Christmas Dinner

During the Christmas and New Year holidays of '99, Henry accompanied Catherine Hepburn back to her seaside villa in Fenwick, Connecticut. It was a time for the Hepburn Family to gather together.

For the past few years, Maria Stark Tom had been his companion. But since Henry arrived, the Christmas and New Year holidays have been given back to Maria Stark so she can spend time with her family.

The idea that turkey is an essential part of the Christmas dinner is actually a stereotype held by many foreigners.

The United States is a multi-ethnic immigrant nation, so for holidays like this where families reunite, it's natural to bring out traditional family recipes. These recipes may have been brought from distant homelands, showcasing the roots of their national culture.

However, Hepburn Family', who are Union Jack members, don't actually have any traditional recipes. Moreover, starting with Catherine Hepburn's parents' generation, the family has a very open and progressive culture, not bound by so-called traditions.

Not to mention that the majority of this family are atheists, and even those who claim to have faith rarely attend Church more than a few times a year. The Christmas reunion is more of a reason for family members to get together during the holiday.

Therefore, this year's Christmas dinner menu was decided by Chef Henry Brown.

Catherine Hepburn's only brother committed suicide early in her life, leaving her with four younger siblings who have all started their own families. Although she herself had no children, her nephews, nieces, and even grand-nephews are all married and have their own families. It is now a large and sizable family.

So even though Henry was the head chef and decided the menu, many third and fourth generation Hepburn still helped out in the kitchen.

Appetizers are still the more familiar finger foods, such as cheese and sausages.

The cold shrimp salad is accompanied by a vegetable platter of carrots, celery, bell peppers, cauliflower, and cucumbers.

Henry offered a guessing game for cream puffs here. Of course, there were no prank flavors; they were just normal flavors like berry, strawberry, chocolate, vanilla, and custard.

They counted heads, one for each person, and what you got to eat was entirely up to luck. Then Henry got the first complaint of the day, because everyone wanted to try all the flavors.

Henry prepared the main courses himself, including Chinese roast duck, clay pot chicken, roast suckling pig, and whole roast lamb, none of which can be made with a typical home oven. Henry put in a lot of effort to prepare the oven, grill, and suitable ingredients.

Side dishes are divided into two main categories: hot and cold. Hot side dishes include mashed potatoes with gravy, roasted pumpkin, and a wide variety of breads. There are also four kinds of soups to choose from: mushroom, clam, tomato, and oxtail soup.

The cold side dishes consist of a mix of various vegetables, beans, melons, and dried fruits. This part was prepared by the Hepburn Family's eldest daughter-in-law, who was also a grandmother to Henry, creating a flavor unique to the Hepburn Family.

When the food filled the three large tables, the Hepburn Family's Christmas dinner began. As the only person present who did not share the Hepburn surname and had no blood or in-law ties, Henry still sat down to eat with everyone else.

Basically, people weren't grouped together according to seniority or branch of the family. Instead, people who could chat sat at the same table and talked about things they were all interested in.

Henry was immediately pulled aside by the old lady's nephews and grandnephews and made to sit together. These people had all been working for a long time, and some were even retired.

As they approached the table, everyone was first taken aback by the lavish spread of food. They exclaimed to Henry, half-jokingly, "Wow, why so much food? What are we going to do with all this?"

"I'm on a diet, so I can't eat that much."

"I can only eat a little bit of each thing at most, no more than that."

"Do you know what healthy eating is? It emphasizes light, natural flavors, without excessive processing. It's about enjoying the most natural taste."

"Isn't serving a whole sheep a bit excessive? Can we really finish it?"

Before everyone even started eating, all the previous complaints became meaningless. A few girls who claimed they were on a diet and would only eat a little bit went straight to unbuttoning their pants and eating as much as they wanted.

Those elderly people who claimed to have a light palate and only eat healthy food seemed to have forgotten their complaints. They kept eating, one bite after another, without stopping.

Because there are many main dishes, the portion of each main dish on each table is actually not that much when divided among three tables. This forces people who particularly like a certain dish to go to other tables to get some.

In short, what was supposed to be a joyous family gathering almost turned into a scene of agonizing Hell.

Those girls who come home and say that a slice of toast is enough for dinner actually eat just as much as the boys their age.

So Henry initially prepared portions that he, with his big appetite, could enjoy to his heart's content. In the end, however, he almost didn't get to eat a single bite of some of the dishes.

In the end, everything on the table, including appetizers and side dishes, was completely devoured. Even the elderly people who had been so eager to promote the benefits of eating only until they were seven-tenths full ended up burping from eating.

Several young people helped clear the table and wash the dishes. Henry was then pulled over by the group he had been at the previous table.

This group of people didn't frolic around the Christmas tree like children, nor did the older children fight over the handles of the game consoles in front of the television. The women were mostly gathered around the fireplace, warming themselves while complaining about the men's daily behavior.

It's just a big family, a scene of everyday life. Nothing special, but it makes everyone in it feel relaxed and at ease.

However, the people who had brought Henry were gathered in the restaurant, with glasses of alcohol in front of them. Some were drinking whiskey or brandy, while others were drinking red or white wine. Henry glanced at them, then grabbed a bottle of beer to join them.

Leading the group was one of Catherine Hepburn's nephews, the oldest in the group, who had been retired for some time.

For unemployed people like them, the biggest worry is whether their retirement pension will be enough to allow them to live a comfortable life. Working is no longer their primary source of income; investing and managing finances is.

Speaking on behalf of everyone, he asked, "Henry, we chatted earlier, and you had some very insightful views on the market. We'd like to ask you, are there any suitable investment projects in the past two years?"

As soon as someone spoke up, others immediately chimed in, "Yeah, you've worked at Stark Studios for so long, and you have a good relationship with Tony Stark. Do you have any inside information that could help us make a fortune?"

A group of people were talking at once, discussing which stocks to invest in and how to make big money. They also complained about the Asia financial crisis of the past two years, saying they missed out on making a fortune by following the Soros Quantum Fund.

Henry looked helpless and said, "Insider trading is illegal. Not only will you go to jail, but you'll also lose any money you earn. Do you really want to hear this?"

"That means you really do have inside information!" someone said, their eyes gleaming.