Christmas 2025

[FauxPas]

On 12/15/2025 at 2:54 PM, TdeV said:

@FauxPas, please try and remember to tell us what that vegetarian tourtière tastes like.

 

 

Unfortunately, husband and I have just come down with a particularly nasty virus and had to cancel our Christmas dinner plans. I'm not up to cooking (or even for shopping for the last few required items) and we certainly don't want to pass this bug on to others, so tourtières will stay in freezer for now. Tentative plan is to reschedule for NY Eve dinner. We'll see how we feel, we are really quite sick right now.  😞

 

A local restaurant chain (White Spot) does a fairly decent packaged turkey dinner for two. It's designed for reheating with par-cooked veggies, etc. We were able to pick one up yesterday and will have that tonight and/or tomorrow. 

 

Also, our heat pump shut down overnight. We reset the breakers and the fan started to run, but it doesn't seem to be heating house. Waiting for a service call. We do have a gas fireplace and it's not really cold outside but still....  🙂

 

[TdeV]

Best wishes to you and DH, @FauxPas.

 

Thankful. I have no space or energy to add a vegetarian tourtière to my task list. 🙄

[ElsieD]

@FauxPas  Oh no!  Of all the times to get sick.  Wishing the two of you a speedy recovery

Edited Wednesday at 09:48 PM by ElsieD
Fixed typo (log)

[Tropicalsenior]

47 minutes ago, FauxPas said:

husband and I have just come down with a particularly nasty virus

I feel for you and your husband. What a terrible Christmas present. I came down with a nasty cold Monday and now my plans to make tourtiere have been put on hold. I just can't summon the energy. I'll probably make it for New Years Eve. I have a pork roast thawing out and we'll just make do with that.

[blue_dolphin]

50 minutes ago, FauxPas said:

Also, our heat pump shut down overnight. We reset the breakers and the fan started to run, but it doesn't seem to be heating house. Waiting for a service call. We do have a gas fireplace and it's not really cold outside but still....  🙂

When you’re already feeling miserable, the pain of every inconvenience is amplified many fold!

I’m so sorry you’re under the weather and hope this will pass quickly!  

[MaryIsobel]

10 hours ago, FauxPas said:

 

Unfortunately, husband and I have just come down with a particularly nasty virus and had to cancel our Christmas dinner plans. I'm not up to cooking (or even for shopping for the last few required items) and we certainly don't want to pass this bug on to others, so tourtières will stay in freezer for now. Tentative plan is to reschedule for NY Eve dinner. We'll see how we feel, we are really quite sick right now.  😞

 

A local restaurant chain (White Spot) does a fairly decent packaged turkey dinner for two. It's designed for reheating with par-cooked veggies, etc. We were able to pick one up yesterday and will have that tonight and/or tomorrow. 

 

Also, our heat pump shut down overnight. We reset the breakers and the fan started to run, but it doesn't seem to be heating house. Waiting for a service call. We do have a gas fireplace and it's not really cold outside but still....  🙂

 

The flu that is going around is pretty severe. Apparently a new strain that the flu shot doesn't cover. My daughter who is an ER nurse says she has never seen so many people, and particularly children in the ER due to flu.

I have heard good things about the White Spot Christmas meals - hope you are able to enjoy it.

Why does our heating shut down in midwinter instead of in the fall? Our only 10 year old furnace packed it in two days before Christmas last year. Remarkably the company that we bought it from sent a technician at 9:00 am on the 24th and he fixed it!

[MaryIsobel]

I am getting ready to turn out the lights and bid all a good night. Just realized that I have been making these Best of Bridge overnight pull-apart cinnamon buns for 29 years now. They are a must have for Christmas br4eakfast/brunch. One year I made my own dough but decided there was no diffrence since it is all about the butter and sugar, so have just used the frozen rolls ever since as Christmas Eve is generally kind of busy.https://www.bestofbridge.com/land-of-nod-cinnamon-buns/

 

[haresfur]

Traditional cold Christmas lunch.

 

Forgot to chill the Aldi sangria so will have that along with the Pavlova for tea

 

[Duvel]

Christmas in Catalunya … starts on the 25th. So, tonight just some friends over for pica pica.

 

First a dirty martini for the cook …

 

 

I prepared truita de patates …

 

 

Some coca (flatbread) with roasted onions, peppers and aubergines, topped with sardines. And one with beixamel, goat cheese, honey, sopprasata and pine nuts …

 

 

Some giant prawns with garlic & parsley …

 

 

Cold cuts …

 

 

And the usual suspects: crisps, olives, pickles, octopus, croquettes and strangely some freshly baked German rye bread …

 

 

Nice new discovery:

 

 

A relaxed evening before the big show tomorrow 😎

 

[Maison Rustique]

Merry Christmas all! Heading to Topeka in a a few hours to spend the day with family.

[Shelby]

On 12/22/2025 at 10:20 AM, C. sapidus said:

Boys are visiting so we have been doing our holiday cooking this week. On Xmas day we will be dropping eldest and GF at the airport, then visiting with friends. Tomorrow should be fun - a bunch of the boys’ friends will be stopping by for dinner so I plan to BBQ a couple of pork butts and do pulled pork with all the fixings.

 

Best of all, the electrician stopped by today and installed Mrs. C’s present to me - fixing the wonky under-counter lights! I could not have asked for anything better.

 

Beautiful kitchen!

20 hours ago, FauxPas said:

 

Unfortunately, husband and I have just come down with a particularly nasty virus and had to cancel our Christmas dinner plans. I'm not up to cooking (or even for shopping for the last few required items) and we certainly don't want to pass this bug on to others, so tourtières will stay in freezer for now. Tentative plan is to reschedule for NY Eve dinner. We'll see how we feel, we are really quite sick right now.  😞

 

A local restaurant chain (White Spot) does a fairly decent packaged turkey dinner for two. It's designed for reheating with par-cooked veggies, etc. We were able to pick one up yesterday and will have that tonight and/or tomorrow. 

 

Also, our heat pump shut down overnight. We reset the breakers and the fan started to run, but it doesn't seem to be heating house. Waiting for a service call. We do have a gas fireplace and it's not really cold outside but still....  🙂

 

UGH I'm so sorry.  I hope you guys get better asap.  (((hugs)))

4 hours ago, Duvel said:

Christmas in Catalunya … starts on the 25th. So, tonight just some friends over for pica pica.

 

First a dirty martini for the cook …

 

 

I prepared truita de patates …

 

 

Some coca (flatbread) with roasted onions, peppers and aubergines, topped with sardines. And one with beixamel, goat cheese, honey, sopprasata and pine nuts …

 

 

Some giant prawns with garlic & parsley …

 

 

Cold cuts …

 

 

And the usual suspects: crisps, olives, pickles, octopus, croquettes and strangely some freshly baked German rye bread …

 

 

Nice new discovery:

 

 

A relaxed evening before the big show tomorrow 😎

 

Oh those prawns!!!!

2 hours ago, Maison Rustique said:

Merry Christmas all! Heading to Topeka in a a few hours to spend the day with family.

Be safe!  I hope it isn't as foggy over there as it is over here.  It's been pea soup every day until about 11 in the morning for 3 days.

 

Merry Christmas!!!!!

 

Phew.  Yesterday was a big day.  I think it all went well and everyone had fun.  I managed to remember to take a few pictures but when everyone showed up it got too busy.

 

I made an apple galette and a cherry galette

 

 

 

The usual chocolate crinkle cookies and sugar sprinkle cookies

 

 

GF brownies

 

 

I bought GF macarons 

 

 

And GF whoopie pies

 

 

Made the usual broccoli salad (one of Ronnie's daughters loves this stuff)

 

 

I made a little Bloody Mary station on the left but no one partook.  Ronnie and I and one daughter did put a hurt on a couple of bottles of champagne and orange juice for mimosas.

 

 

GF crackers, regular crackers and snacky stuff

 

 

I made both GF sausage gravy and regular.  I honestly couldn't tell the difference so I think next year I'll just make one big batch of GF.

 

 

GF biscuits

 

 

I also made regular (pillsbury grands)

 

In case you need to see what 24 eggs look like getting ready to get scrambled lol

 

 

Not pictured, the finished cheesy scrambled eggs, cheesy potatoes, bacon and sausages that Ronnie cooked in the garage thankfully because I didn't have room to get it all done in here.

 

I was pooped but managed to heat up the cioppino for Christmas Eve dinner--I was going to toast some of my bread to go with but nah lol.

 

 

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas Day!  I have a prime rib resting in the fridge.  I don't know what I'm going to make for sides but something will occur to me I'm sure.  Otherwise I hope to be veeeeery lazy today.

 

 

 

 

[chromedome]

We had a rather ordinary Christmas dinner yesterday, but it was still a good time. As I've probably mentioned in previous years, we do our meal on the 24th, then on the 25th they go and do it all again with both granddaughter's and grandson's other grandparents. 

Typically we buy a turkey from a farm up the road, but this year we were gifted a supermarket bird so that's what I prepped. Holiday meals when I cook them are always "veggie-palooza," so sides included the inevitable green bean casserole, as well as kale, carrot-and-rutabaga mash, baked squash, and Brussels sprouts, and of course mashed potatoes, stuffing, dinner rolls, gravy, etc. I spatchcocked the turkey, as usual, for speed of cooking and more crisped skin. 

 

Dessert was a selection of squares prepped by my GF (all of her traditional family favorites: butterscotch confetti squares - melted butterscotch chips and peanut butter, with mini-marshmallows folded in - plus lemon squares, cheesecake squares, another peanut-buttery one with rice krispies, and one with a filling of shredded coconut and sweetened condensed milk on a graham crust, and topped with chocolate icing). 

 

We had two friends join us for dinner, one of whom has been doing the Santa thing for years. He used to come visit with our grandkids every year, but this year they confessed to us that they knew Santa wasn't real. So he still came in and did the ho-ho-ho thing, but then he took off the hat and beard and sat around and joked with them for a while, and had dinner with us before leaving for his next appearance (unfortunately he was in a fender-bender at a roundabout on his way over, when another driver accelerated to try and get ahead of him...). 

This morning the rug rats opened all of their gifts, and are now happily playing before heading out to further grandparent-visiting. I'm having a quick cup of tea before getting back to my cookie-making. I'll be way late getting boxes in the mail to my son and the grandkids out west, but it's just been that kind of year. Almost everyone else who gets cookies is someone I'll see during my visit to NS (I'll be leaving tomorrow, if all goes to plan), so I really need to wrap up the decorating and assembly - in the case of the linzer cookies - through the course of the day. I still even have two blocks of dough in the fridge than need baking off (one of sugar cookies, one of linzer dough), so on the whole it's just as well that we'll be kid-free for most of the day. 

[FauxPas]

10 hours ago, MaryIsobel said:

The flu that is going around is pretty severe. Apparently a new strain that the flu shot doesn't cover.

 

Yes, this bug is a miserable one! We did get vaxxed, but as you say this year was a mismatch. 😞

 

10 hours ago, MaryIsobel said:

Why does our heating shut down in midwinter instead of in the fall? Our only 10 year old furnace packed it in two days before Christmas last year. Remarkably the company that we bought it from sent a technician at 9:00 am on the 24th and he fixed it!

 

We did get a tech here yesterday morning and he narrowed down the problem but it seems to require a part currently unavailable at the suppliers and so will have to be sent from factory which will take about 2 weeks, maybe longer with holidays. We wore masks when he came inside and gave him a mask also. Bad enough that he got called out on Xmas Eve, would be awful if we also made him sick!  

 

Last year on a rainy Christmas Day our roof sprang a leak and we had water coming in to our ensuite!  I'm going to be very nervous around Xmas 2026, I think. 😄

 

10 hours ago, MaryIsobel said:

I have heard good things about the White Spot Christmas meals - hope you are able to enjoy it.

 

We had this a few years ago in Victoria and it was pretty decent. This one was ok, but not quite as good. Still, easy to do! We had some last night and enough left for tonight. Turkey and gravy over stuffing in one container, veggies in the other - both microwaveable. Some cranberry sauce and an apple pie. They gave us vanilla ice cream in another container. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[chromedome]

3 hours ago, chromedome said:

I'm having a quick cup of tea before getting back to my cookie-making. I'll be way late getting boxes in the mail to my son and the grandkids out west, but it's just been that kind of year. Almost everyone else who gets cookies is someone I'll see during my visit to NS (I'll be leaving tomorrow, if all goes to plan), so I really need to wrap up the decorating and assembly - in the case of the linzer cookies - through the course of the day. I still even have two blocks of dough in the fridge than need baking off (one of sugar cookies, one of linzer dough), so on the whole it's just as well that we'll be kid-free for most of the day. 

 

Well, the initial royal-icing frenzy is completed. Just north of 15 dozen sugar cookies and gingerbread cookies are drying upstairs, on racks covering every free surface that's not a) pet accessible or b) currently needed for another purpose. Some are now finished, but others - like the snowmen and especially the Christmas trees - still need some detail work. The trees are the most fun, though it's fiddly making tiny bowls of blue, yellow and red icing to use for the decorations. I pipe on a white garland first, then once it's dry to the touch I dot them with the colorful decorations. 

Still have a batch of linzers and yet one more batch of sugar cookies to bake off. Part of the sugar cookies will become "faux linzers" for a friend who can't eat nuts anymore for medical reasons, and the rest will become sandwich cookies with a chocolate filling and probably (if I can maintain some modest level of gumption) a chocolate drizzle as well. If I fall short on the latter, I may dust them with powdered sugar. 

...if I don't use up what we've got, making that second batch of royal icing. 

One good thing, anyway, is that between the quail and the chickens I had no worries about my baking this year being interrupted by an "egg run" to the nearest store. That feels like the only interruption I somehow missed, though I'm probably exaggerating. We haven't had any space junk land on us, for example, and the only power outage I had in the past week or two lasted just seconds. 

[Shelby]

52 minutes ago, chromedome said:

 

Well, the initial royal-icing frenzy is completed. Just north of 15 dozen sugar cookies and gingerbread cookies are drying upstairs, on racks covering every free surface that's not a) pet accessible or b) currently needed for another purpose. Some are now finished, but others - like the snowmen and especially the Christmas trees - still need some detail work. The trees are the most fun, though it's fiddly making tiny bowls of blue, yellow and red icing to use for the decorations. I pipe on a white garland first, then once it's dry to the touch I dot them with the colorful decorations. 

Still have a batch of linzers and yet one more batch of sugar cookies to bake off. Part of the sugar cookies will become "faux linzers" for a friend who can't eat nuts anymore for medical reasons, and the rest will become sandwich cookies with a chocolate filling and probably (if I can maintain some modest level of gumption) a chocolate drizzle as well. If I fall short on the latter, I may dust them with powdered sugar. 

...if I don't use up what we've got, making that second batch of royal icing. 

One good thing, anyway, is that between the quail and the chickens I had no worries about my baking this year being interrupted by an "egg run" to the nearest store. That feels like the only interruption I somehow missed, though I'm probably exaggerating. We haven't had any space junk land on us, for example, and the only power outage I had in the past week or two lasted just seconds. 

I'm exhausted just reading this.  I don't know how you do it all.

[chromedome]

29 minutes ago, Shelby said:

I'm exhausted just reading this.  I don't know how you do it all.

The cookies are no problem. It's all the other stuff I have to do before I can get to the cookies that's the issue.

 

For most of my freelance career, work has dried up in mid-December and then not rebounded again until mid-January, which as you'd imagine is a bit rough on the ol' budget. This year, with my three current clients, the shoe is on the other foot. I've cranked out three assignments for one client in the past few days, and have one more to do starting when I get to NS tomorrow evening, because it's due end-of-day on the 27th. Then I have three for another client which ordinarily would have arrived mid-month, but because of the holidays and various other reasons got pushed back. I need to get those pumped out by no later than January 5th (the official deadline), but in practice would like to have them done by month-end if I can, so I can invoice them in time to get paid mid-month. My third client has already dropped January's batch of 6 assignments, with "official" due dates ranging from Jan 14th to Feb 4th, but I want to have them completed before the 13th because that's my last day to invoice them before that client's pay cycle closes. At that point, I'll also be turning back to the first client I'd mentioned, to get a couple of pieces done before that second client drops the mid-month January batch, and... well, that's how a freelancer patches together an income. 

Add in the time I spend looking after our quail, chickens and rabbits, and the time I spend running to the feed store to keep them fed, and the other errands required for Christmas gift- and grocery-shopping, and throw in the occasional medical appointment for one or the other of us, and it's fair to say my days are rather full. 

 

 

[Darienne]

45 minutes ago, Shelby said:

I'm exhausted just reading this.  I don't know how you do it all.

I'm with you.  I need a cup of tea and a lie-down.

 

added:  and I was responding to @chromedome's earlier post.  Now I need a full nap with a cozy blanket.

 

Edited 17 hours ago by Darienne (log)

[TdeV]

13 hours ago, MaryIsobel said:

I am getting ready to turn out the lights and bid all a good night. Just realized that I have been making these Best of Bridge overnight pull-apart cinnamon buns for 29 years now. They are a must have for Christmas br4eakfast/brunch. One year I made my own dough but decided there was no diffrence since it is all about the butter and sugar, so have just used the frozen rolls ever since as Christmas Eve is generally kind of busy.https://www.bestofbridge.com/land-of-nod-cinnamon-buns/

 

Am I looking at bits of apple on top, or is that the dough?

[TdeV]

2 hours ago, chromedome said:

 

Well, the initial royal-icing frenzy is completed. Just north of 15 dozen sugar cookies and gingerbread cookies are drying upstairs, on racks covering every free surface that's not a) pet accessible or b) currently needed for another purpose. Some are now finished, but others - like the snowmen and especially the Christmas trees - still need some detail work. The trees are the most fun, though it's fiddly making tiny bowls of blue, yellow and red icing to use for the decorations. I pipe on a white garland first, then once it's dry to the touch I dot them with the colorful decorations. 

Still have a batch of linzers and yet one more batch of sugar cookies to bake off. Part of the sugar cookies will become "faux linzers" for a friend who can't eat nuts anymore for medical reasons, and the rest will become sandwich cookies with a chocolate filling and probably (if I can maintain some modest level of gumption) a chocolate drizzle as well. If I fall short on the latter, I may dust them with powdered sugar. 

...if I don't use up what we've got, making that second batch of royal icing. 

One good thing, anyway, is that between the quail and the chickens I had no worries about my baking this year being interrupted by an "egg run" to the nearest store. That feels like the only interruption I somehow missed, though I'm probably exaggerating. We haven't had any space junk land on us, for example, and the only power outage I had in the past week or two lasted just seconds. 

 

If you could tease us with some photos, that would be appreciated.

 

But, God forbid, I don't want to add anything at all to your tasklist!

[chromedome]

31 minutes ago, TdeV said:

 

If you could tease us with some photos, that would be appreciated.

 

But, God forbid, I don't want to add anything at all to your tasklist!

I'll see what I can do. The lighting is crap and the kitchen is ugly, but I'll try to get a pic or two before I start packing them up into gift boxes etc. 

[YvetteMT]

Eek,  i hope everyone starts feeling better. 

No pics but last night was our main feast with Partners daughter.   Shrimp cocktail,  salmon dip, and halibut with pasta and lemon sauce.   Dessert was Tillamook raspberry white chocolate ice cream and a cobbler with blueberry, cherry and blackberry. 

 

Just the two of us tonight after a very chill day (yes we watched Die Hard) and it'll be pizza for dinner.

[Shelby]

41 minutes ago, YvetteMT said:

Eek,  i hope everyone starts feeling better. 

No pics but last night was our main feast with Partners daughter.   Shrimp cocktail,  salmon dip, and halibut with pasta and lemon sauce.   Dessert was Tillamook raspberry white chocolate ice cream and a cobbler with blueberry, cherry and blackberry. 

 

Just the two of us tonight after a very chill day (yes we watched Die Hard) and it'll be pizza for dinner.

Shrimp cocktail sounds so good right now.

 

However, my mom and I just had a huge talk last night about Die Hard --and it is NOT (my opinion) a Christmas movie.  My mom adamantly says Die Hard IS a Christmas movie.

 

Yippee-Ki-Yay  😆

[gfweb]

Things went smoothly except food pix.

 

Table and Nativity with Airedale

 

After filet with onion sauce, braised greens and au gratin pots (not photo'd)

There was sticky toffee pudding

 

No complaints 😉

 

[MaryIsobel]

5 hours ago, TdeV said:

 

Am I looking at bits of apple on top, or is that the dough?

It's just dough; frozen rolls, butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and instant vanilla pudding.

[MaryIsobel]

We had brunch - copious amounts of food - but I lost my mind and forgot to take picturesn because I found out that I'm going to be a GRANDMA IN JUNE!!! Best gift ever🥰