For as long as I can remember, I’ve always loved the holidays, especially Christmas Eve. Every year, my grand-mother would welcome the whole family and although her house was small and the family growing constantly, she would insist on inviting everyone.With the kids at the small table and the adults at the large table, everyone would gather around the yummy dishes that she had prepared with love. Much has changed throughout the years, the family got bigger, the kids have grown up and now a new generation of kids has arrived, but the selection of dishes has remained the same, and it’s perfect this way. Although my grand-mother passed away last year, the family tradition carries on with my aunts taking over for her. The selection of appetizers varies from year to year but the main course always consists of the same traditional dishes: ragoût de boulettes, tourtière (potpie), mashed potatoes, turkey with stuffing, ragoût de pattes de cochon and cranberry. Each year, some members of the family try to steal the show with a special desert that they prepared for the occasion, but my aunt Johanne’s legendary bûche de Noël (Yule log) is the grand winner, closely followed by aunt Thérèse’s sugar pie and my mother’s date squares and carrés d’amour.
This year, nothing will make me happier then bringing my kids over to the family gathering and witnessing them enjoy the holidays with as much excitement as I did when I was their age.
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