Let us congratulate Synonymous_Boost on winning the Holiday Cook-off writing contest!

Here's the winning entry: All Is Well When The Food Is Well

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"I don't know... I'm nervous. Very nervous." Saesha sighed.

"Don't worry. Grandma will love whatever you cook. I'm sure of it." Quinn, her boyfriend as well as soon be husband reassured from the other end.

"This traffic is too much..." Saesha answered, a bit frustrated with the traffic.

"It's Christmas after all. Everyone would be in a hurry to reach home, just like me and you." She could hear the silent laughter in his voice. Hearing him laugh made her feel a little easy.

"Quinn..." She breathed.

"Hmm..." He answered absentmindedly.

"Do you think they'd like me? Your family I mean..."

"Why won't they?"

"I mean... I'm not from... Like I... You know I don't belong... To this place... Everything is so new here... And I... I..." She stuttered, being at a loss of words.

"Saesha... Relax. Breathe for now..." Quinn reassured her. After encouraging her that everything will be alright, he hung up as Saesha was running late to get started on preparing food.

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"Alright... Let's get started now." She tried to motivate herself.

In truth, Saesha was from India. Her family moved to Britain 3 years ago to live with their relatives after her father's death. She's a chef by profession and runs a restaurant here where he first met her. He had already introduced her to his family and everyone liked her. But, since, their interaction was short termed, Saesha always felt a little insecure.

Thus, his mother suggested him to bring her over this Christmas. For her, it wasn't really a big deal to miss out Christmas celebrations with her family as it wasn't really that important sort of function. This was amazing chance for her for she would be able to meet everyone in his family and get to know them. But she was equally nervous. The reason?

Quinn's grandmother wanted Saesha to cook. His grandmother was a remarkable woman in her 70s. Every year she took it on herself to cook for everyone to best of her abilities. And her food wasn't really just a meal for his family. It was an emotion. Something, they'd wait for an entire year.

Quinn's grandmother knew she was a chef and thus, wanted to taste what she'd make for Christmas. And since, Saesha didn't want to take all the burden of decision making to herself, she asked for her recipe book. She was going to cook according to the recipe book. A typical Christmas dinner which consisted :-

1. Mincemeat Pop Tart (starter)

2. Salmon and Beetroot Carpaccio (starter)

3. Classic whole roast turkey with soya and black pepper butter (main course)

4. Roasted Potatoes (side dish)

5. Christmas Pudding (dessert)

She turned to look for her recipe book but couldn't find it anywhere between the groceries and then she realised something. She may have forgotten the book on the counter of that grocery store from where she was just returning. She was running late for this annual holiday cook-off with the family. There was no time to turn back because of the traffic. She barely managed to reach home before time. Now, she can't afford to go back to the store and collect the book. What was she going to do now?

She panicked and tried to hold the kitchen countertop to balance herself. She had done something unforgivable. How'll she cook now? There was also this fact that she had lost the recipe book so now, nobody would be able to cook like grandma's. What had she done?

Her eyes prick and without even realizing tears start flowing. At the exact same time, Quinn entered the house. He came early to help her in cooking though he, himself didn't even know how to boil water. He just wanted to be there to support her but, when he reached there, he couldn't believe the state he saw Saesha in. He rushed to her side and helped her in getting up.

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"Drink this... And please calm down." He handed her the glass of water after learning about everything.

"What do I ... How... Could..." She hiccuped while drinking water. Her sobs had now calmed, which was a huge relief for Quinn. Only he knows that life gets sucked out of him the moment he sees her cry.

"Look here Saesha. Grandma is alive and just here with us. It's just a book. I know there are emotions attached and all but crying won't help. And don't you have to cook for my whole family. Please don't cry..." He tried to reassure her.

"But I... How will I make it taste like grandma's?"

"Learning from grandma is okay but not at the cost of downgrading yourself. You're original and thus, you should keep that in mind while cooking. Nobody will say anything. About the book? I've already called to the shop and told them to take care of the book as I'll be picking it tommorow. Now let's get up and get started with cooking food. Grandma wanted to taste your kind of food anyways..."

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Quinn was somehow successful in making her resolve to cook. She finalized what to cook. Her menu consisted of Indian dishes which could be made from the same groceries and which could act as a replacement of original Christmas dishes. She was going to cook :-

1. Indian Special Salmon (as a starter for this would be a good replacement for Salmon and Beetroot Carpaccio)

2. Bengali Luchi + Andhra Chicken Curry (main course)

3. Turkey Kadhai + Hyderabadi Pakki Chicken Biryani (main course)

4. Caramel Basundhi (dessert)

5. Savoury Cumin Cookies (as a farewell gift)

She first started working on Salmon. This Spicy Indian Pan-fried Salmon was quick and easy to make, spicy, and ridiculously tasty! It's loaded with flavor, and great for today's menu. She washed the fish and combined the salt, freshly cracked black pepper, ginger garlic paste, garam masala, ground cumin, coriander powder, turmeric powder, ground cayenne, etc, lemon juice, and water in a large mixing bowl. She mixed these with a spoon to evenly combine them. Adding the salmon fillets to the marinade bowl and using a spoon to spread and evenly coat the spice mixture on all sides of the fillets, she covered the bowl with cling wrap and set aside for it to marinate for 20 minutes at least.

She heated the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, lifted the salmon fillets from the marinade bowl and allowed any excess marinade to drip off. Once the oil was hot, she placed the salmon fillets skin side down in the skillet and pan-fry for few minutes. This dish was ready.

She started working on main courses. Since turkey was the highlight of Christmas, she was making that dish in her style. She mixed the turkey pieces with turmeric and red chilli powder, and set it aside to marinate for 10-15 minutes. Afterwards, she heated oil in a large wok on high heat and stir-fried the turkey for few minutes. She added the cumin seeds to the remaining oil in the pan and let it sizzle. Now, she added in the garlic and ginger, and fried for a few seconds till it got fragrant. She stirred in the remaining spices for few seconds, before adding in the tomato paste. Afterwards she mixed them well to blend in the spices before adding in the onions and the fried turkey pieces. She fried it for 2-3 minutes till the onions started to soften. Now she added in the peppers and tomatoes, seasonal with salt, and mixed it well and let it cook covered for 5-6 minutes till the meat was completely cooked through. The dish was ready. She thought of garnishing it with fresh cilantro leaves and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and serving it warm.

After cooking biryani and chicken curry, it was a child's play for her to make Basundhi. She had prepared cookies beforehand. Finally her cooking was complete. Quinn watched everything from afar, enjoying how Saesha completely lost herself in cooking.

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Everyone was seated accordingly in the family dinner when Saesha served the food. It's aroma filled not only the table, but the whole room. Everything looked totally new and mouthwatering. After praying to God, everyone took their fair share of time to eat and compliment on how lucky Quinn is, for getting such a good cook as wife. It was later revealed by grandma that she had stolen the recipe book from the grocery store when Saesha wasn't looking. She wanted Saesha to stick to herself and cook what her heart desired. What more could Saesha want as a proof of acceptance in the family?

She was glad everyone liked both her, and her cooking. It was a bit overwhelming to see Grandma confess her crime of stealing the book but, nevertheless, everything went well.

How couldn't it go well when the story revolves around food... All is well when the food is well.