hear. Enjoy. Merry Christmas.

Richard Vitaris

My wife and I walked a Hallmark Christmas movie together just about every day in December and up until New Year's Day. That might not seem like much, but this year Hallmark has 42 new Christmas movies.

Our interest in this began when a friend of ours who is a successful playwright began writing Hallmark romantic comedy scripts or television, to include Christmas movies. While they are formulaic (to put it mildly) they are a lot of fun and are set in lovely places. This year, several are set in Western Europe to include Heidelberg, Vienna, Scotland, and rural locations in France and Italy.

Miša Hennin

@Cathy Fanning That trifle looks so impressive + complicated to make! Do you have one every year?

@Richard Vitaris I love that idea 😁. I think I might try it myself… Is there one in particular you can recommend I start with?

Best,

Richard Vitaris

Miša,

It is very difficult to choose just one when there are so many. Hallmark make 30 to 40 Christmas movies a year! 

I've attached the link to an article listing many of the best. https://variety.com/lists/best-hallmark-christmas-movies-ranked/let-it-snow-2013-2/

As an American, I always like the films set in Europe, particularly those that deal with royalty — even if Hallmark almost always set the movies about royals in a fictitious European nation. That said, my own favorite is Three Wise Men and a Baby. It is not your typical Hallmark Christmas movie but it is a a lot of fun. For a more typical introduction to the genre, I would recommend Christmas at the Plaza.

Rich

Cathy Fanning

Hi @Misa, Thanks for that. The trifle is not too difficult to make just a bit time consuming. It's based on a traditional English trifle. We don't necessarily have it every Christmas. Very much depends on the weather and how hot Christmas day will be.

Miša Hennin

Thank you both for sharing.

I don't think I actually have any specific Christmas traditions!

My favourite part of the day is Christmas pudding. It's not for everybody because it's full of raisins 😁 but I find it absolutely delicious! My grandma makes the best ones (I've not eaten a really good one anywhere else). And we serve it warm with brandy butter.

I'm so hungry now I'm writing this!

Andrew Lapidus

Love this idea and this badge!!

My mom's side of the family emigrated to the US from Sweden in the early part of the 20th century. As such, we have a recipe for Swedish meatballs that has been passed through the generations!

There's plenty of excellent variations out there, but an online version I've used in the past was this one from AllRecipes — in my mind, the key is of course the high quality meat, which we grab from a local butcher! I'll be sure to post pics when we have them at Christmas! 🎄 🎅 🤶

Cornelia_is_OutOfOffice Patscheider

Hi 👋

My favorite xmas tradition is the food on the eve of 24th. Like @Rooster McNugget , my family also is enjoying Fondue , very similar to the recipe that he shared 🤩! I also prefer the Fondue Chinoise over the bourguignonne 👍️

@Rooster McNugget what's your favorite ingredient to cook in the fondue?

I also like to take a few weeks off from work, in order to enjoy time with my family and read a lot of books!!

Rooster McNugget

https://community.meister.co/discussion/comment/8420#Comment_8420

Well, I do have a few I like, so I don't realy have one favorite. We usualy take beef, veal and pork. And sometimes ostrich meat. And instead of chicken (I don't like it because you have to cook it very good and have to be careful not eating it raw) I like rabbit. It looks and tastes like chicken. And after the meat we often have some black tiger shrimps. And after the dessert, and when everyone have drunk enough, somwhere between 22:00 and midnight, we eat the soupe from the Chinoise.

Oh, and don't forget those delicious sauces

How is your meat cut? Is it sliced ​​very thinly or a little thicker? We prefer it thicker… 😋

And what are your favorite ingredients?

Cornelia_is_OutOfOffice Patscheider

@Rooster McNugget , I also prefer the meat cut in thicker way 👍 I like that it takes longer to cook and that way the whole dinner is a big social event that takes several hours.
We usually have chicken, veal and some sausages. And you are right, the delicious sauces are very important, but they change every year.

My favorite ingredient is a mushroom, because they are very slippery and often fall off the skewer. Once they off the skewer anybody can claim then, and it develops into quite a hunt who manages to get the mushroom out first, which is always accompanied by a lot of laughs and ribbing by various family members around the table.

Rooster McNugget

https://community.meister.co/discussion/comment/8446#Comment_8446

Love also the "hunting for lost pieces…" 😅
I like the idea with the sausages… what kind of sausage do you normaly take?
btw: we also take broccoli… 😊

Cornelia_is_OutOfOffice Patscheider

Broccoli 😳 oh wow! I've never tried that before! We use "Frankfurter Würstchen" and "Debreziner", which are just very common sausages in my area.