HOLIDAYS AROUND THE WORLD ...DENMARK AND MEXICO

HOLIDAYS AROUND THE WORLD 
WEEK #1

I can't believe the Holidays are already upon us.  So if you have been listening to my podcast you found out that we are going to feature different countries each week and some of the ways they celebrate the Holiday Season.  We here at Zee Michaelson Travel want you to have a fun and safe Holiday Season.  And maybe learning about some of the other Countries Celebrations it just make this big wide world just a little bit smaller and you may want to visit some of these wonderful places.



DENMARK:  I  chose this first to lead off the our Holiday Season.   Denmark kicks off the Advent Season with Advent Candles and Advent Calendars.  Children love the Advent Calendar as they open its door daily and receive a small gift, usually a piece of candy...One door each day till Christmas.  If you want to try this tradition...Advent Calendars are also very popular here in the U.S. 
Denmark also uses Christmas stamps/stickers/seals called julemaerrket and sold in December to help raise money for charity.  This is a similar practice to our Easter Seals.  They will decorate their card sending with these stickers and it makes it all that more festive. 
Denmark loves Christmas parties...and this goes on from November 1st to December 24....everyone has a great time...they make cakes and biscuits in time for Christmas....favorites are Gingerbread cookies and vanilla cookies. 
Most people go to Church service on Christmas Eve which is about 4pm. 
Part of the tradition custom is to give animals treats on Christmas Eve.  I think that is great.  Even the animals celebrate the Holiday.  Some people even go for walks in the parks or woods, they take food with them and leave it for the animals and birds.  They also want to work up an appetite for what is coming next...the Christmas meal.
The Christmas meal is eaten between 6 pm and 8 pm.  The table, of course is decorated beautifully.  the popular foods that are set out are roast duck, goose or pork.  They serve this with boiled and sweet potatoes, red cabbage, beetroot and cranberry jam/sauce.   One of their favorite desserts is called Ris A La Mande.  So what is this...Rice Pudding....made of milk, rice, vanilla, almonds and whipped cream.  I may just have have this recipe for you in case you want to try it for your Holiday.
Now after the meal the lighting on the Christmas Tree.  Then people may dance around the tree and sing carols and open gifts.  The tree normally has a gold or silver star on the top and often has silver "fairy hair" to make it glitter....This sounds a little like our tinsel or angel hair. 
Christmas Day people meet with their family and have a big lunch together with open faced sandwiches on rye-bread.  I wonder if its left overs from the night before.  The Danish children velieve that their presents are brought by the Julemanden(The Christmas Man)  He looks very similar to Santa Claus and also travels with a reindeer and sleigh.  He, however, lives in Greenland, not the North Pole. (still cold)  He does like rice pudding and is helped by "Nisser"  which are like elves. 

So as promised I am going to give you the recipe I found for Ris La Mande...
now this rice pudding has a way to get a gift as well...when a whole almond is found in the pudding that person gets a small gift, usually a little Marzipan pig, but any sweet will do.

Ris a La Mande (Danish Rice Pudding)

Ingredients For the rice pudding:

·         8 Tbsp Arborio rice (it MUST be this kind of rice)

·         4 c. milk

·         3 Tbsp. vanilla sugar (do NOT use vanilla extract)

·         3 Tbsp. sugar

·         1 c. almonds finely chopped using knife (if you use a food processor you should aim for a coarse texture, as the almonds give the dish its texture) Keep one whole almond for the surprise

·         2 1/4 c. whipping cream whipped

For the sauce:

·         2 c. frozen raspberries

·         2 Tbsp. water

·         1/4 c. sugar

·         1 Tbsp. cornstarch

·         2 Tbsp. water

INSTRUCTIONS

RICE PUDDING:

1.       Bring milk to a boil slowly in a large pot.

2.      Add rice, keep simmering until rice is tender, stir every 3 min or so to prevent rice and/or milk burning at the bottom. This step takes approx 45 minutes. 

3.      While the rice is simmering you can make the raspberry sauce and chop the almonds.

4.      When rice is firm, remove from heat and let it cool slightly. When cool (see note below some people like to keep it warm) add vanilla sugar, sugar and almonds.

5.      Fold in whipped cream.

6.      Chill and serve with warm raspberry sauce. (some like the rice pudding warm... but some like it chilled. Either way works.)

SAUCE:

1.       In medium sauce pan place frozen raspberries and 2 tbsp of water, heat until thawed, add sugar and stir. Let simmer for approx 3-5 minutes. Strain seeds (catching the juices/pulp over a bowl), discard seeds and put juices back in the sauce pan.

2.      Mix cornstarch with water and add to the sauce SLOWLY to thicken-- you probably won't need all the mixture. This step can be omitted if you want a more natural and thinner sauce.

3.       TIP- you can also serve this dish with a strawberry sauce or a mix of raspberry and strawberry.  Some prefer the raspberry sauce as it adds a bit of tartness to an otherwise sweet dish. Traditionally the dish is served with a cherry sauce, some families never did though instead preferring the raspberry or strawberry sauce.

I Got this from Favfamilyrecipes.com

So now that we were to Denmark...let's zip back across the pond to Mexico.

CHRISTMAS IN MEXICO

If you are in Mexico during the Holiday season, Mexico celebrates from December 12 to January 6,  the Epiphany.  So from December 16th to Christmas Eve, children often perform the Posada processions or Posadas.  

Posada is Spanish for Inn or Lodging.  There are nine Posadas.  These celebrate the part of the Christmas story where Joseph and Mary looked for somewhere to stay.  Now the Posadas are decorated homes with evergreens, moss and paper lanterns.  Here is how it works....the children in the Posada are given candles and a board with painted clay figures of Mary riding on a donkey and Joseph to process round the streets.  They call on the houses of friends and neighbors and sing a song at each home about Joseph and Mary's journey.  The children are told there is no room and they proceed to the next home till they find the the house that has the room.  The children are invited in and they say prayers of thanks and then they have a party with food, games and fireworks.  One of the games that almost everyone is familiar with is of course the Pinata.  They do this each night and every night a different home hosts the Posada Party.  

Many of the houses have very large Nativity scenes, called Nacimiento.  The figures can be life size.  Now the baby Jesus is usually added on Christmas Eve.  The Three Kings are added at the Epiphany.  Now some states in Mexico children expect Santa Claus to come on December 24, but in South Mexico children expect presents on January 6 at Epiphany.  This is also known as El Dia De Los Reyes.  If you've had a visit from Santa on Christmas Eve, you may get some candy on El Dia De los Reyes.  

Now a tradition on El Dia De Los Reyes is to have a special cake called Rosca De Reyes or Three Kings Cake.  There is a figurine of the baby Jesus placed in the cake and whoever gets the baby Jesus in their piece of cake is the Godparent for Jesus for the year.  

Here is just something because I thought it was pretty cool.  The largest ever Angel Ornament was made in Mexico.  It was in January of 2001 made by Sergio Rodriquez in the town of Nuevo Leon.  The Angel was 18'3" high and had a wing span of 11'9"....WOW!  but what makes it even more of a WOW....is the fact that it was completely made out of old beer bottles....2946 of them to be precise.  

So let's talk about food.  I was able to find the recipe for Three Kings Cake.  

THREE KINGS CAKE

DOUGH

·         2/3 cup milk

·         1/3 cup unsalted butter

·         1/3 cup sugar

·         1/2 teaspoon salt

·         2 large eggs

·         2 teaspoons instant yeast

·         3 1/4 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

FILLING

·         2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

·         2 tablespoons sugar

·         1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

·         1/2 cup chopped nuts

·         3/4 cup dried mixed fruits or Favorite Fruit Blend

·         1 tablespoon lemon, orange, or lime zest

GARNISH

·         candied red cherries and/or orange peel

·         toasted sliced almonds, pecans, cashews, or walnuts

INSTRUCTIONS

1.      For the dough: Heat the milk to a simmer in a small saucepan or at medium power in your microwave. Pour the hot milk over the butter, sugar, and salt, and stir occasionally until the butter melts. Cool the mixture to lukewarm.

2.    In a mixing bowl combine the milk mixture, eggs, and yeast. Add the flour 1 cup at a time, and mix until a soft, smooth dough forms. You can also use your bread machine, set on the dough cycle, for this step.

3.    Place the dough in a greased container, cover it, and set it in a draft-free place to rise until doubled (about 1 to 1 1/2 hours). Or let your bread machine complete the dough cycle.

4.    After the first rise, deflate the dough, cover, and let it rest for 10 minutes. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface; roll into a 20" x 12" rectangle.

5.     For the filling: Brush the surface of the dough with melted butter, leaving a 1/2" strip bare along one of the long edges. Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Add the nuts, mixed fruits and zest, and stir to coat. Sprinkle this mixture evenly over the buttered section of the dough.

6.    Assembly: Starting with the garnished long edge, roll the dough up jelly-roll style, working toward the edge with no butter on it. Pinch the seam together to seal it firmly, then bring the ends together to form a ring. To keep the bread round, grease the outside of a small bowl or custard cup and put it on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Place the ring, seam side down, around the bowl and tuck one end inside the other, pinching it together to seal it.

7.     Flatten the ring slightly, and using a pair of scissors, make cuts in the dough at 1 1/2" intervals around the outside edge. Hide a doll or candy inside the bread. You can place strips of candied orange peel in the cuts to create the look in the photo at the top of the recipe. Cover with greased plastic wrap and let rise until nearly doubled (about 30 to 40 minutes).

8.    To bake: Once the dough is shaped and is rising for the second time, preheat the oven to 350°F. When the dough is risen, remove the plastic wrap, and brush the top with beaten egg. Place the candied cherries (cut in half) in the spaces between the slits in the dough, and decorate with nuts as desired.

9.    Bake the bread for 25 to 30 minutes, covering the loaf loosely with foil after the first 15 minutes, as it will brown quickly. Remove the bread from the oven when the inner parts of the slits look cooked and the interior measures 190°F when measured with an instant-read thermometer. Cool the bread on a rack.

10.                        Yield: 1 loaf, 16 servings.