by the Stuffed-to-the-Gills Musette
So…the frenzy of Christmas (in the US) is done. Whew! Ours was very quiet, which was great. I have spent way too many years stressing myself into a spasm over the Perfection of the Presentation. One holiday I took a look at it and realized that it was a weird form of aggression, so I cut it out. Such relief. The food is good and my house is clean but if the dishes aren’t perfectly matched and I don’t always have the good silver out, guess what? My guests still seem to have a good time. Better yet? So do I.
Which brings me to the point of this post – sorta. Okay, not yet but roll with me here – I’m still in a food-coma.
We haven’t focused on big-time gifts in a long time. We have nearly everything we need and a whole lot of what we want, so getting tons of stuff is just …more stuff. I mentioned on Ann’s post yesterday that I got one of those Posh Pocket crossword books and was over the moon! I am an inveterate crossworder and those books are perfect for throwing in your handbag. I was a happy girl!
What I have focused on in the past decade? The food! And guess what? Everybody else does, too! We ate like porkrinds yesterday – breakfast was a huge affair, with Pork Products Unlimited (pigs fear me), latkes, cheese souffle, home made yeasted waffles (just take a minute and consider the calorie count of what I just listed there) pots and pots of good, dark coffee and fresh-squeezed OJ ….oh, it was wonderful.
After breakfast, El O broke out the ham, which had been brining in ginger ale and garlic overnight – we got that in the oven for a sloooooow bake for dinner. Scalloped potatoes, spinach souffle, homemade Parker House rolls, green beans from this summer’s garden, my mother’s corn pudding…..ah, joy. Miette double chocolate cake. Sublime. We count no carbs on Christmas, we just walk a lot, hoping to stave off the poundage with brisk movement. And every. single. person. we ran into in our small burg talked about….Food! What they made, what they ate, what they wished so-and-so would quit making because it sucks sooo bad…..all aspects of chowing down were discussed, from one end of town to the other. Several of my neighbors were unrepentant is revealing the multiple dinners they would happily ingest that day, often from the same table! Leftovers Rule!! Everyone’s eyes shone, as they described some heirloom dish, passed down through the generations, that their own grandchildren are now enjoying each holiday. The continuity of family and community seems to be so much through food. Go on Facebook today, see what the bulk of your friends are posting. I’ll bet it’s mostly food. Chatted with friends this morning (Boxing Day) – we did not talk about gifts. We talked about what we ate yesterday. The Italian pork roast (oh, good grief! my heart nearly stopped with desire)… chicken meatballs with spinach (and a spirited discussion over the merits of fennel seed therein (I’m a fennel gal, meself) sweet potato v. pumpkin pie, chocolate, peppermint, red velvet……El O’s cub was here yesterday, having spent Christmas Eve at his mother’s. No talk of ‘what he got’ . Instead, pictures of the groaning board, with a beautiful crown roast and this really strange dish with grapes and whipped topping that was kinda freaky-looking – but they love it! It’s a family tradition. He brought his best friend to both houses and it reminded me: food tastes much better shared.
And we are family here…so I wanna know ALLLL about it! What did you guys EAT? What are your fun/goofy/great food traditions? (mine is: if you take the last of the corn pudding that’s in the fridge I will Bite you so hard you will cry!). Are you known for a special dish? Or are you the one who Brings the Milk? My cousin is required to bring her mamma’s tamales, no matter what the occasion. Another friend, whose cooking runs counter to the rural community she just moved to, has been asked to bring the milk to community gatherings – I guess that tofu lasagne didn’t go over too well…
Can’t wait to hear about it. You can also tell me what perfume you wore: mine was Diaghilev, which was a perfect scent for yesterday’s cooking and eating and walking extravaganza. Tomorrow it’s back to work. And oatmeal. sigh. I’m wearing Mitsouko to prepare for it.
image: tolkienlibrary.net
Ah, M…one of the busiest blogs over the holidays! Go you. What a post!
I am a chocolate FIEND, but the older (er…more “experienced,” perhaps?) I get, the more fruit appeals to me in dessert items. (Which one of you can’t stand chocolate ANC fruit together- you, Musette, or was that Ann?) Anyway, this Christmas I found a recipe online called, “It’s The Great Pumpkin (Caje), Charlie Brown!” Tried it for the first time Christmas Eve and it WORKED. If anybody Googles the recipe, I can tell you it’s generous for substitutions. I left out the coconut and replaced it with more shredded carrots and golden raisins. For the spiced pumpkin buttercream frosting, you can leave out half of the butter called for – and half is three sticks, people! – and it still works just fine. This three layer Caje also had pumpkin in the mix along with freshly shredded carrots and freshly shredded butternut squash. For the oil, it called for olive oil…all things considered, if you avoid the frosting, it had some redeeming nutritional value. Also tasted divine with Harney and Sons Russian Country Tea. Yum!
It was me. I hate chocolate and fruit together, unless they are raisins. I save all my dessert calories for chocolate though, like you, my ‘experience’ means I can only have small bits which, in turn, may help my bits become smaller ;))
That thing sounds terrifying! =)) three sticks of butter is HALF? 😮
xo >-)
Oh yeah. HALF. Then 2 boxes of cream cheese…but I shall cease and desist here in deference to your tummy. (Though really if I had to choose a frosting, it’d be buttercream over the whipped stuff. But really, since the purpose of frosting is to seal in the moisture in the cake, I don’t end up eating too much of it.)
Vive la Raisinettes!!
Hi, sweetie, sorry I’m a little late to the groaning board (had to work all day). Your feast sounds wonderful. For holiday lunch, we had my hubby’s terrific egg casserole (with whipped cream, Canadian bacon, Swiss cheese, etc.), and then down to MIL’s for turkey and ham (a spread similar to Thanksgiving). Very nice, but alas, when you eat at someone else’s house, no leftovers for you — waaah!
that egggggggg casserole….:x
xo >-)
Man, are the internets slow today, at least here. Anyhow, your post made me very hungry. I wish there were some food in the house — time for a grocery run.
The last week featured Neil Morris Midnight Shadows, Coco, and Jubilation 25. Along with a very defined red lip. 😡
You wear a GREAT red lip. I always look like I’ve got wax lips on, alas.
xo >-)
ps. I’m now on a no-food kick. My stomach is totally over the whole thing. Club soda and bitters is all it’s clamoring for.
One of your earlier posts (maybe last year) about red lipstick inspired me to try it again, March.
I am extremely fair with pale blue eyes and ash blonde hair (with the colorless brows and lashes to match-thank heaven for MAC Fling and black mascara) with low lights and really like MAC’s Russian Red lip gloss and have even worn it to work. Don’t remember if you wrote about that one, but the post got me “red hunting” and it was a lot of fun.
My brother was visiting me from the West Coast, so I decided to do the kind of dishes my Mom used to do, which were never fancy. We had spaghetti one night and roast beef hash for Christmas Eve dinner. Mom used to grind up her left-over roast beef, but I don’t have a grinder, so I chopped it by hand. My wrist is still sore, but it was worth it. Christmas Day was the traditional turkey etc, but I didn’t have to cook, so it was wonderful!
I wore Ormonde Jayne Woman also! Today is Black Orchid. Back to work. Bah, humbug!
sounds yummy! home made RBH is a rare and wonderful thing. If you have a food processor you can chop it in there, too! A quick pulse and you’re done!
Love OJW! Black Orchid smells like grape jelly on me, alas.
xo >-)
This year we had a Mexican Christmas Eve (we are Italian and German)… and it was great! When I was discussing Christmas Eve dinner with my 12 year-old son, he said he wanted tacos and thought …..why not? We have tacos filled with filet mignon and Mexican poached chicken and homemade salsa and fresh tomatillo sauce, plus a traditional Mexican red mole dish with chorizo and chicken and, of course, rice. Paired with Corona lights, limes and Dos Equis Amber and it was delicious ! It was so good we might do it again next year or pick another type of regional food. You know, sometimes kids have the best ideas!
Christmas morning we always have the absurdly caloric croissant grand marnier french toast with bacon. I don’t even want to consider the fat/calorie count!
Musette, thanks for such a wonderful post!
Oops I forgot to mention on Christmas Eve I wore Arquiste Anima Dulis….which I think does smell like a convent in Mexico City where “nuns prepare a Baroque recipe of Cocoa infused with an assortment of chiles”… Although I’ve never been to a convent or Mexico City so what do I know, but Anima Dulis smells amazing… And on Christmas I wore Caron Nuit de Noel…heavenly
Your house sounds like the place I could’ve happily spend Christmas Eve! My Tia C used to make tamales and enchiladas for Christmas Eve, now it’s my prima’s job, though I will do it in a pinch. El O isn’t that thrilled with Mexican food (or any Latin food, for that matter) so what he’s doing with me is a gustatorial mystery to us both – but there ya hab it. He will eat enchiladas (though he requests flour tortillas – which is an abomination where I come from)…..it’s a danged shame avocadoes taste so funny right now – like soapy water. Or maybe it’s just me…:-?
I’m craving Cuervo Gold now…:d and some carnitas.
xo >-)
Musette,
I have an Aunt who is Mexican and about 15 years ago she got together her mother’s,sisters’ and nieces’ recipes into a family cook that she sent to all her non-Mexican cousins. It is a true treasure! My mother had it for years but never made anything from it. This year she gave it to me and it is one of the best gifts I have ever received! I made the red mole chicken and the arroz dorado. I can’t wait to try them all. It’s very exciting.
P.s. I just bought a couple of avocados for guacamole, I’ll let you know how they taste.
why didn’t you invite me for dinner? :-w
:d
xo >-)
I’d like to be on next years’ dinner invite list, too, please. And if you ever care to publish the book of recipes, I’ll be your first customer!
Tammy , I am planning on making several copies (I am terrified I might lose our only copy). I’d be happy to make an extra for you.
That sounds like such a great dinner!!! Kudos to you for your flexibility and inventiveness.
don’t fall for that 8-|…it’s just a thinly veiled weasel for an invite, too! ;))
xo >-)
You are all invited next year!’
I LOVE TO EAT!!!! So true, M. It’s all about food. ;-) My DH is in the wine business, and the holidays are craaaazy for him. So, he likes to eat out on Christmas Eve at an awesome restaurant in town (555), just the two of us, to de-stress, and not worry about cooking and cleanup. I happily oblige. :-)
I had a fantastic spinach salad with egg and house-made bacon. My entree was the “wriggins pig” – all-day braised pork shoulder, white bean rosemary ravioli, smoked pumpkin puree, crispy black lentil. Dessert was a trio of ice creams – strawberry walnut, chocolate fig, and caramel corn. My DH ordered the “look at that ess-car-go!” – chorizo butter glazed snails, crispy potato nest, organic baby spinach, and pickled relish. And the “fish in paper” – filet of sole, beluga lentils, braised leeks, rainbow chard, and french curry butter.
Christmas Day I made beef rib roast, mashed potatoes, and green beans. This has become my cooking tradition. My mom is Norwegian, and when we were kids and beyond, she’d do a smorgasbord – meats (ham, beef, turkey), fish (shrimp, salmon, pickled herring, sardines), cheeses, breads, cakes, cookies. We’d feast non-stop, nibble all day and night.
I’d like to design a better tradition. Family typically comes to our house the weekend before Christmas to share a meal and exchange gifts. I vary the meal from year to year. This year is was lamb. Last year was a mini-smorgasbord. The year before that was the beef roast, mashed potatoes, and green beans. I love the concept of traditions – having the same things each year.
As to scent? Attrape Coeur for the family celebration on the 18th, and Attrape Coeur again on the 24th and 25th. My favorite. :-)
All of those dinners sound divine. I love the idea of a de-stress dinner out. My friends in the restaurant business HATE the hollerdays because it’s so freakin’ much work. The ones without children, especially chefs and line cooks, tend to wait a week or so and have a big family feast around Epiphany, just to give themselves a break.
We took my pop to WalMart on Christmas Eve so he could get out of the nursing home (everything is closed on Christmas Day, the heathens!) and he had a blast, tooling around the packed store in the motorized cart. His attention-span is limited so about the time it took me to grab last-minutes stuff was all he needed. El O took him to Burger King, which he adores, for lunch and then we went back. Pop was thrilled! Way moreso than if he’d come to our house for dinner. 8-|
I know you love that AC. Glad you wore it! It’s there to be enjoyed!!!
xo >-)
What a nice thing to do for your pop! My late grandmother enjoyed outings like that-a trip to Sears or Target, a burger and a milkshake-and always seemed more content than if I’d spent hours at the stove. I still miss her, and you brought back a nice memory.
It’s strange what pleases people, innit? Things most of us take for granted and possibly even dislike (slogging through WalMart is NOT my idea of A Good Time b-( But it is a nice diversion for him and the BK thing is a great treat.
Took me a year to figure that out with Pop. Glad you were able to do that with your grandmother.
xo >-)
Ooh, I love an all-day braised pork shoulder! A friend of mine gave me a Le Creuset french oven last year, and it’s my favorite pot to braise in (actually, it’s so pretty I’d take a bath in it if I could).
It’s even prettier once you get it broken up and banged in a little bit – jes’ yew wait! You’ll see…;)
xo >-)
OK…we received one of those Le Creuset ovens as a wedding gift and I’ve only used it to make chili! What am I thinking? Thanks for the inspiration, Lisa!
Karin, you can make practically anything in it, and it works great on the stove top, too!
AC all the way for you, eh, Karin? And I’m envious that your hubby had the escargot — love, love, love those! Glad you had a great holiday.
And Musette, a big hug to you for giving your Pop an outing that he absolutely loved!
😡
xo >-)
Hi Ann! Yes, AC is my HG of HGs. Love it!
We don’t celebrate Christmas, but we do get vacation time at the holidays. We’re visiting our best friends on the Gulf coast and all of us, including their grown children, love to cook. It’s been non stop food since we got here: boudain, gumbo, fresh oysters, various hot & cold dips and sauces, crab cakes, crawfish etouffee, cheesecakes, chocolates, mimosas for breakfast and bloody marys for cocktail hour. Oy. I’m going for a long walk this morning and scrounging up a salad for lunch.
Squooo that! You can diet when you get back home! 😉
Enjoy your VERY deserved holiday! Eat some crab cakes for me, willya? Thanks! ;))
xoxo >-)
I spent Christmas with my mom in Galveston. (She is a “winter Texan” who comes down for four months to escape the Michigan weather, and I live in Houston.) We decided not to cook but went to Moody Gardens, a big entertainment center with an aquarium, Imax theater, etc., and enjoyed their huge Christmas buffet. They also have an annual “Festival of Lights” which is a big attraction with animated light displays that attracts thousands of people. It is beautifully decorated with things like an enormously tall red poinsettia Christmas tree. The buffet was varied and good. Among my favorites were some of the salad items including seafood salad with farfalle and sesame chicken salad with angel hair pasta. They had many meat dishes including turkey with stuffing and roast beef, but I passed on those and enjoyed the chicken cordon bleu, crusted tilapia with lemon butter, and (especially!) the seafood paella jasmine. The selection of vegetables was also impressive with bourbon glazed carrots, cauliflower and broccoli with Hollandaise sauce, and more. Then there were desserts like pumpkin pie, chocolate cake, and (my favorite) a multi-layered red velvet cake that had cream cheese dressing to die for. I posted a photo of the cake on Flickr and that’s the link I put in for my website above. (Warning, the picture alone will make you gain weight!) Oh, and I wore Ormond Jayne Woman, which made me feel elegant and nicely spicy.
😮
That cake!
And that buffet…….(wiping up the drool)
xo >-)
ps. love Galveston! tell your mom to enjoy it for me, okay?
I baked FAR fewer cookies than I have in the past – went with Plain Ol’ Peanut Butter (CEO’s request) and shortbread, and then gave in to my older kids’ begging for Spicy Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies (the chewy-crinkly ones you make with cinnamon and cayenne and black peppers). Also made this Absolutely Killer Eggnog Cheesecake which is wonderfully creamy.
Family tradition insists that there be both turkey breast (with gravy and baked-separately dressing) and ham, along with scalloped apples, rice pilaf, corn pudding, Parker House rolls, sweet potato casserole, two green vegetables, crudites, smoked salmon and cheeseball with crackers. This year I made about half that stuff, and my MIL, SIL, and BIL did the rest. BIL’s corn pudding and broccoli sauteed in beef broth are always good (he may be the best cook from that side of the family).
Wore Alahine, of course. Beautiful stuff. This was a shared-big-ticket-gift sort of year, as we did buy a big-screen TV and a Fancy-pants camera.
A wonderful and fragrant New Year to everyone!
Oh, and I did do the traditional Christmas breakfast of homemade cinnamon rolls and applesauce, with bacon and clementines. Yum.
You put bacon and clementines in your applesauce? That sounds intriguing!!!
Happy New Year to you, too, sweetie!
Your Christmas dinner sounds like something I should’ve been invited to…:-w
:d
xo >-)
Aw, c’mon! Not IN the applesauce. BESIDE. :)
oh!
well, THAT’S no fun. I was ……I really was imagining a crunchy, salty apple sauce!
dang.
xo >-)
Mals , please share the recipe for the spicy hot chocolate cookies. I love chocolate and spice. Thanks for sharing.
Since my grandmother has been sick, my family has ham, lasagna, salad and rolls instead of the usual fare of prime rib. I decided to wear Amouage Lyric for women.
Wishing your grandmother in better health! And Lyric is gorgeous. I believe that’s Mals’s favorite Amouage.
xo >-)
Since we have alot of kids and generally the week before Christmas is more about wrapping (and wrapping and wrapping…)than cooking, we usually just set up buffets. This year it was Italian, with a tray of rotini, several types of pastas, meatballs, Italian sausage, chicken fingers and two types of sauce so everyone makes their own. It’s a big hit with the kids. Every year we do something different–we’ve had breakfast, Chinese, Mexican–the kids love it and everyone is old enough to help now. They go on the internet and pick punch recipes and vote on them. This year it was Grinch Punch, very GREEN for Christmas Eve and the traditional strawberry lemonade gingerale punch Christmas day.
I really miss the traditional family cookies like Ladylocks, but I just don’t have two days to devote to rolling out dough and wrapping it around clothespins, etc. Thom the kids are getting older and things are changing–who knows in a few years we’ll have Cornish Game Hens, etc., so for now I will enjoy these last several years of exuberance.
Your food sounds divine! Best wishes to everyone for a wonderful New Year and hope it is your best SO FAR! P.S. and I wore L’heure Brillante :-)
Sherri,
Your holiday sounds like Best Fun EVAH!!! ^:)^ And you’re right, now is the time to enjoy it. It changes …fast! Cubs are now grown so it’s a totally different experience. Still nice but….different.
xo >-)
ps. Excellent, sparkly perfume choice! I love Brillante, as you know. Mathilde is my Goddess!
Christmas Eve, went to my sister’s. My niece is vegetarian, so almost no meat. My sister made “meatballs” made out of rice, which were very good. Also, eggplant, and arugula salad. There was prosciutto and calamari for those who needed some kind of meat. I wore Comme des Garçons Avignon — I know…. kinda lacking in imagination.
Christmas Day, went to my mother’s. She made roast beef, chicken confit, roasted baby potatoes, and asparagus. I wore Serge’s Arabie, and left early when drama started to rear its ugly head. I guess I’m the one who brings the milk.
Babydoll!
So glad to see you on here! I miss you!
Both those holiday meals sound lovely, especially your mom’s meal. What’s wrong with Avignon. It’s beautiful!!!
=)) on the Hollerday Drama. RUN! I bolt like a spooked Arabian whenever it looks like a Hollerday is gonna turn Ugly. That’s why I never go visit family in cold weather. In clement weather you can always go for a walk. For the rest of the day! ;))
xo >-)
Fortunately the bus was still running.
I miss you, too!! I’m on vacation for two weeks starting next week… If I don’t get on a plane, let’s get together!
oooh! let’s chat!
xo>-)
This was my first Christmas completely alone, and it was FINE. I was waiting to be sad, but it didn’t happen. :-?
Since I did not have to be anywhere or do anything, I stayed in p.j.s all day, I started the day with a pot of Lapsang Souchong tea and Meyer lemon cookies, later drank eggnog and nibbled on Wheat Thins and Cougar Gold Cheese, had a rocks glass of Laphroaig in front of the fire while I listened to all my Mari Boine cds and wore Comme des Garcons 3 (Invisible Flower).
A good time was had by all-me, myself and I.
GOOD FOR YOU.
And you ate well. :)
mmmmmmmm, Laphroaig. Have only had a thimble full, and I still dream of it.
Seconded! I just killed off my bottle of Caol Ila, which is similar. 🙁
March, that is going on my Scotch tasting list!
I tried it in the Paris duty-free… I love how they have all those liquor bottles just sitting there, go ahead, drink as much as you want, etc. So I bought a bottle. And then I went into their lounge and drank champagne. @};-
There’s a huge difference between alone and lonely – and sometimes, imo, being alone neutralizes the lonely. You sound like a woman of infinitely good sense and I’m glad you had the sense to indulge yourself this holiday. ^:)^
I LOVE your menu! I indulged, on Boxing Day, with a great breakfast of leftover Miette double-chocolate cake. Bad idea, as the cake, on an empty stomach, blew my blood sugar to Jupiter! 😮 but it was fun on the fork, nonetheless ;))
xo >-)
Oh, there is a Miette a few blocks from my office in San Francisco. Double chocolate cake on New Year’s Day sounds like something to plan for!
Musette, as always, you are a joy and an inspiration.
Thank you, sweetie! Back atcha. Always glad to see you on here!!!
I envy your proximity to Miette – or maybe not…:-? I always forced myself to walk to places like Miette and Stella (best tiramisu EVAH imo)….from Pac Heights because if I didn’t I would weight 2,340 lbs. Easy.
FWIW, in addition to the Scharffen-Berger cake (my favorite version of the DCC – there’s also the Tomboy but it has buttercream, which I am not overfond of), there are also the chocolate sables. If I had to choose between them (and you don’t, lucky girl 😉 I would choose the sables. They rival Pierre Herme and…I dunno…there’s something about the allusion of chocolate that comes therein that is more beguiling…
xoxo >-)
Oh lordee. Tomorrow is my first day back to work (2 days of work, then off again until after the New Year), so I may be (ahem) FORCED to visit Miette and view these things of which you write. Viewing can’t be bad…
Walking from Pac Heights is good discipline. Before we moved the office, it was in Laurel Heights and walking anywhere from there was a trek.
Thanks for leading me (yet again) into temptation.
Brined turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, orange-glazed carrots with tarragon, sautéed beans and brussels sprouts with parmesan and pine nuts, and maple cheesecake for dessert. This was my first year cooking Christmas dinner, and in the weeks leading up to the main event, I was a model of devil-may-care serenity. “What’s the big fuss over, anyway? You throw a turkey in the oven and whip up some sides, then bake something for dessert. How hard could this be?” By around 5:30 pm I was gripped with the overwhelming urge to run out onto the back deck screaming. I’ve worked in a brutally fast-paced restaurant kitchen for the past four years and have grown accustomed to the pressure cooker of performance when the clock is ticking, but I was NOT prepared for this particular ballgame. I mean, if I burn a dish at work, I throw the pan off to the side and start again. There’s no “starting again” with the Christmas turkey. Luckily, the food came out splendidly (did I mention all of these recipes were untested? I’ll never learn…), was met with raves all around, and I spent the rest of the evening with my feet up and my hand around a stiff drink. I used to chuckle at how stressed out my family would get when it came to cooking holiday dinners, but…wow. I get it now.
Since this is a perfume blog, I’ll mention that the turkey’s brine, filled with wintry spices, oranges, onions, and maple syrup, turned the bird gorgeously aromatic and smokily sweet…and, as brines do, incredibly juicy and tender. I’ll never cook turkey another way.
Brining is an essential part of turkey prep, imo. Your brine sounds swoonaliciously swooony! ^:)^
Your story of prepping for the dinner is hysterical! Why are you not on here more often? As a former line-cook I totally get the difference! There’s a different prep schedule for an at-home meal (I used to make all holiday family dinners for 6 to 12 people out of a kitchen with a 3’x5′ floor space and no counters, so I know of what I speak). Judicious use of oven space is optimal for a good meal that isn’t insane-making. but there are a couple of other things even more important:
First thing: take a breath
Second: take a drink
Third: remember: it’s not so much about the food as the time spent together.
Proceed from there!
xo >-)
We had a similiar sort of “gifts lite” celebration. I’ve been unemployed for months and months so I asked people not to get me anything because I couldn’t really get them anything. Yet, there were some small, no-pressure, it-reminded-me-of-you things exchanged and it somehow seemed much more meaningul and heartfelt than last year. I was especially touched by my Dad getting me a little bottle of Frankincense essential oil. A small thing really, but sentimental to me in that he clearly has noticed my relatively new interest in all things smelly. So that is what I wore Christmas day as soon as I had unwrapped it.
I’m a vegetarian, so I didn’t indulge in the turkey this year. Instead, for me it was all about the desserts (chocolate raspberry cream pie) and the delicious breakfast featuring one of my favourite English dishes, Bubbles and Squeak.
Hang in there, Meg. Better times is a-comin’!! But isn’t it funny how that works? I’ve been pretty much broke for the past 4 years and while I will be delighted when this run of brokeage is over I am stunned at how much I don’t miss all the mindless spending and Amassing The Stuff!
Except for the Epic body cream …. /:) but as I said, better times is a-comin’!
xo >-)
ps. I thought Bubble and squeak had meat in it? A lot of meat. Did you do a veg version? How was it?
Our family version is all the leftover roasted vegetables from the night before mashed together with seasoning into little breakfast patties. This time is was mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, and turnips. yuuum!
ooh! that sounds good! and healthy, too!
xo >-)
My husband and I are the only two on my side of the family who cook very well, (We both worked in kitchens in one capacity or another in the past.) We both love to cook but it gets exhausting carrying each holiday. We made a big lunch with ham and fixins, btw I love the ginger ale and garlic brine idea. I’m going to have to try that. I use Bruce’s Fresh Ginger Ale in a lot of recipes so this will be one more. Also I was still baking Christmas morning so there was plenty of baked goods for nibbling and for sending home with family members. Later on for dinner we just fed them all leftovers from lunch and called it good. We are still getting settled in the new house so not only did the dishes and silverware not match but we don’t even have curtains on the windows. It was fine even though I fretted about the small stuff that I don’t need to fret about. I wore BPAL’s Michtecacihuatl which is a little morbid for Christmas but I can’t get enough of the scent.
That brine is from my dad. I’ve been using it now for 30 years and it’s great, brings a bit of snap and spicy-sweetness to the smoky ham (I also add whole jalapenos but just a few – and the large ones, which are milder)..
..isn’t it funny the things we fret about? I stopped when I realized that I really couldn’t have cared less about the state of my own friends’ homes – I was there to see them! So why wouldn’t it work in reverse? And it does! /:) Imagine that. 😉 When I shuffle off my mortal coil I would like my friends to remember how much they enjoyed spending time with me, not how lovely my house looked!
xo >-)
We had dinner at my brother’s house, and his wife took care of the turkey, stuffing (mix of 1/2 cornbread, 1/2 regular), and beans ‘n beans (green beans + pinto beans – a family thing). I made the mashed potatoes and crumb top apple pie, and friends brought salad, asparagus & mushrooms, crescent rolls and fresh kielbasa (a family thing for her – it is amazing!). Just had some leftovers for dinner.
Sounds like a great meal – and a nice division of labor. I’m all for both of those things these day! 😉
xo >-)