12.22.2005
oy!
So it's been a long time...
I am reminded that I wrote in after term ended, hoping that I might actually post more now that I'm not so busy. Well, certainly term ended, but it's been awful busy all the same. Let's start with the dinner party I wrote about earlier. AWESOME.
I even got our conductor, Owen, to show up, which was outstanding. In addition to all of the food that I made, my friend Bill also brought a hummus, and a loaf of bread on which to slather it. Claire brought store-bought mince pies and a brandy-cream sauce, which was really yummy, but the winner might have been Julia, who soaked jalapeño peppers in vodka overnight, then cut them open, de-seeded them and filled them with dark chocolate. Then froze them and dipped them into chocolate as well. It was a curious and bizarre combination, but I loved them.
And the shots of pepper vodka afterwards were, shall we say, intense...
I learned a few things from this, of course. The first is that no matter how hard I try, I'll always over-cook. There's pretty much no way around it. I cooked *way* too much food: I think it might just be genetic - my father does the same when we throw parties at home. The second is related to this: since I know I'm going to over-cook, it's a bad idea to throw such a party two days before leaving the country, as there is no way I can finish all of the leftovers. My friends were thrilled to get such bounty.
The day after the dinner party, I attended the Boar's Head dinner. Actually, not the dinner, just the procession beforehand. My friend Paul was the soloist, marching into the hall while singing the Boar's Head carol. The boar's head carol is based on Queen's College: in the 1500's, a student was walking in the woods while reading Aristotle when he was set upon by a wild boar. Instead of falling back or running away, the student waited until the boar charged and opened its mouth, at which point he jammed the Aristotle down the boar's throat, choking it to death with the words "hic est Graecus!" Running triumphantly back to Queen's, he requested that the entire college share in his good fortune by throwing a feast, and a song was written to commemorate. So the choir, in cassocks and surplices, march into the hall while singing. We are led by the soloist, then the stewards of the hall, who carry candles. After them, the three chefs of Queen's College, bearing on their shoulders a platter with a giant (and real!) boar's head. As the song makes reference to, the boar's head is decked out in herbs and holly branches. After the platter is set at high table, the provost plucks the orange out of the mouth of the boar and hands it to the soloist. And then, in pairs, the rest of the party (stewards, chefs, and choir) come forward to claim our bit of gilded garland. At which point, we are shuffled out the door to a smaller room where we enjoy the Queen's College customary cold buffet of poached salmon and such.
I'm back home now, and it's great to be back. There is snow on the ground, it's freezing, and I love it. Saw Diana twice in the past few days. She knitted me another scarf for Christmas! It's nice and soft and green. Many thanks to her. :)
The Christmas tree is up and I should probably be wrapping presents now. But anyway, I hope to be posting a little more often. Yeah, like that'll happen.
I am reminded that I wrote in after term ended, hoping that I might actually post more now that I'm not so busy. Well, certainly term ended, but it's been awful busy all the same. Let's start with the dinner party I wrote about earlier. AWESOME.
I even got our conductor, Owen, to show up, which was outstanding. In addition to all of the food that I made, my friend Bill also brought a hummus, and a loaf of bread on which to slather it. Claire brought store-bought mince pies and a brandy-cream sauce, which was really yummy, but the winner might have been Julia, who soaked jalapeño peppers in vodka overnight, then cut them open, de-seeded them and filled them with dark chocolate. Then froze them and dipped them into chocolate as well. It was a curious and bizarre combination, but I loved them.
And the shots of pepper vodka afterwards were, shall we say, intense...
I learned a few things from this, of course. The first is that no matter how hard I try, I'll always over-cook. There's pretty much no way around it. I cooked *way* too much food: I think it might just be genetic - my father does the same when we throw parties at home. The second is related to this: since I know I'm going to over-cook, it's a bad idea to throw such a party two days before leaving the country, as there is no way I can finish all of the leftovers. My friends were thrilled to get such bounty.
The day after the dinner party, I attended the Boar's Head dinner. Actually, not the dinner, just the procession beforehand. My friend Paul was the soloist, marching into the hall while singing the Boar's Head carol. The boar's head carol is based on Queen's College: in the 1500's, a student was walking in the woods while reading Aristotle when he was set upon by a wild boar. Instead of falling back or running away, the student waited until the boar charged and opened its mouth, at which point he jammed the Aristotle down the boar's throat, choking it to death with the words "hic est Graecus!" Running triumphantly back to Queen's, he requested that the entire college share in his good fortune by throwing a feast, and a song was written to commemorate. So the choir, in cassocks and surplices, march into the hall while singing. We are led by the soloist, then the stewards of the hall, who carry candles. After them, the three chefs of Queen's College, bearing on their shoulders a platter with a giant (and real!) boar's head. As the song makes reference to, the boar's head is decked out in herbs and holly branches. After the platter is set at high table, the provost plucks the orange out of the mouth of the boar and hands it to the soloist. And then, in pairs, the rest of the party (stewards, chefs, and choir) come forward to claim our bit of gilded garland. At which point, we are shuffled out the door to a smaller room where we enjoy the Queen's College customary cold buffet of poached salmon and such.
I'm back home now, and it's great to be back. There is snow on the ground, it's freezing, and I love it. Saw Diana twice in the past few days. She knitted me another scarf for Christmas! It's nice and soft and green. Many thanks to her. :)
The Christmas tree is up and I should probably be wrapping presents now. But anyway, I hope to be posting a little more often. Yeah, like that'll happen.
