Every holiday season, one movie consistently tops my watchlist: “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.” This classic comedy, featuring Chevy Chase, Beverly D’Angelo, and a star-studded cast, never fails to entertain, no matter how many times I’ve seen it. But during my most recent viewing, something on the Griswold’s festive dinner table caught my eye – something I hadn’t noticed in my 25-plus watches.
It was during the iconic Christmas Eve dinner scene that this unique holiday side dish grabbed my attention. Amid the usual holiday chaos, there it was, right in front of Beverly D’Angelo: an intricately crafted Christmas tree made entirely of asparagus. Adorned with classic relish tray items like pimento-stuffed olives, pearl onions, and tiny red peppers, it was a sight to behold.
“Hold on, rewind that,” I exclaimed to my husband. “Is that really an asparagus Christmas tree?”
Upon further investigation, I discovered I wasn’t alone in my curiosity. A dedicated Reddit thread and a blog post by Jeff Sheldon at YesterYear Retro have both pondered over this “tall, green thing” on the Griswold’s table. Sheldon’s 2022 post described it as “a giant, green tower of something,” later realized to be a vegetable-based Christmas tree.
Inspired by Ellen Griswold, one of my favorite holiday movie characters, I embarked on a culinary adventure to recreate this unique dish. Opting for raw asparagus to maintain the structure, I created my version of the asparagus Christmas tree. The uncooked asparagus lent itself perfectly to crafting a sturdy, stand-up tree, while I roasted the remaining asparagus with a medley of vegetables and sliced chicken sausage for a delightful holiday feast.
Here’s a detailed guide on how to brint this festive dish from the screen to your holiday table.
I started with two 10-ounce bags of asparagus spears (two bunches would also work) along with a bag of frozen, peeled pearl onions, green olives stuffed with pimentos, and a few macho peppers (tiny red peppers I clipped off a plant purchased on a recent shopping trip to Trader Joe’s). The Griswold asparagus tree also had a red tomato as a star-like tree topper, but I wondered if a cherry or grape tomato would be too small for this task, so I purchased a small Roma tomato and used a trimmed end section of the fruit as my topper.
I gathered a good-sized bunch of asparagus to use as the base section of my tree, trimming the ends off each stalk to make sure each was the same height. Using butcher’s twine, I tied the stalks together and arranged the bundle standing up on a platter. Next, I gathered, trimmed, and tied a second bunch of asparagus and nestled it into the center of the first to give my Christmas tree a second layer. After tying both together with an additional piece of twine, I used toothpicks to attach peppers, olives, and pearl onions (which I pre-boiled for about five minutes) to the tree. Once it was standing in its full holiday glory, I roasted the remaining asparagus along with a few other vegetables like red potatoes, carrots, and green beans alongside sliced chicken sausage. I surrounded my asparagus tree with the roasted veggies and served it on a large holiday platter.
The creative addition to my dinner table amused my entire family and I was glad I tossed a bit of asparagus into my roasted vegetables to tie everything together. Serving such a fun and merry meal to my family definitely made us feel like we were having the “hap, hap, happiest Christmas since Bing Crosby tap danced with Danny Kaye,” and I would absolutely bring out the asparagus holiday tree again to entertain my guests.
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