Homemade Holidays : An Exile in New York, a military brat, a mom who poached a tree. . .and the search for figgy pudding. ‘Tis the season to remember. With recipes. : Sausage of the Season

I remember my first taste of Embutido . I was 10 and we were spending Christmas that year at my mother’s relatives’ farmhouse in the countryside north of Manila. On the day before our traditional noche buena (Christmas Eve dinner), I awoke to the crowing of roosters and the shrieking of pigs. I looked out the window and saw two baby pigs being chased around by my uncles.

One pig was going to be spit-roasted over a pit of coals and brushed with tamarind branches until it cooked to a shiny golden brown. The other they butchered so that my aunts could use the various cuts in dishes for the big holiday feast.

They ground the shoulder butt for the Embutido , saving some for stuffing boneless chicken and some for lumpia (egg rolls). My aunts made longaniza sausage with fresh warm casings from the pig, filling them with finely chopped lean meats, diced fat, lots of garlic and a dash of potent rum. They hung the longaniza on a rod by the kitchen window to mature. For days my little cousins and I would look at them. We couldn’t wait to eat them for breakfast--they were great with fried rice and chopped tomatoes.

What intrigued me most was the sinsal or caul fat, the lacy net of fat that surrounds the animal’s stomach. When I saw my aunt rinsing it in a tub of water, I thought it was a white lace tablecloth. This would serve as the casing for the Embutido . When the caul fat turns brown in cooking, it imparts a taste that makes Embutido quite different from any meat loaf or sausage.

Now it’s difficult to imagine a Christmas Eve buffet table without Embutido . It’s one of my cherished family dishes, and always brings memories of my childhood in the Philippines.

In Spanish, Embutido is the name of a particular sausage, which comes from the same root as the Italian word imbottire , meaning to fill or to stuff. But I like to connect it with imbottita , the Italian word for quilt, because when you cut the meat roll, the slices reveal a “quilt” of colorful ingredients (typically carrots, hard-cooked eggs, sweet pickles, raisins) patched into the meat.

Today, the typical Embutido consists of about three parts pork and one part ground Vienna sausage. The sausage probably took the place of expensive ham during World War II, when the country was flooded with canned meats from America.

But everyone makes Embutido differently. My friend Elnora Lenon makes a steamed Embutido . It’s sweet, moist and somewhat orange in color (I’ve found out that she stretches the meat with grated sweet potatoes), and she always makes enough to feed an army. My mom, who banned pork for a while, served Embutido made with beef one year. The color wasn’t right, though (it didn’t have a pinkish cast), and neither was the taste. And the meat was not as moist and tender as it should have been.

Then there’s Eli Roces, who once boned chicken legs and stuffed them with the Embutido pork mixture. It was delicious, but that was the last time I ever saw her serve it. “It disappears so fast,” she said, “and yet takes forever to make, that I decided I’ll just do it for a small serving.”

With so many ingredients available here in Los Angeles, it’s easy to come up with new versions. One year, when we were all too busy to plan the holiday menu, my friends and I ended up having four versions of Embutido at our Christmas Eve buffet, along with a roast turkey that was stuffed with Embutido forcemeat.

Here’s my new Embutido . Inspired by my husband’s craving for prosciutto, I included the ham, eliminated the Vienna sausage, and threw in some capers and cheese. He loved it.

EMBUTIDO (Meat Roll Wrapped in Caul Fat)

3 eggs

2 medium carrots

2 pounds ground pork

1/2 cup raisins

1/4 cup capers

3/4 to 1 teaspoon salt or to taste

Freshly ground pepper

1/4 pound caul fat

1/4 pound sliced prosciutto

1/4 pound Jack cheese, cut in strips

3/4 cup chicken broth

Cream Gravy

Place 2 eggs in small saucepan and add water to cover. Bring to boil. Cover and let stand 12 minutes. Drain, peel and cut in quarters.

Steam carrots in small amount water until tender-crisp. Drain, peel and cut in 1/4-inch-thick strips. Set aside.

Combine ground pork, raisins, remaining raw egg (may add 1 more egg for firmer meat roll) and capers. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly. Divide into 2 portions.

Rinse and drain caul fat. Divide in half. Spread 1 portion onto 12x8-inch sheet, doubling sheet or patching holes. Pat meat mixture over caul fat into about 11x7-inch rectangle.

Place half of prosciutto slices over meat. Arrange half of hard-cooked egg wedges and half of carrot and cheese strips in rows lengthwise over meat. Roll up meat mixture into log, seal edges, then wrap with caul flat. Twist ends of caul fat and tuck under to seal. Repeat with remaining ingredients for second roll.

Place both rolls on foil-lined 13x9-inch baking pan. Pour chicken broth over rolls. Cover loosely with foil and bake at 350 degrees 20 minutes. Remove foil cover, baste rolls and continue baking, uncovered, 35 to 40 minutes or until golden brown. Carefully remove drippings from pan into small saucepan and reserve for Cream Gravy. (If desired, turn meat rolls in pan and place under broiler few minutes to brown underside.)

Cool Embutido slightly. Slice 1/2-inch thick and serve with Cream Gravy. Makes 12 servings.

Each serving contains about:

307 calories; 856 mg sodium; 128 mg cholesterol; 22 grams fat; 9 grams carbohydrates; 18 grams protein; 0.22 gram fiber.

*

The amount of flour needed to thicken the gravy will depend on the amount of pork and caul fat drippings extracted while baking. Skim off some extra fat, if desired.

Cream Gravy

Reserved meat drippings

2 to 3 tablespoons flour

1/3 cup water, about

1/2 cup whipping cream, about

Salt

Cayenne pepper

Heat drippings in saucepan over medium heat. Stir 2 tablespoons flour and water until smooth. Slowly add into drippings, whisking until smooth. Add more water or flour if necessary, dissolving in little water.

Add whipping cream as needed for consistency, heat 5 minutes, whisking constantly until smooth. Add salt if needed. Season to taste with cayenne pepper.

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