b"Matters heart of thematter Featuring Local People, Places andWhats in aThingsthat Matter Since 1990 tradition?PUBLISHER& EDITOR IN CHIEFEllen DonkerLife.ASSOCIATEEDITORCheryl Silver BY ELLEN DONKERADVERTISING CONSULTANTSRene ConlonH. Leslie GilmanCOPY EDITORSNick HumezTia SwansonCONTRIBUTORSElaine Durbach, Melanie Finnern,Rose Gilbert, Donny Levit, E very family has its own way of celebratingtic. I pretended I didnt hear her. other appetizers I was Karen Tedesco, GIFT GUIDE PHOTOGRAPHER holidays. In our home, the most eagerlyRob and the boys have taken their shots, too, smuggling Julia Maloof Verderosa anticipatedgatheringisourChristmasin potato chips and onion dip. They took great pleasure in Eve luncheon. We held it for the first timeseeing our guests consume the chips faster than the shrimp in 1997 after Rob and I got married, ascocktail, cheese plate or whatever a way for family to celebrate Christmasserving. Ive let the chips stay, provided that they are only with Leah, his 9-year-old daughter, whoserved in the family room.would only be with us on Christmas Eve. We invited fam- And then, a few years ago, the boys begged me to switch ily from both sides and were pleasantly surprised when ev- out the roast and serve ham instead. I know I can be rigid, eryone came. but nix the standing rib roast? Once again I compromised, Twenty-three years later, we still host an annual sit- allowing the ham to be served with the roast, if it could be down dinner for 20-plus family members and close friends.brought to the house warm and not take up valuable real Its a bit fancy, with proper china and silverwareno paperestate in my lone oven. We drafted our friend John to bring plates allowed. Eating from real dishes helps set the day offthe ham and it was a great success.as special. Our luncheon stands out in memory in other ways. Like Please address all correspondence to: For a main course, I serve what I made that first year:when I was sauteeing my haricots verts and heard the smoke Visual Impact Advertising, Inc. standing rib roast. At the time, I had no idea how to en- detector in the basement go off. It turns out we had a little P.O Box 198 tertain, so I turned to the Silver Palates Good Times cook- fire from the fireplaces ashpit. Within minutes, the Maple-Maplewood, NJ 07040 book and made exactly what Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukinswood Fire Department was at our house, sirens blaring. 973-763-4900 recommended: roast beef laurels. I have stuck with thatThey evacuated us to the front lawn while they put out the mattersmagazine.comdish, adjusting the rest of the menu with new additionsfire and ran fans to rid the house of smoke. Thankfully, the info@mattersmagazine.com and whatever contributions my guests make. firefighters were snappy and my 15 pounds of roast didnt Matters Magazine is owned and publishedBy now it's a ritual for me to complain that my lowlyburn. I cant remember what happened to the haricots verts. by Visual Impact Advertising, Inc., P.O.kitchen has but a single oven that can barely hold all thatAnd then there are the difficult memories. In 2015, the Box 198, Maplewood, NJ 07040. Matters Magazine is free, with editions directly mailedbeef, never mind the other menu items. Its forced me today before the luncheon, my beloved father was diagnosed 7 times a year to the residents of Maplewoodmake dishes ahead of time and cook what I can on thewith pancreatic cancer. Although my family said I should and South Orangeand distributed to busi- stovetop. I tell my husband: Just imagine what I couldprobably cancel the gathering, I felt that Id rather grieve nesses and surrounding communities total-ing 15,500. Subscriptions are available tocrank out if I simply had a wall oven! Apparently, hes notwith my loved ones than by myself. I felt cushioned by ev-non-residents for $30 (U.S.) $40 (Foreign)convinced because 23 years later I still have one oven, noteryones care.annually. No part of the publication may be reprinted or otherwise reproduced withoutcounting the toaster oven that I sometimes employ. And thats the nature of life: Even beloved traditions writtenpermissionfromVisualImpactAlthough I try to hold to custom and maintain stan- can take on the weight of painful passages. But we keep on Advertising, Inc. dards, Ive had to deal with my family trying to chip awaycoming together so we can walk with those with whom we CIRCULATION VERIFIED BY at them. That includes my own mother, who after seeinghave history, sharing the good and the hardships alike. As in U.S. POSTAL RECEIPTS. the mountain of dirty dishes one year, suggested that nextpast years, I look forward to all of us being under the same READ & RECYCLE time I switch out the china for those really nice plates youroof once again, eating standing rib roast alongside ham can buy at Costco that are sturdy and hardly look like plas- and a side of potato chipson proper plates. 10/ matters magazine / holiday 2019"