Too Much is Always Enough, or; Food is Love

The Stoddards are really pretty over-the-top in a lot of ways. We're all just a little too loud and obnoxious and some of us can be awfully self-righteous. We're passionate about our politics, beliefs and ideals. We're verbose. And there is no doubt that we are all prone to excess, particularly when it comes to food. Food is love, right? And we love big. So we eat a lot.
Weeks prior to any major family gathering, we start communicating about food. Since the advent of e-mail, we do this with a million reply-alls and much tangential discussion, such as whether or not anyone ever /actually/ drove themselves crazy with excessive verb usage (or with extensive or excessive usage of verbs). And we often end up with way too much food. Except for that one old home weekend about 20 years ago when Wayne missed dinner and there was no food left. Remember that travesty? Wayne does.

This year, I am hosting Christmas at my house for the very first time. We generally alternate Christmas between Vermont (Auntie Sally's house) and Maine/New Hampshire (Auntie Rae's house). This year Sally didn't feel her house would be comfortable for everyone, what with all the fish tanks, so I jumped at the opportunity to officially become a grown-up and have Christmas at my house. This way I don't have to travel. We're really excited about moving furniture around to accommodate lots of people around the tree and I'm looking forward to a sleep-over with many of my cousins and aunties (Sally, you should sleep over, too, even if your own home is 5 miles away).

So back to the food. This holiday's food planning started like this (I started it):

Christmas Eve:

Lentil soup (my dad)

Corn Chowder--vegetarian (Henekis)

Galupshugas (Gram)

Homemade Bread (Zoe)

Green salad (Zoe)

Christmas Morning:

Strata (Cindy Mom and Zoe

Various fruits (Zoe)

Christmas Dinner:

20 lb organic turkey from Penny!!!(Zoe)

Ham or pork roast from the pig my dad bought(Zoe)

Stuffing and Gravy (Cindy Mom)

Potatoes (Zoe)

Squash (David Dad)

Brussel Sprouts (Zoe)

Amazing Party Cake (not from the auction) (Zoe)

Other hopes and dreams:

(Cindy Mom):Crabcakes, Chinese dumplings (I have loads of ground pork for these and will help make them ahead)

So my mom agreed to the crabcakes and dumplings and added her homemade danish. Then Henekis requested clam dip. Then Raetha offered roots veggie stew and more fruit and offered to plan a hike, which obviously we'll all be way too full to participate in. So when you consider the above list, we're probably all set for 24-hours and 15-20 people, right? But then yesterday Sally weighs in with the following:

I'm bringing Thai -- shrimp, cauliflower, lo mien noodles and carrots in a peanut sauce (Shani I'll leave out the shrimp in some). Also, I am bringing at least 4, but probably 6 quiche, all vegetarian. Jen, Kali and I are bringing 2 lime key pies that are pretty basic but we like them (Jen smiled when she ate some and I love her smile; they do have some Cool Whip I am a bit ashamed to write...). One chocolate éclair pie (these are all graham crust size not Zoë's and Rae's usual big pie shells). A crock pot of my Ntozake Shange rice/broccoli/cayenne peeper/nutmeg etc dish. I'll add some of the wedding type mandarins to the fruit. And, something else I don't know about yet. I have 6 cans of crabmeat and -- on my wish list, I am asking for Zoe to make me the ugliest possible cake. You can even make it poorly right now and freeze it, maybe that will make it a little soggy when thawed. Love, love, love etc.

I particularly love "And, something else I don't know about yet." Because clearly we will need something else. There might not be enough. She's too cute!

Lest you think I have had any direct influence on this crazy family food fetish (as opposed to just being a product of same) here's my dad at the end of Christmas Day in 1982 (I was only 11) reading a list of food and drink he (and others) had consumed that day. It's a pretty great, classic clip. And I particularly love the supportive cheering at the end.:

This year, I've had some moments of worry that there really will be too much food and that will mean waste; a deadly sin, especially for us frugal New Englanders. But since I have freezer space and anticipate about 15 house guests for New Year's Eve, I'm breathing through my panic that we will literally be overun by our amazing culinary creations and looking forward to embracing the joy that is feeding the people you love. Anyway, I could no more ask any of the cooks in my family to NOT bring food than I could ask them to stop loving each other, or me. I imagine stomping my foot and the ridiculous futility of either scenario: "Stop it! Just stop it! Stop it right now!" And why would I want to convince anyone of such silliness?