Christmas 2022

[Shelby]

26 minutes ago, MaryIsobel said:

All ready for brunch tomorrow. Bagels, lox, etc., monkey bread, no carb breakfast casserole of onions, peppers, bacon cheese and eggs, and wait for it...frozen hash brown patties done in the air fryer. Kind of a nod/joke, as for years that was the only thing my daughter wanted for Christmas breakfast. I never bought them and she'd had them at a friend's house and declared them "sooooooooo good!" Coffee/hot chocolate/drinks station. Bubbly, cranberry juice and orange juice will be put out last minute.

Gorgeous set up!!!! I love it.

[MaryIsobel]

6 minutes ago, Shelby said:

Gorgeous set up!!!! I love it.

Thanks, missing a couple of things as the weather has made me stay put. Would have rather had mini marshmallows, but my kids are adults, so they'll get over it. Lame chocolaate curls as I only had a thin bar of chocolate and no peppermint stick stirrers, but those are definitely first world problems and I'm sure no one will complain! I am just so happy that neither bad weather nor sub optimum shifts at the hospital can keep us apart this year.

 

[Margaret Pilgrim]

And to all a good night!

 

[chromedome]

Grandkids let us sleep in until 8, which was an unanticipated luxury. It was all very fun, mind you, especially the evil cackle from 4-yo grandson when he opened his whoopee cushion. A boy never forgets his first, right? Aside from that the funniest thing was the oversized mastiff bouncing and wiggling like a puppy as the oldest granddaughter opened the dog-toys stocking for her. She spent a solid 30 minutes bouncing back and forth between gnawing diligently at the chewy bone and swanking around, proud as could be, with a squeaky toy in her face. She made a very deliberate point of squeaking it, separately and individually, for each of the humans.

 

 

[TdeV]

On 12/21/2022 at 10:18 AM, chromedome said:

The "Russian tea cakes" are shortbread-ish, but with nuts added (walnuts or pecans; this year it was walnuts because my pecans had bugs in 'em). They're rolled into 1-inch balls and baked, then rolled in confectioner's sugar while still warm from the oven, and again after they've cooled. The icing sugar melts the first time, of course, but it makes them sticky and helps the second coating of sugar adhere. They're best when the nuts are toasted first, and we usually make them with browned butter (50/50 with plain butter) for that extra bit of nuttiness.

 

These sound lovely. Could you please provide a recipe?

[chromedome]

8 minutes ago, TdeV said:

 

These sound lovely. Could you please provide a recipe?

There are lots, all pretty similar. I misplaced my notebook full o' recipes this year and  baked this version instead, and it turned out to be pretty much the same as the one I'd used in previous years.

 

https://natashaskitchen.com/russian-tea-cakes-recipe/

[lemniscate]

Very non-traditional, Bison burgers, fries, chips-n-dips, salad.   I am making pineapple upside down cupcakes.  Winged it with a boxed Duncan Hines yellow cake mix.    Sounds like a summer menu, right?   Compared to the rest of the lower 48, we are summery.    Heck, we're practically Australian Christmas weather.   I know the weather and flu bugs have been decimating family plans, but I do hope the best Christmas Holiday possible for you and yours.   

[JeanneCake]

This year, I did a boneless rib roast; and it came out perfectly, I am so thrilled especially given the outrageous cost of it.  My father ultimately decided to stay home (we usually go pick him up and bring him home) so I will go to see him tomorrow and bring him meals for the week.  Given his age, I worry that each holiday will be the last we are able to share with him so this has been an emotional day for me.   It ended up just being three of us, which is fine for me - I am pretty tired and wrung out from this year's wedding season.  

 

Thinking of all of you and hoping your happy memories and moments bring a smile to you today.

[Maison Rustique]

I made this Parmesan Mushroom Casserole for Christmas dinner. I tweaked the recipe with a generous splash of sherry, thyme and lemon zest. It was absolutely delicious and went perfectly with the beef tenderloin.

 

I also made Creamed Kale as a side. I'd thought about creamed spinach, but was afraid the spinach wouldn't hold up well to having to prep ahead of time and cart it to my sister's house. This was so easy and really tasty!

[ElsieD]

38 minutes ago, Maison Rustique said:

I made this Parmesan Mushroom Casserole for Christmas dinner. I tweaked the recipe with a generous splash of sherry, thyme and lemon zest. It was absolutely delicious and went perfectly with the beef tenderloin.

 

I 

 

I am not a huge mushroom fan but my husband is and this looks delcious.  Thanks for the link 

[Katie Meadow]

On 12/26/2022 at 9:05 AM, Maison Rustique said:

I made this Parmesan Mushroom Casserole for Christmas dinner. I tweaked the recipe with a generous splash of sherry, thyme and lemon zest. It was absolutely delicious and went perfectly with the beef tenderloin.

 

I also made Creamed Kale as a side. I'd thought about creamed spinach, but was afraid the spinach wouldn't hold up well to having to prep ahead of time and cart it to my sister's house. This was so easy and really tasty!

In my experience (and that's only with the one recipe I make) creamed spinach loses little if anything heated up as leftovers the next day, so if I were taking it to another venue for a meal I wouldn't hesitate to make it ahead, especially if we're talking only a few hours. But I'm glad you liked your kale. I'm just one of those grouches who don't see any advantage to kale over other cooked greens.

[Porthos]

We had no energy to cook a meal for the two of us.  We were only 4 days into living in our new home and the kitchen wasn't ready for cooking.  So our Christmas dinner was a relatively nice dinner out.