ChristNess.

Hello Unigirls and Boys! 

My humblest apologies for not having been able to blog lately. Things have been crazy bananas at the store! Ear-muffs are selling like crazy and it's like our Mojito stock had legs and was literally carrying itself out the door! 

Today, I've decided to take the time to tell you about the Thibaudier-Ness family tradition! Every year, I celebrate Christmas with my parents in Prince Edward Island but this year, unfortunately, I am residing in Montreal. That's okay though because I will be with friends and hopefully, I will be able to carry on the T-Ness tradition this year without my parents. 

Every year, my father and I erect our Christmas tree on the 24th and decorate it. In the meantime, my mother tends to lock herself up in the kitchen and makes the traditional Hungarian cakes that she has been making and mastering for as long as I remember every Christmas! She makes apple strudels, makos, kalàcs, and the traditional fruit cake! The former three that I named are all traditional Hungarian cakes known to be prepared for special occasions such as Christmas or Easter. 

We'll usually have musical classics playing, a very popular song is John Lennon's and Yoko Ono's Happy Xmas (War Is Over) that will resonate on repeat through out our household. 

For dinner, we tend to have some charcuterie, baguette and a nice cheese platter with some Camembert, Roquefort, and Gruyère for an appetizer to entertain the fine wine we have flowing! The main course is traditionally a meat fondue, with sides that range from spinach salad, escargots, wild rice and steamed veggies. 

I remember one year, we ended up having Chinese food and it was disastrous. P.E.I. Chinese food, definitely not as good as the kind you find in Montreal AND  not that good when sober as it is when you are drunk and on the way home for Peakes (anyone from Prince Edward Island will understand this). Just saying! 

Hope everyone will be partaking in grand traditions this year as well! 

Apfelstrudel (apple strudel) and Topfenstreduel (cream cheese strudel) are two popular Hungarian desserts that my mother has been baking for several years every Christmas.

Kalàcs, also known as Bejgli, are traditional pastries rolled in a yeast cake filled with poppy seeds or walnuts. My mom makes both every year. 

Meat Fondue! So delicious! We usually use poultry for the meat in our Christmas eve main course!