dolorosa_12's Tree

[partridgemod]

This is the Tree for dolorosa_12! Below are the requested Pears it can be decorated with (beginning 24 December).



Username: dolorosa_12
AO3 Username: Dolorosa

Request 1: Fic about fairy tale, folktale, or mythological women. I love and would be equally happy with femslash, gen, or het. I read and enjoy fic of all ratings, and would be happy with anything ranging from very sweet and fluffy to something very dark. Please no Disney versions of any fairytales.

Request 2: Dreamwidth icons with pictures/photos of coffee or tea (in mugs, cups, glasses, teapots or other pouring vessels is fine). No fannish images (i.e. just non-specific photos/pictures of coffee or tea, not screencaps of characters from shows, books, films etc drinking tea or coffee).

Request 3: Recs for books retelling myths, legends, folktales or religious stories from the perspective of female characters, in the vein of The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker, or The Red Tent by Anita Diamant. I'm happy for the books recommended to have tragic or unhappy endings. My preference is for retellings set in the same time and context as the source material, rather than transplanted to a modern setting. Please do not recommend books by Marion Zimmer Bradley, Madeline Miller, or books written by and aimed at an evangelical Christian readership.

Request 4: Recipes for dishes typically consumed in your country/your culture at whatever winter festival you celebrate. If you do not have a winter festival (for example if you live in a region that doesn't have a distinct winter), but you have a festival that features a celebration of light/lights in some way, recipes typically consumed then would also be very welcome.

Request 5: Dreamwidth icons featuring stars, nebulae, planets, or other celestial bodies.

Additional Information:

My Ao3 account bookmarks, gifts, and the fics I've written should hopefully give a rough idea of the sorts of things I like to read. I'm also happy to answer any questions you may have, or clarify my requests.

Comments

Northeuropeish Christmas fest

[bruttimabuoni]

This is not so much a recipe as an assemblage – a Christmas Eve dinner for my Swedo-Germanic family. Some of it is probably directly from one or the other; some of it is probably just my family’s tradition. I’ve never worked out the combination. (Christmas Eve is, of course, properly Christmas. 25th December is for latecomers.)

Anyway, start with ham. Cold or hot, whatever. It’s just the excuse for the sides.
Creamy mashed potato with plenty of nutmeg.
Carrots braised slowly and finished with butter, sugar and dill.
Chestnuts and mushrooms, braised in the same dish, finished with a tiny bit of cream.
Red cabbage – we don’t have a family recipe for this, so any of your slow-cooked stovetop ones will do, bit of apple, maybe some raisins, plenty of spice, a little vinegar.
Small pearl onions, peeled whole, and cooked in butter and a bit of water till they are soft. If feeling adventurous, add a spoonful of sugar to caramelise, but don’t let them burn.
Celeriac au gratin, in a simple cheesy bechamel. With extra cheese. No, more than that.
Optionally, as it has snuck in over the years, some homemade chutney or cranberry sauce may be added to the table. But nothing green. (Apart from the dill, that's northern enough.)

You will need five stovetop burners to make this. You do not have five stovetop burners. The ham, if hot, needs a fairly low oven, while the celeriac needs a very high. You require more serving dishes than any one human can stand.

You will, nonetheless, overcome. Then put it alllll on the table. Assemble many hungry people. Sigh heavily at how impossible it is that this enormous spread will ever be finished. You will be eating leftovers at New Year.

After twenty minutes, you will have half a spoonful of spare celeriac and a wee bit of mash left. And red cabbage. There is always more red cabbage. (You will still be eating that at New Year.)

Merry Christmas!

Re: Northeuropeish Christmas fest

[dolorosa_12]

Oh, this is glorious! I love the sound of every single dish, and I can really see how well this would all work together. I also really enjoyed your description of the preparation and consumption of this beautiful spread of food — it really evoked that chaotic, warm, ravenous Christmas gathering feeling well, and I almost felt as if I were there in the room.

I will definitely be trying out some, or all, of these dishes in the future. Thank you so much, and Merry Christmas to you too!