get dressed you merry gentlemen

(Subject heading is Arthur Shappey's version of "God rest ye merry gentlemen" from the awesome Cabin Pressure Christmas episode, in case you were wondering. As far as I'm concerned, all the merry gentlemen are quite welcome to stay undressed.)

Merry Christmas to all who are celebrating it!

I appear to be eating fruitcake for breakfast. I used this recipe for hot toddy fruitcake, except that I used more spices and left out the candied peel and glacé cherries, substituting more dried fruit (figs, apricots, dried cherries, a little dried pineapple, and golden raisins aka sultanas). It is yummy and moist, which is a relief, because not only was I having to convert metric measurements to American ones, but since I don't have a food scale I was also converting grams (a measure of weight) to cups (a measure of volume), which is tricky at best.

Besides delicious fruitcake, I also have a delicious Yuletide story, yay! The fandom is The Wooden Horse and The Tunnel, two highly autobiographical novels by Eric Williams about two British POWs' escape from Stalag Luft III, which they managed--and this is historically true--by digging a tunnel whose starting point was a homemde vaulting horse placed near the wire. The tunnellers hid inside the vaulting horse as it was brought out every day, tunnelled while their friends vaulted, then concealed the tunnel entrance with a trap door and sand before the vaulting horse was brought in again at night.

The books are as much about the everyday POW experience, and especially about the intense friendship between main characters Peter Howard and John Clinton, as about the escape itself. I've posted about The Wooden Horse here and The Tunnel here; links go to LJ because there's important stuff in the comments there, especially for The Wooden Horse. I think those posts are as much background as you need to understand the story; all this is in aid of convincing you to read it. The fandom for these books is so tiny as to be nonexistent, but the story is gorgeous and deserves a wider readership than it's at all likely to get. It's not just a beautiful, believable love story, it's a story about the growth of a queer man's self-understanding, about queer men's friendships and mutual support, and about both the trauma of being a POW and the trauma of suddenly finding oneself free again. Also, there is a POW dance, and a crossover appearance by Ralph Lanyon from The Charioteer, and really everything I could have wanted and more. (Why, mystery author, it's as though you know me!)

Please do give it a read. I can't recommend it highly enough.


How Many Strawberries Grow in the Sea? (20922 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Wooden Horse series - Eric Williams, The Charioteer - Mary Renault
Rating: Explicit
Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Peter Howard/John Clinton
Characters: Peter Howard, John Clinton, Nigel Wilde, Ralph Lanyon
Summary:

'Shaking himself a little, John methodically took off his new uniform jacket and then sat on the bed to remove his boots. New boots as well, issued on his return to Britain, stiff and tight and warm. Boots that had not marched or paced, boots that had none of the earth of Poland on them, boots without holes, without part of the laces removed for other projects.
That part of his life was over.'

Back in Britain following the escape, John is alone with the impossible questions.

Christmas cooking

Dinner was yum. I ended up adding roasted beets with mustard vinaigrette to the existing menu (duck breasts; roast potatoes; and brussels sprouts with chestnuts, cream, and blue cheese).

starlady asked for the brussels sprouts recipe, so I'm posting it here. It comes from the 2006 Bon Appetit Cookbook by Barbara Fairchild. ( recipe under the cut )

I also wanted to talk a bit about cooking duck, in case you haven't tried it and are curious.

( details, including notes on duck disassemblage that may not be for the squeamish, under the cut )