The order of events on the Saturday on which Christmas Eve fell this year was a wee bit off, because I produced either a very tardy breakfast pastry or a very early dessert. What is this magic of which I speak?
It was a pair of braided Meyer lemon loaves, lovingly crafted from scratch with a sweet enriched dough, filled with a sweetened cream cheese and a layer of homemade Meyer lemon curd.
This was quite something, gooey and gorgeous, tasty and tantric…and fully approved by the holiday celebrants at hand.
Ah, but this is just one of the newsworthy facets of this holiday Saturday. In the meteorological realm, I believe they grandly proclaim it a bomb cyclone, a weighty mass of lost invading Arctic air that busts through an unstable jet stream. It overwhelmed most of the continental United States with its most potent and deadly punch coming on Christmas Eve. The weather station at the Old Town Club adjacent to Wake Forest University clocked in at a low of 4°F but here at the house we only dipped to a downtown-moderated 7°F. Daytime temps under sunny skies reached the mid-20s, so all trips out with sweet Sumner were expeditious. This is the coldest we have been in quite a few years, I think, but the Roediger House remained cozy and infinitely blessed.
I’m sorry the comfort and joy abiding within could not be gifted to the troubled neighbors two houses down, where a late afternoon domestic row—and perhaps a mental health crisis?—required police presence and multiple officers to subdue a particularly combative woman who had tried to stab her male companion. It’s a new neighbor there, whom I’ve not met, but I feel for them.
Saturday night might have been spicy and wild for some, and sacred or somber and centered for others, given that it was Christmas Eve. At the Roediger House, it was a perfect night for oven-baked baby back pork ribs, homemade barbecue sauce, and perfectly roasted Brussels sprouts.
This was Meal No. 3258 in the ongoing count of meals made in the kitchen addition to the Roediger House.
That left plenty of room for more desserts for those so inclined: either more of the braided lemon loaf or a remaining serving of the Meyer lemon pudding cake (with a little more of the Meyer lemon ice cream!).
"Braided Lemon Bread," by MaryJane Robbins of King Arthur Baking. Corresponding blog post is "A Sunny Bread to Chase the Snow Away: Braided Lemon Bread." [Published 05 April 2010]
"How to Make Great Ribs in the Oven," by Emma Christensen. From The Kitchn. [Published 01 July 2017]
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