Christmas by Anglican Poet John Betjeman

Modern Christmas with its merriment, silver bells, decorated trees and ornaments, owes a debt of gratitude to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert who popularized the decorated Christmas tree. In 1848 The Illustrated London News published a drawing of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert celebrating Christmas around a decorated Christmas tree. Prior to that time Christmas trees were rare in London and practically unheard of in the United States.  Queen Victoria forever changed all that and today we owe much of our Christmas traditions to the Victorian era in England.  Below is a video of British Poet John Betjeman reading his poem "Christmas." 

The Bells of waiting Advent ring,

The Tortoise stove is lit again

And lamp-oil light across the night

Has caught the streaks of winter rain

In many a stained-glass window sheen

From Crimson Lake to Hooker's Green

The holly in the windy hedge

And round the Manor House the yew

Will soon be stripped to deck the ledge,

The altar, font and arch and pew,

So that the villagers can say

"The Church looks nice" on Christmas Day.

Provincial public houses blaze

And Corporation tramcars clang,

On lighted tenements I gaze

Where paper decorations hang,

And bunting in the red Town Hall

Says "Merry Christmas" to you all.

And London shops on Christmas Eve

Are strung with silver balls and flowers

As hurrying clerks the City leave

To pigeon-haunted classic towers,

And marbled clouds go scudding by

The many-steepled London sky.

And girls in slacks remember Dad,

And oafish louts remember Mum,

And sleepless children's hearts are glad

And Chrismas morning bells say "Come!"  

Even to shining ones who dwell

Safe in the Dorchester Hotel.

And is it true? And is it true,

This most tremendous tale of all

Seen in a stained-glass window's hue

A Baby in an ox's stall?

The Maker of the stars and sea

Become a Child on earth for me?

And is it true? For if it is,

No loving fingers tying strings

Around those tissued fripperies,

The sweet and silly Christmas things,

Bath salts and inexpensive scent

And hideous tie so kindly meant

No love that in a family dwells

No carolling, in frosty air,

Nor all the steeple-shaking bells

Can with this single Truth compare - 

That God was Man in Palestine

And lives to-day in Bread and Wine.               

TAGLIATELLE OF WILD MUSHROOMS

Have you ever had a hobby that you are into but then drift away from due to life's constraints on your time and energy.  Such is the case with me and cooking.  Years ago I decided to really learn how to cook.  You know, reading books about chefs and learning about techniques taught in cooking schools.  I also started collecting high end cooking tools, knives, pots and pans.  Then life got very busy,  a move ensued, a down turn in the energy markets struck and the cooking hobby was put on the back burner (pun intended). 

I find myself though now yearning for a return to my old hobby.  I have noticed that with time my tastes have changed slightly.  Previously, I was determined to cook ambitious dishes that displayed complexity. These dishes at the time presented as complex on the plate as well and I was typically happy that I was able to achieve and produce such a dish.  

But with change comes a shift in taste and a greater appreciation for the sublime.  I was recently in London dining at Jean Georges new outpost there in the Connaught Hotel in Mayfair.  While there I had the Mushroom Tagliatelle.  It was a fantastic dish that bought with it an experience which called to mind a warm hearth with warm company.  Great comfort food on a chilly and rainy fall evening.  I loved the dish but noted that, while it requires high cooking skills to get it right, the dish presents as elegantly refined and not overdone.  It was a creme based sauce but it didn't leave me feeling heavy. 

In my return to my old hobby I tried making a version of this dish for Thanksgiving. It came out well but I have a ways to go before it achieves the texture and flavors of Jean Georges's version.  But what strikes me is that my ambition is to increase my cooking skill level so that I can make a dish that presents as simple with divine flavors.   

Another step in the evolution of my tastes toward elegant simplicity.