Friday, December 26, 2008

Happy Holidays!

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas! We were traveling on Christmas day, which turned out to be a better experience than I expected. No rushing around and fighting crowds. Our flight was only delayed 10 minutes. All in all a pleasant experience.

The one thing I love about coming to visit Mom is her home cooking. She makes all my favorites, and this time was no different. In fact, it was even better because my relatives from back East (Michigan, not the Far East, that is!) were here too.

As usual, when the family gets together, the cooking and eating was an all-day affair. It started with breakfast. Then a snack. Then lunch. Then another snack. And finally dinner. My family could put the Greeks to shame.


Here's how it went down today:

My nephew was in charge of breakfast. We had sticky rice, Thai-style omelet and Isaan sausages. The perfect way to start the day, if you ask me.

Sonny really loved this omelet. It was "stuffed" with tomatoes, onions, and cilantro and of course seasoned with fish sauce. The edges were extra crispy, due to just the right amount of oil and the right amount of heat.


These sausages traveled all the way from Michigan. Please tell me it's not just my relatives that carry pork products in their luggage??

Mom called in her friend, who is a tod mon (fried fish cake) specialist. Here she's chopping long beans to put into the fish batter.


I was in charge of making the cucumber sauce for the fried fish cakes. I give a basic recipe with my fish cake recipe, but this is the deluxe version. It's got cucumber, Asian shallot, cilantro and toasted peanuts.


These fish cakes were super delicious. Wonderful snacking food.



My cousin's job was to prepare the ingredients for som tom (papaya salad).


Som tom Thai.


Mom in action.

Mom served the green curry with "Chinese" noodles, which is a common way to serve it.


I wonder what we'll cook up tomorrow?!

17 comments:

Mary Bergfeld said...

It all looks wonderful and how very nice you all were together for the holiday.

Wandering Chopsticks said...

Everything looks fabulous. I was eating up a storm while my parents were in town too. The last meal was duck noodle soup and my youngest aunt asked if I liked it. I said yes, but she was sad because I didn't photograph it so she didn't think I liked it. :P

Manggy said...

Have a happy new year, Darlene! Loving all the yummy food (fish cakes especially, as they are fried, heh heh). Gotta remember to pick up one of those julienne peelers next time! We have them here but since it's the only one and a high-end brand I bet it's marked up quite a bit.

Dee said...

Mary, you should have seen us on Christmas evening. We were quite a montley crew! My niece and her sister and their mother were also here. Amazingly everyone gets along well!

WC, duck noodle soup sounds awesome. At first I was kinda shy about photographing, but then the family really got into it, showing off the stuff they made. Then everyone had to pick the photo they wanted posted. I think they enjoyed it.

Manggy, those peelers are cheap here, like less than $3, but they should be worth more. They make life so much easier compared to the old way of shredding papaya.

Happy Holidays, everyone!

MaryRuth said...

Wow, all that food looks so delicious. I would really love some som tom right now.
I'm originally from Wisconsin and in addition to that, my sister married into a championship sausage-making family...so yes, my family also travels with pork products in luggage!
www.karlsmarketinc.com

Anonymous said...

Did your nephew cook the rice in the aluminum pot/basket set-up on the stove? I've always seen that pot/basket duo at Asian markets and wondered ehat they were used for. Nice holiday spread!

eatingclubvancouver_js said...

Everything looks great! I love the fish cakes and the sausages. And all-day food affairs are very devoutly to be wished here. Happy Holidays!

Just Cook It said...

Season's greetings to you too, Darlene

Dee said...

MaryRuth, so we're not alone! I was always embarrassed with the stuff my mom would bring in her luggage, like dried shrimp. Now I make her do it everytime she comes to visit me :-)

James, yes! A must if you want to make Thai sticky rice. Shouldn't cost you more than $10 at any Thai/Viet store.

js, it's great but now I can barely fit into the clothes I brought with me. I'm going to need a big body cleanse to start off the new year!

Paula said...

Okay, Darlene, don't you think you need just one more family member? You know, let's say, um, an Italian girl from Oregon? I absolutely LOVE all of the yummy foods you and your family are making and eating together! That omelet actual made me make a yummy noise OUT LOUD when I saw it! Your comment about eating is just like my relatives! Glad your travel plans were not terribly disrupted by the snow. Hope you have a very Happy New Year!

gaga said...

Wow, everything looks amazing! Can I come over next year? :P

QGIRL said...

What, not all family travel with pork? That is news to me. lololol.

One time my mom had jerky confiscated from her at the airport. She was furious. Now, if it had been her Chanel face cream she wouldn't have cared as much.

The omelet looked amazing. Yummy. I'm so impressed with your nephew's skills.

Have a Happy New Year!

Dee said...

gaga, you wouldn't ask if you knew my family :-)

qgirl, it turns out he works once in a while at a Thai restaurant in Michigan. It was super fun to cook with him.

Dee said...

Paula, isn't fun getting together with family? But after about 5 days, I'm trying to escape :-)

Jayne said...

Ooh, we love papaya salad! My husband made some last night.

Dee said...

Jayne, I'm planning to go on a salad eating spree the next to weeks to offset the all the heavy foods we've been eating, and som tom will be in heavy rotation. I never get tired of it.

Anonymous said...

Oooh, I'm a sucker for a savoury breakfast and there's nothing I like more than an Asian savoury breakfast! Need omelette with fish sauce...

Happy New Year!