HOT PURSUIT

Forget about the traditional holiday fixes of turkey, ham or meatballs. Our family is all in for Chinese food staples, though we don’t have a hint of Chinese in us. At least that we know of.
Don’t ask me where it comes from, but my family has developed a huge liking for Chinese cuisine, especially around the holidays.
Perhaps it’s a love for Chinese food. Maybe it’s just something different. Whatever it is, it has become a hit at my house for the holidays.
This has become the real deal. We’re not talking about going out to the local Chinese restaurants and loading up on their specialties. We cook just about everything from scratch.
With my nutcracker (remember I have a love for German nutcrackers) apron intact, I take over the kitchen for hours after hours on the day we celebrate Christmas (usually one of the days after the holiday). The list is perhaps a little long but that’s the fun of it. My entire family joins in the fun at some point to help cook the holiday meal.
This year’s menu consisted of egg rolls, fried rice, wontons, regular rice, sesame chicken, Szechuan beef, sweet and sour chicken, kung pao chicken, pork and peanut stir fry and orange chicken. Some of the batches I doubled or even tripled.
It’s exhausting just thinking about it. Try cooking it all from scratch.
Chopping up chicken, beef and pork, along with all the veggies, is very time consuming at best. And then there is cooking each one in the wok separately. It gets to be a mighty hot job. I survived with only a small burn on one of my fingers.
The hardest one is the sesame chicken. There are multiple steps in creating what has become my favorite Chinese dish. I’m not sure I’ve perfected it yet, but I’m giving it my best.
I’ve tried to spruce things up with various herbs, spices and oils to make each dish taste like heaven. The sauces are mouth-watering. Keep in mind I said everything is made from scratch. There are no purchasing bottles of premade sauces at the store. Not allowed for this special day of the year.
After about eight hours of standing on my feet prepping food and cooking, I’m ready for a long winter’s nap.
Besides doing something together as a family, the best part of it all?
With our family on the small side, I have leftovers for at least a week straight.
For me, creating holiday memories is where it’s all at no matter what you do. I hope you had a chance of going in hot pursuit of creating some special memories this holiday season.