Glutton P has been, day in and day out, pestering me about our Noche Buena. He asks and asks and asks, “Ano’ng handa?” I would say, “Wala ka na ba nasa isip kungdi pagkain?” It doesn’t help that in the fourteen years I’ve known him, he still has, more or less, the svelte Vic Sotto/Hugh Grant (ha ha ha) profile that I’ve fallen for, but now, sadly, with a slight rounding in the tummy.
I must admit that Noche Buena has ceased to be the elaborate to-do that it had been before, although my dear, old Tita Uchie (my mother’s sister) still tries to replicate Christmas Eve repasts of old (when Lola was still strong and, being a former chef, could whip up a feast), at least in the sweets department. We still have leche flan with dayap, and kick-ass fruit salad, macaroni salad, and potato salad. Although, I’m no slack in the kitchen department myself, pasta, baked dishes, and Filipino cuisine being my specialties (half of me is Kapampangan after all, the other half Southern Tagalog—Rizal and Binan to be precise), I have gotten lazy. Why bother cooking morcon or galantina when these could be procured from a store and stashed in the freezer until ready to serve? Besides, I have forever been traumatized by this one Christmas when my lola suddenly burst into tears in the middle of dinner after cooking morcon, because she said that she was just “so damned tired.” Plus, with a sister who eats like a bird, a mother with high blood pressure/cholesterol, and a lola who refuses to wear her teeth anymore, what is the stupid point?
But, because P is simply adorable and I so hate to disappoint him (he has lambent eyes that can give Puss in Boots’ pity-wawa look competition), I shall make some effort this year. (Drum roll) here, I present you with the Galang-Monis 2007 Noche Buena feast:
- Morcon! (Even if it kills me.)
- Roasted Chicken.
- Fideos with ham bone thrown in.
- Steamed fish with mayo.
Paella(no, no we mustn’t be too ambitious, but maybe for New Year’s Media Noche, partnered with callos). Assorted veggies with shrimps, cashews, and quail’s eggs cooked Chinese style na lang para kunwari may gulay. :D- Excellente hamonado or Adelina’s Fiesta Ham.
- Sweets c/o Tita Uchie.
So, there! I hope you’re happy now, P!
