Christmas in Algiers: Brunch Anyone?

Surrounded by an array of Christmas décor; seeing homes lit with Santa and his reindeer propped up on the front lawn; driving through the park to view the Festival of Lights; picking out the perfect tree; waking early for door buster holiday bargains; employees with red hats; stockings on the walls; Christmas caroling outside the front door; wrapping boxes filled with Christmas gifts; listening to various holiday tunes; watching Christmas movies; attending holiday parties, concerts, and church services; children excited about Santa visiting their homes; family and friends visiting for the holidays...all things that remind you it’s Christmas time! These are also the things we missed this holiday season, but as always, we made the most of it and brought our holiday spirit to Algiers.

Just as it was for Thanksgiving, we shared Christmas Day with the Marines and my friend Nicole. Instead of cooking dinner this time, we decided to have a Christmas brunch. I thought it would be a nice way to start the morning off. We could then have the late afternoon and evening to relax. Also, I figured it would be way less work than preparing a big dinner. I was completely wrong about that last assumption.

A couple of weeks prior I explored my recipe binder for brunch ideas. One of the challenges with breakfast dishes is timing. Most great breakfast dishes are best served fresh and hot. No one wants reheated eggs, potatoes, and meat; although I’m positive our guests would have eaten it regardless. An ideal dish was a casserole. After a little searching, I found a great Country Breakfast Casserole recipe. I would cook that, grits with cheese, and biscuits. I debated about doing a French toast casserole to have something sweet, but the more and more I thought about it, I knew the perfect sweet to end the meal would be Cinnamon Rolls. Plus, I’d been craving Cinnamon Rolls for the past few months. My brunch menu was set. It would be a breeze, or so I thought.

Is it true that no holiday overseas is complete without a snafu or two? If so, then ours started off just right. Two days before Christmas, Douglas noticed our drinks from the refrigerator were not as cold as they are usually.  At first we thought the temperature needed to be adjusted. But by that night we both concluded our fridge was not working properly. The timing couldn’t have been worse! Since Christmas Eve was declared a holiday the embassy would be closed and no one would be available to fix or replace our refrigerator until after Christmas. This would not have been an inconvenience if we weren’t having Christmas brunch at our place. Ugh! Fortunately the Marine House is very close. They have four refrigerators with plenty of room to spare.

On Christmas Eve I found myself in the kitchen around 10:00 a.m. with a list of everything that needed to be prepped. Once complete I carried those items to the Marine House.  Preparation in cooking (and life in general) truly does set a person up for success. First I began scrubbing the dirt off of approximately twenty potatoes. Thankfully Douglas volunteered to help with this part. He washed the potatoes while I peeled them. Then he sat down at the kitchen table and shredded each potato that would later become hash browns. He did this while watching sports on TV, of course. I might not have been able to listen to music as I usually do while in the kitchen, but that was easy to sacrifice for his much needed assistance. The potatoes here hold a tremendous amount of liquid. Actually, almost all the vegetables are that way. When we tried to make Hash Browns a few days before, they came out very mushy. Douglas realized he needed to squeeze all the liquid out of them first to prevent the soggy texture.  Douglas wringed them out with his hand, and then patted them dry with paper towels. The entire process took about two hours.

Meanwhile, I gathered my ingredients to make cinnamon rolls. Since I eat gluten-free and so does my friend Nicole, I also made a batch of gluten-free cinnamon rolls. This meant more labor, but it would be well worth it. I prepared the regular cinnamon rolls the day prior so they could sit in the fridge overnight. Doing so apparently gives the dough a refined texture when baked the next day. As for the gluten-free cinnamon rolls, I saved those for Christmas morning. Gluten-free baked goods do not often taste as great the next day. I didn’t want to take any chances.

Making cinnamon rolls were not as hard as I thought. The dough was extremely pliable for stretching out and rolling. However, the gluten-free dough was completely opposite. It was exceedingly sticky and difficult to roll into a cylinder shape. Below are a few pictures of the fun and at times messy process. 

Douglas caught a pic of me kneading the dough

Dough set aside for 3 hrs. It rose pretty well.

Regular dough rolled out - nice & smooth

Regular dough covered with Cinnamon/sugar filling

easy roll, mess free

gluten-free dough rolled on wax paper covered with rice flour

Gluten-free dough. Had to use additional flour to prevent sticking

Messy, messy - flour was everywhere

Regular rolls cut up and set aside to rise

GF rolls covered with plastic to rise & Regular rolls after being proofed in the oven

While the dough was rising for 2 ½ hours, I assembled the ingredients to make biscuits. Just as I did with the cinnamon rolls, I made both regular and gluten free biscuits. Again, more labor, but well worth it! Since I’ve made biscuits several times before, I was able to move fairly quickly through this step. I wrapped all the biscuits in saran wrap and set them aside for refrigeration. The gluten-free biscuits did not call for regular milk like the normal biscuits. They instead called for heavy whipping cream and half and half. In the states I could have walked into the grocery store, gone to the cold section and grabbed a container of both heavy whipping cream and half and half off the shelf. Not in Algiers! The only thing they had on the shelf was whipping cream. Would you believe the whipping cream cost 720 dinar, equal to over $9.00? Yes, it was way more expensive than in the states! Even though it was not the “heavy” kind, I used it anyway. As for the half and half, I did a Google search on how to make your own. It was extremely easy. I just mixed regular milk with the whipping cream and there was my half and half. By the time I finished making both types of biscuits, washed and dried the dirty dishes, nearly three hours had passed. Did I forget to mention we do not have a dishwasher? That is one item I no longer believe to be a luxury for someone who cooks every day. It’s a necessity!

Next on my prep list was the meat. I planned to make two casserole dishes. Neither Nicole nor I favor red meat, so I made one with beef and one with turkey. I couldn’t seem to avoid the additional labor, but as always, it was well worth it! If we were in the states this step would have been eliminated. I would have bought my favorite pre-cooked and packaged sausage for this dish. But we are in Algiers, which means no packaged sausage for us. We have seen one type of sausage here that can't even be described as edible. During a random conversation with Nicole, she mentioned that I could make my own sausage. Doing this never crossed my mind. I guess because I simply went without since it wasn’t available.  After she said this to me I began looking up recipes for breakfast sausage. I found three good recipes and combined them to make one great recipe. I did a test batch a couple weeks prior to ensure it was to our liking. I was in awe. They came out sweet, savory and full of taste! Initially I thought they would have tasted more like burger patties, but the spices made all the difference. I seasoned both the ground turkey and beef with that special blend of seasoning. Using every bit of meat I made several round sausage patties. I covered them in saran wrap, placed them in a ziploc bag and set them aside to also be refrigerated.

Next up were the onions. Thankfully the casserole only called for one green onion. I cleaned and chopped those scallions in what seemed like seconds compared to everything else I just did. Then it was time for the cheese. The recipe called for two cups of shredded cheese. If we were in the states this step would have been omitted all together. I would have gone to the store and purchased a large bag of Kraft shredded cheese and kept it movin’! Instead, I was in the kitchen shredding blocks of cheese on my grater. Sure it was fresher, but I cannot honestly say it was worth it. I shredded enough for both casseroles and for the grits. I placed the pounds of cheese into separate ziploc bags for each dish and set them aside with everything else.

The very last thing I had to do for brunch prep was the country gravy mix. Once again, if I were in the states I could have purchased a packet of both regular and gluten-free country gravy mix. Not in Algiers. I did a Google search on how to make your own country gravy mix. There is truly a way to make pretty much anything that can be purchased in the store. I pulled out some flour, dry milk powder, salt, pepper, and onion powder, mixed all those ingredients and placed them in a ziploc bag. Voila! I now had my own country gravy mix for the casseroles and plenty to spare.

Although I was all done with my brunch prep, I came up with the bright idea to prepare an easy meal for dinner. I knew I would not feel like standing up in the kitchen that evening to cook anything. I decided to do a one-pot dish – oven roasted chicken with potatoes and carrots. Of course that meant more labor at the moment. I peeled, cleaned, and cut my potatoes and carrots. I sliced an onion or two and laid everything out on a cookie sheet to season. Then I placed the mixture into a large ziploc bag and mixed well. Next I cleaned my chicken, picking off missed feathers that had not been plucked. Clearly another step I would have skipped had I been in the states. I then seasoned my chicken, rubbed it down with olive oil and also placed it in a ziploc bag. I do wish I took a picture, but I think this a pretty accurate description of what the final prepped product looked like.

By this time it was nearly 4:30 p.m. I could not believe I’d spent over six hours in the kitchen and didn’t even cook anything. I don’t think I did this much prep for Thanksgiving dinner. I quickly cleaned the kitchen, swept the floor, and packed everything in cold bags to be taken over to the Marine House. After taking a shower and getting dressed I had about five minutes to spare before a car was waiting outside to drive me to a small holiday gathering at a friend’s home. My body was exhausted from standing. The sofa was calling my name loudly. I ignored that voice and went ahead to socialize with friends, although I’m pretty sure my body didn’t feel it was well worth it at all.

It was almost midnight when I returned. I may have felt drained of energy but I had a great time. I was ready to hit the sack! Before going home I met Douglas at the Marine House to grab the cream cheese so that it would be room temperature for the morning. I was making a cream cheese frosting for the cinnamon rolls. Yum! When Douglas and I walked into our home, we were unpleasantly greeted by the stale aroma permeating throughout the house. Our refrigerator was now completely out. The very last thing I thought I would be doing at midnight on Christmas Eve was emptying and cleaning our entire refrigerator. We collected as many bags as I could find, cleared the fridge, and hauled the items to the Marine House. If their four refrigerators were not put to good use before, they surely would be now. Douglas then pulled up a chair and attacked the fridge with plenty of Clorox to rid it of the rotten smell. Finally at 2:00 a.m., we called it a night. Going to bed would have felt great if I didn’t need to wake up three hours later to cook everything. Merry Christmas to us!

I awoke to the sound of my alarm going off at 5:30 a.m. It felt like I never went to sleep. I could have laid in that bed for at least three more hours. I sprang out the bed only by the adrenaline rush of excitement to start the day. After all, it was Christmas morning! Douglas and I threw on some clothes to go to the Marine House and gotour food out of the refrigerator. I started working in the kitchen around 6:00 a.m. I pride myself on planning well. Our guests were scheduled to arrive at 10:30 a.m. Shortly after that time all the food was done. Brunch was served piping hot. Everyone helped themselves to seconds, which was a sign that everything was to their liking. That was all the satisfaction I needed. 

Bottom layer of casserole - homemade sausage patties

Next layer covered with onion, cheese, and homemade gravy mixture

Cooking a batch of the hash browns

Now that's what I call a perfect flip. Nice!

Country Breakfast casserole topped with hash browns - the potatoes turned brown in the fridge since they were shredded the day before. Not golden brown, but still delicious!

Grits and Cheese

Regular and gluten free biscuits

Cinnamon Rolls fresh out of the oven

Covered with cream cheese frosting

The Marines told us the brunch was an excellent Christmas gift for them. We hadn’t planned it that way though. The guys were pleasantly surprised when we handed them bags from under our Christmas tree. They didn’t expect anything else. I absolutely love surprising people. Needless to say I was a happy girl in that moment. They opened their gifts and loved them! Again, I wish I took a picture. Tervis Tumblers can put a smile on nearly anyone’s face. The cups make for terrific gifts.

After eating brunch and devouring those delectable cinnamon rolls, we pulled out the games and played a couple rounds of Taboo. It’s a perfect game to play with company, especially when you have competitive guests as we did. Most of my predictions for Christmas Brunch were correct; it was a great way to start the morning off, and we did have the late afternoon and evening to relax. I was 100% wrong about the preparation though. It was the same amount, if not more than preparing a holiday dinner. Regardless, I wouldn’t have changed a thing. It was undoubtedly well worth it all! Everyone had a fantastic time. 

Nothing feels better to me than bringing a smile to someone else’s face. We may not have been surrounded by Christmas reminders as we’re accustomed to in the states, but Douglas and I were more than satisfied with our Christmas experience in Algiers. It was unforgettable!

Date Night Setbacks

Every week Douglas and I attempt to set aside one night dedicated to doing something fun with one another. We call it date night. Douglas’ work and school schedule has caused our recent date nights to get repeatedly postponed. It’s hard to get upset about that when it is neither his fault nor mine. Everything comes in waves. At the time work and school were creating higher waves than either one of us wanted to ride, though I knew it would all slow down soon.

When the week began we saw that there was a community potluck being held for all the Americans. These potluck dinners are usually lots of fun. Last time the group split up into two teams and played Jeopardy. Many of us did not know the answers but we all made some hilarious guesses.  Douglas and I signed up in advance to attend and bring a dish. Although we knew it would be enjoyable, both of us weren't really feeling the event. We just wanted to spend some quality time alone. That is when the light bulbs inside our heads turned on simultaneously. If we skipped the potluck we could have our much needed date night. The fact that we both felt the same way made the decision that much easier. Besides, there is a different community event held each month. We could catch the next one.

For date night we planned to dine at a delicious Turkish restaurant, pick up some yummy Italian gelato to take home, put up Christmas decorations, watch a movie, and end with some adult fun. The Marine driver was scheduled to pick us up at 6:00 p.m. from our residence. I was so thrilled to get dressed up in something other than my everyday comfort clothes. Douglas was also happy to wear something besides work attire. The night was going to be great! 

First Setback: The Marine driver informed us that the Turkish restaurant we wanted to eat at was closed on Fridays. There are less than a handful of acceptable restaurants in Algiers that serve good food in a nice atmosphere. We resorted to eating at Hippopotamus instead, a restaurant that would have been our very last choice. Even with the condiments I had squeezed into my medium sized purse, our dishes could still be described as only edible. We made the most of it; all the while thinking about indulging in some delicious gelato later that evening.

Second Setback: To our convenience the gelato shop happened to be located right beside Hippopotamus. As we exited the restaurant and turned left to go inside the gelato shop, our jaws dropped when we saw the metal gate pulled over the entrance. It was closed! This now meant no gelato for us. It’s not like in America where you can go to another ice cream shop that is just as good. This was the only gelato shop we knew about. The food portion of our night did not go too well, but the evening wasn’t over yet. We waited outside for a few minutes until the driver arrived and drove us home.

All the Christmas decorations were already laid out on our dining room table. The first order of business was to put up the tree. Our living room space is tight, leaving little room for a tree or even a small plant. We were determined to find a spot for it though. Without the tree it wouldn’t feel like Christmas. Eventually we agreed it would look best directly behind our dining room table. After setting up our pre-lit tree, Douglas and I had to plug it into a transformer box. There was an extra one lying around the house collecting dust. We plugged it into the wall and then plugged a surge protector into the transformer box. To avoid damaging our American products, using a surge protector with the transformer is highly recommended. Before plugging the tree into the surge protector I thought it would be best to turn the transformer box on first to ensure it was working properly. Thank goodness we did.

Third Setback: As soon as Douglas flipped the transformer switch on, we heard a loud pop and saw a flash of light come from the box. The burnt smell from the unit confirmed our thoughts. The transformer blew our surge protector out. Maybe that surge protector was bad. This is what we told ourselves, hoping that it wasn’t the transformer box itself. We had another surge protector that was brand new. Douglas then plugged that one into the box and we watched as the same loud noise and bright spark appeared again. Nope, it was the box! That was it! Two surge protectors now destroyed and a tree with no lights. Just as I was about to forgo decorating the tree at all, Douglas convinced me that I would much rather see an unlit tree up than no tree at all. He wound up being correct. At least we are conserving energy, not that it was ever our intention.

Once we finished the holiday decorating portion of the evening I wanted to lie down, cuddle up with my husband, and watch a new movie on Netflix. A few days prior, the temperature outside dropped severely. It went from high 60’s to low 40’s practically overnight. To make matters worse, our heating unit suddenly stopped working. And to top that off, when one unit stops working then all the units stop working. The inside of our house felt just as cold as it was outside. I typically do not prefer having heat on, but our home was so cold I craved for heat that night. I was dressed in sweatpants, long thick socks, a long sleeved t-shirt, and a hooded sweatshirt with the hood tied on my head. I almost came close to putting on my winter coat too.

While moving around decorating the house, we managed to stay fairly warm. But once we sat down the coldness kicked in big time! We sat on the living room sofa preparing to watch a movie on Netflix. I told myself to focus on the movie. Maybe then I wouldn’t notice how cold I was underneath the thick blanket we had on top of us.

Fourth Setback: Douglas pressed play for the movie we selected and our blu-ray player froze. Yes, it stopped working! Douglas unplugged the system to try and restart it, but even after that we still could not access Netflix. We have DVD’s, but neither one of us were in the mood to watch movies we had already seen. And our cable provider, the American Forces Network (AFN) which consists of ten channels, had nothing to our liking coming on that night.

It was now becoming rather hard to ignore the effects from our cold house. My fingertips were wrinkled and blue, and my nose was turning red. My teeth clattered every few seconds. And the way I was shivering reminded me of standing outside in New York City in mid-winter, waiting for either the train or bus to arrive. There was no way we could continue sitting on the sofa, freezing our butts off. We decided the bedroom would suit us much better. Moving like we were in a race, we cleared out of the living room and proceeded to the bed. I placed one leg underneath those sheets and it felt like I was lying in a refrigerator. We didn’t think about how cold it would be underneath the covers. Douglas wrapped me in the pretty turquoise blue, white and brown afghan that my mother made me a couple years ago.  I rolled onto those chilled sheets and as best as I could I cuddled tightly with Douglas to stay warm.

Fifth Setback: Earlier, when we pictured ourselves in bed at the end of this date night, we never imagined to be fully dressed in layers of clothes and a blanket. Neither of us was planning to remove one layer of our clothing, just to have some much needed “fun” in that icebox of a room. My toes were now numb and my head was hurting from the declining temperature. By this time it was almost 10:30 p.m. All that I could bring myself to do was go to sleep. The only thing that went right the entire night was that Douglas and I got to spend it together. On the upside, this was probably our most memorable date night ever!        

First Time Hosting Thanksgiving Dinner

Nearly every Thanksgiving or Christmas I go to someone else’s home for dinner. I can usually be found at my mother’s house, but this Thanksgiving we are overseas in Algiers. We arrived in March 2012 and even then I was anticipating where we would celebrate the holidays. After a few months in country I pretty much decided that I would host our holiday dinner. It wouldn't be just Douglas and me though; it would be for all the Marines. I absolutely love doing anything that may help Marines be reminded of their homes in the states. They really appreciate the generosity and I certainly enjoy doing it. It’s a win-win situation!

A few weeks prior to Thanksgiving I started planning the menu. My girlfriend, also named Nicole, said she would help by fixing a few dishes too. We both enjoy cooking so this was right up our alley; however, she has hosted several Thanksgiving dinners in the past. This was a walk in the park for her. As for me, I was treading water very lightly, a bit nervous to jump right in and swim. But once I got into the groove of things, I felt like a natural! It quickly became fun and never once felt like a task. I didn’t just want the dishes to taste good, I wanted them to taste great!

For my first Thanksgiving I can say I did awesome! I’m generally very organized and love to plan things. One thing I dread in the states is grocery shopping for holiday dinners. The stores are tightly packed and bring about many frustrated emotions. And if you have the misfortune of going to the store just a couple days prior or the night before the big day, you typically find bare shelves, emptied by the previous shoppers. It was quite the opposite in Algiers. Shopping for Thanksgiving was no different than any other day. Thanksgiving is not celebrated in this country. They do have similar holidays. At that time the stores and markets here are also crowded with hoards of people. My Thanksgiving shopping experience was painless and enjoyable.

I stared prepping food two days prior by cleaning, peeling, and chopping several items. I got my baking out of the way the day before. I made a carrot cake, cream cheese frosting, sweet potato pies, and homemade rolls. Unfortunately I didn’t make the rolls gluten-free so I can’t comment on their taste. Everyone else spoke up for me and said they were delicious! Dinner was set for 2:00 pm. I was up bright and early like every other cook on that day. I made macaroni and cheese, green bean casserole, candied carrots, corn pudding, apple crisp, pot roast, and of course the turkey. Nicole made corn bread stuffing, sweet potato casserole, potatoes au gratin, cranberry sauce, red velvet cupcakes, lemon meringue pie, and vanilla ice cream. We had more than enough food! The best part of this dinner was that no dish was off limits to either Nicole or me. We are both gluten-free and prepared the majority of food with that in mind.

Since pork is not sold in this country I selected roast beef as the second meat. My husband is a pot roast lover, but I am not. I rarely eat beef. I opted to cook the roast in my slow cooker to avoid occupying my oven more than necessary. My husband and I have a rule we follow. He must be 100% honest about my cooking and I must not take his criticism negatively. In order to have outstanding dishes we adhere to this rule strictly. So when he told me this was one of the best pot roasts he has ever eaten, I knew it was good to go. I couldn’t taste the dish because I seared the meat with regular flour and added regular flour to make the gravy too. But it looked absolutely perfect!

In addition to the roast, I was extremely proud of myself for cooking my first large turkey, an 18 pounder to be exact. Thankfully we got our hands on an American Butterball turkey. The turkeys were flown in from the states. They do have turkeys in Algiers, but there is nothing like an American one. I looked up several recipes, compared them, and then took the best ingredients and tips from my top choices and made it my own. I love how juicy my chicken comes out when cooked in an oven bag, so I opted to do the turkey the same way. Two days before Thanksgiving I rubbed the turkey down with my basic seasonings and then gave it a second rub down with herb butter I made. The morning I went to cook it, I sprinkled paprika all over the skin to ensure it turned golden brown. I placed it in the oven bag (breast side down) with some dry white wine and 3 hours later my 18 pound bird was glowing! When Douglas cut into the turkey the juices were flowing out. I took the advice from a few reviews and placed the breast down instead of up. They all said the breast would be juicer than ever and it was! Even after four days that turkey was still mouthwatering. Everyone enjoyed all the dishes that both Nicole and I made.  

I was most grateful for having the opportunity to share my first holiday hosting experience with our Marines, good friends, and my wonderful husband. While Douglas could have been deployed by himself during this time, God blessed us to have this experience together. It was such a pleasure for Douglas and me to use the blessings God has given us in money, food, and cooking skills, and share that with others. Talk about a Thanksgiving to remember!

Macaroni and Cheese

Candied Carrots, Corn Bread Stuffing, and Rolls

Green Bean Casserole

Corn Pudding

Potatoes Au Gratin

Slow Cooker Roast Beef

Apple Crisp

Carrot Cake and Red Velvet Cupcakes