American in Spain

Baptism Menu

May 13, 2009
Merluza con gulas

My parents and grandmother are leaving home today to come visit us. They will arrive tomorrow evening and meet their granddaughter (and great granddaughter) for the first time. They bought their tickets on March 23, four hours before Marga went into labor. Needless to say, they (and we!) are pretty excited about their trip. Seeing a baby via video conference and actually holding a baby are two completely different things. On Saturday, in somewhat of a recreation of our wedding day, we will wet the wee one where we were wed (alliteration bonus! +7500!), and then we will have a meal with close relatives in the same restaurant where we had our wedding meal, Etxe Aundi. The menu we have chosen is the following.

Crepes de hongos sobre salsa de espinaca Pimientos rellenos de merluza y txangurro (2 piezas) Rape al horno con pimientos verdes Solomillo a la plancha Tarta de hojaldre con helado Vino tinto crianza y Rosado etc. Café y licores

In English, that's:

Mushroom crepes on a spinach sauce Peppers stuffed with hake and crab meat (2 pieces) Baked monkfish with green peppers Grilled sirloin steak Puff pastry with ice cream Red crianza wine and rosé etc. Coffee and liqueurs

From what I can tell, Baptism in Spain (at least in my new family) is all about tradition and celebration. I have yet to hear any talk of original sin or saving Nora's mortal soul. It's more about having a family celebration during a happy time. My opinion on the matter is that Life cannot be filled with too many celebrations during happy times, because there are an awful lot of unhappy times to counterbalance. I'm always up for a Spanish party, and when it's a party honoring me or my family, all the better!

I've never been to a baptism other than my own as an infant. There is absolutely no way that I will be able to sit through the ceremony without replaying this scene in my head. All I'm sayin' is the heads of the five families better watch out.