Well, yeah, of course, COVID. As disappointments go, COVID is the damned star on top of the Disappointment tree!
But there are still many things crapping on Christmas.
For me, aside from the fact I turned 68 (SIXTY-EIGHT? Jeeeezus!) on December 3rd, I was asked what I wanted for my birthday. I gave it some serious thought, and told my family, “I want a mincemeat pie.”
I’m one of the three people in this hemisphere who love mincemeat.
My disappointment? NOBODY makes it any more! My family couldn’t even find mincemeat on the grocery shelf! Sara Lee makes a mincemeat pie, but it’s full of apples and raisins, very little mincemeat. No bakery around carries a mincemeat pie.
COVID, which will prevent the family gatherings we always have.
The fact that on top of that I’m between houses, so just my wife and I. No decorating, the kids are staying with my sister.
My Mom’s Parkinson’s has left her unable to care for herself and at least as bad she’s losing herself. She is stuck in a nursing home and we of course can’t really visit her. (see #1) This would be higher on the list, but I’ve had since June to adjust to all of this.
This is just a year after losing my Dad.
I’m out of work again, a specialist that is no longer really needed in my 50s. (But we’re OK financially, we’re savers and my wife has a very good job thankfully.)
My house closing is taking forever, we’re 2 weeks out of the house now and still the closing is held up. I just want it done and the money in my account so we’re in good shape to buy the new smaller place we due to move into at the end of December.
sorry, you asked, but thank you, I think this was a little cathartic.
I just had to replace two tires on my car after hitting a pothole and shredding the sidewalls of both passenger tires. They only had 10K miles on them. That was disappointing.
I’m having a Zoom meeting on Monday with my two bosses to discuss why we are planning on working through the scheduled Christmas break. Answer, which they damn well know: because we were told to do so by a supervisor and the union will not step in and clarify if we are contractually obligated to comply, so we have no choice but to comply. The fact that we have to have a meeting to rehash what had already been discussed is disappointing.
My depression is getting worse and while it ebbs and flows on any given day – today is a good day, FWIW – in general I’m going downhill. That’s disappointing.
My son is deliberately failing high school. Thats disappointing.
I want to make a good turkey carcas soup for Christmas but I don’t want the hassle of roasting a turkey first. That’s disappointing.
This was going to be the first Christmas in over 35 years I would get to spend with the whole family-the first Christmas I didn’t have to work on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I retired on December 31st because I was tired of missing vacations and holidays.
Worst.
Retirement. EVER!
Not getting to see my kids in person. It’ll be a year since December 26th since I’ve seen either of them. Yeah, thank heavens for Zoom, but I want my kids. Also my son’s dogs.
Right now I have a bad tooth abscess that’s making life pretty painful, but hopefully that’ll be over by Christmas. I have an endodontist appointment on the 22nd.
VOW, the store was out of MINCEMEAT? It is the End of Days. I like mincemeat pie, too. A warm slice with a scoop of ice cream is heaven on a plate. I only made it once because I’m the only one who likes it in these parts. And now I’m craving some. I’ve never made it from scratch but imagine it’s a lot of work. Have you ever seen the original State Fair movie (with Dana Andrews)? I know the mincemeat scene by heart.
Another mincemeat fan here, and I haven’t had it in years. I haven’t tried to buy one because since no one else I know likes it, so I’d have to eat the whole thing myself (not that that’s necessarily a bad thing, except that it would play hell with my diet.
And, for the first time in 68 years, I won’t be able to spend time with my family.
I will be making my own mincemeat. Unfortunately, it is not something immediately available, for it must age. I don’t know if you dose it with hootch regularly, or if it’s a one-shot (haha) deal.
I just might make different recipes, to compare!
I doubt I’ll make it with the original dead-animal-and-suet, though. I don’t want that crap on my pantry shelf if it goes bad.
Everybody, MY HOUSE for Christmas 2021! Have a slice of mincemeat pie!
My sister died in September. I’m missing her as much, or more, than my dad, who passed in 2014. And believe me, I loved my father more than any man on earth. Not having my sister this year is depressing me.
I don’t make mincemeat often because it does take quite a bit of effort, but I always freeze it in pie-sized batches. I always used butter, but tried suet in the most recent batch. Not sure it made an appreciable difference in flavor.
I always used to like the pie made from a jar (contains meat, but more salt than meat!) until I made my own with real beef. No comparison. If you like mincemeat, and have the time to make your own from scratch you will no longer be disappointed, I guarantee.
My older son (21) is at an age where he treats his room more like an apartment and rarely comes out or engages with the family. Which makes including him in holiday stuff somewhere between a chore and a disappointment depending on how optimistic I am for any given attempt.
Aside from that, climate change will probably leave us with another dull brown 40F Christmas, far unlike those of my youth where you had snow on the ground before Thanksgiving. Indeed, the extended weather forecast looks to be 35F with no precipitation between now and then.
I was recently diagnosed with COPD/asthma syndrome. I’ve had hives for 8 weeks. Not related to COPD, etc. I’m having cataract surgery after the first of the year. But none of this disappoints me. The whole I can’t see my friends because of COVID gives me a sad. That’s disappointing on an epic scale.
I make mince tarts most years. No meat, no suet. Tarts are small enough to eat one or two at a time, and they won’t go bad for quite a long time. All you need are store-bought pie shells, a muffin tin, and a biscuit cutter.
Brandied Mince Tarts
MINCE FILLING
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 cup golden raisins
• 1 cup Zante currants
• 2 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and coarsely chopped
• 1/4 cup mixed candied peel
• grated rind of 1 small orange
• grated rind of 1 small-to-medium lemon
• 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons English mixed spice, or a combination of 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1/2 teaspoon each nutmeg and allspice
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup slivered almonds
• 1 handful golden raisins, a scant 1/2 cup
• 1 handful Zante currants, 1/3 cup
• 2 1/2 tablespoons melted butter
• 1/4 cup brandy, French brandy preferred
Instructions:
To make the mince filling: Place the raisins, golden raisins, currants, chopped apple, mixed candied peel, grated orange and lemon rind, sugar, spice, and salt in the work bowl of a food processor. Process until finely minced, but not puréed.
Add the almonds and process briefly, just to break up the almonds.
Transfer the mixture to a bowl. Stir in the handful of golden raisins and handful of currants, then the melted butter.
Mix in brandy to taste.
Store airtight in the refrigerator, until ready to use; mince will keep at least a month in the refrigerator, tightly covered.
To make the crust (or just buy a couple): Combine the flour and salt in a bowl. Add the butter, mixing it in thoroughly. Unlike a typical American pie crust, this “short crust” shouldn’t have any large pieces of butter remaining; the mixture should look like breadcrumbs.
Drizzle in the water, tossing as you go, until you’ve added enough water so that you can squeeze the dough together and it’s cohesive. It should hold together nicely; if it doesn’t, add a bit more water.
Divide the dough in half, and shape each piece into a flattened ball, or wheel; they should look like big hockey pucks. Wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 30 minutes, or overnight.
When you’re ready to prepare the tarts, remove the dough from the refrigerator. If it’s been chilling for longer than 30 minutes, let it warm for 15 minutes or so, till it’s “rollable.” Start preheating your oven to 400°F.
Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll it into a 10" circle, about 1/8" thick.
Select your pan(s). For mini tarts, a mini muffin pans works well. For slightly larger tarts, use a standard muffin pan. Cut rounds of dough to fit whichever pan you choose. Measure the bottom diameter of one of the cups; that’s your starting point. For a standard muffin pan, add 1 1/2" (so that the dough will come 3/4" up the sides of the cup). For a mini muffin pan, add 1". Example: If one of the cups in your standard muffin pan measures 2" across the bottom, you’ll want to cut 3 1/2" rounds of dough.
Cut rounds of dough - 24 for a mini muffin pan, 12 for a standard muffin pan. A 2 3/4" biscuit cutter works well for the mini tarts; a 3 1/2" English muffin ring is the perfect size for the small tarts.
Nestle the dough circles gently into the muffin cups. Don’t stretch them. Where the dough folds, snip through the fold, and lap one side over the other, pressing to seal. Cut stars from the dough scraps: 1 1/4" stars for the mini tarts, 2" stars for the small tarts.
Prick the bottom of each several times with a fork, to prevent them puffing as they bake.
Spoon about 2 teaspoons fruit mince atop each of the mini tart crusts; a level teaspoon cookie scoop works well. Spoon about 4 generous teaspoons filling into the larger tarts; a slightly heaped tablespoon cookie scoop works well.
Spritz the stars with water, and center one star atop each tart. Sprinkle with Baker’s Special sugar or castor (superfine) sugar, if desired.
Bake the mini tarts for about 20 to 22 minutes, until they’re golden brown. The larger tarts should bake for about 28 to 30 minutes, again until they’re golden brown. Remove from the oven, and serve warm, with brandy butter or heavy cream; or at room temperature.
Yield: 24 mini tarts, or 12 small tarts.
• While the mince can be used right away, it’s good to let it mellow in the refrigerator for at least several days, and up to a month or so. Keep it tightly covered, and stir it occasionally.
As for disappointments this season, I really can’t think of any now that a new president and a vaccine are on the way. I really think that a Trump 2nd term would have put me over the edge.
It’s a date. Please PM your address. For face to face socializing I’ll even eat mincemeat pie and smile about it (unless you have a dog I can sneak it to under the table).
Me too. The less money I have to spend the more fun it was.
This year, Mom is with me. In years past, we could spend a whole day shopping and come home with a small shopping bag of stuff while enjoying the experience. Not this year, and it makes me sad every time we pass a nice store without stopping.