Perfect Serving Dish

For a Slovak Christmas celebration on January 6, the perfect dish feels both nostalgic and modern.

I’ll be hosting my 14th annual Slovak Christmas feast on January 6—known to others as Epiphany (France), Three Kings Day (Mexico), Ukranian Christmas (you know where), or when I was growing up, “Little Christmas.” As a kid, it meant another kick at a (modest) present, but mainly it meant digging into a big dish of halušky, a Slovak specialty of potato dumplings with either kapusta (cabbage) or Bryndza (sheep’s cheese).I’ve continued the tradition with friends, spending the three days before prepping as many Slovak dishes as I know how to make, but the halušky are the crowning glory. The one thing missing is the perfect bowl to serve it in. My mom had my grandmother’s enamelled mixing bowl from their farm in Northern Ontario, worn thin from 70-plus years of use, but perfectly suited.We worked with Vancouver potter (and owner of Le Marché St. George) Janaki Larsen‘s gorgeous pottery for our Winter Salads story in the January/February 2015 issue of Western Living, and I now covet one of Larsen’s gorgeous bowls as my new halusky dish. Its mottled appearance almost appears to be time-worn, but her techniques and designs are totally modern.And for those of you celebrating on the 6th, Veselé Vianoce!Pottery by Janaki Larsen, price on request, janakilarsen.com