Christmas Dinner

Christmas dinner at my husband's aunt's house is an annual tradition and I always look forward to the wonderful spread of food she creates--the same dishes, basically, every year, and always so salty and unusual for us. This year I decided to try to do my best to record what we have.

*red punch (my favorite!)
*green punch
*this year, they added mocha punch--which was truly the only dessert I wanted or needed

*sausage balls
*crab meltaways (my favorite)
*chicken puffs
*little sandwiches: chicken salad, ham salad, egg salad....
*tiny country ham biscuits
*ham delights (a small roll, with poppyseed-mustard dressing, and ham and cheese, all melted together...)
*marinated mushrooms (my other favorite!)
*chips and dip
*shrimp cocktail
*meatballs
*new on the menu this year: a cranberry-jello salad
*oyster crackers
*cheese straws
*hot dog bites in a tangy sauce--I'm not sure what this is, b/c I never eat it
*this year my sister-in-law provided brie & apricot jam in phyllo cups

*prune cake
*coconut cake
*cookies: Russian tea cakes, 7-layer cookies, candy cane cookies, sugar cookies, chocolate cookies
*chocolate peanut-butter balls
*chocolate-covered pretzels
*spiced pecans
*peanut butter fudge  and chocolate-nut fudge
*and of course, little bowls of red and green peanut and regular M&Ms on various tables, which little fingers love to grab when no one is looking......

Usually we make crabcakes to take but this year my husband's aunt suggested that they had plenty of food and that we didn't need to bring anything. So I put a few rice krispy goodies on a tray and that was our contribution!!  Next year I think a crudite platter would be nice, because a nice foil to all that rich, salty food is the satisfying crunch of raw vegetables, so that's what I will plan to take.

What a delicious feast--I am so grateful for the hospitality they show--the food is not only delicious, but their house is decorated so beautifully for Christmas with trees, a little lit village, Christmas prints hung on the walls, special Christmas soap dispenser in the bathroom, et cetera.   After we eat we have our gift exchange; at Thanksgiving, his extended family draws names out of a hat and we play "Secret Santa!"  Last night I got two beautiful Root candles from my generous Secret Santa--my mother-in-law!

Light and Glory

"For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel."  --Luke 2:28-32

A few photos of some gifts waiting to be opened this morning....these were all in our guest room, on the cedar chest my husband's grandfather made. I love wrapping gifts and trying to make them look nice with all the little scraps and bits I have.....

Merry Christmas!

A Peaceful and Quiet Christmas Eve

In the past Christmas Eve for me has often been consumed by lots of cooking and food prep, gift-wrapping, and houseguests. This year there was none of that.  Instead it was just the four of us, and we mostly seemed to lounge around just enjoying each other's company.  I helped a neighbor run an errand and popped into the thrift store (a new skirt! a bowl that matches some antique china we have!), and when I got home my husband was vacuuming!  That was a sweet surprise!  There was playing outside, hand-sewing an invisible zipper into a skirt and then finishing the waistband by machine, a bit of laundry, book-reading, Thai food for dinner (so warm, spicy and comforting), a relaxing hot bath, table-setting for the morning and an excited child who couldn't sleep...but he eventually succumbed just before midnight!

We've been very busy for the past two weeks so a restful and happy Christmas Eve felt like a gift.  Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

In the Guest Room at Christmas

The chest of drawers and cedar chest were made by my husband's grandfather. The bed was made by a family-owned furniture company out of walnut many years ago; I inherited it from my mother. The little vintage choir people used to belong to beloved family friends, and my grandmother cross-stitched the picture of Drayton Hall in Charleston, South Carolina back in the 1990s because she knew how much I loved it. I made the curtains from vintage sheets I found still in their packaging at the thrift store. And finally, the print that hangs above the bed was the one that hung in my mother's room for years. And somewhere on the tree there's a crocheted angel my great-grandmother made.....

Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free Christmas Baking

The tree has been up for a couple of weeks and the house is decorated so it's baking time!

I always bake traditional fruitcakes for my father every year, full of gluten and butter (and many pounds of nuts and fruits, a dozen eggs, a pound of butter..you get the idea).

But for our own purposes I am baking a smattering of gluten-free, dairy-free goodies that I hope will carry us through to the New Year.  Here's the list:

Chocolate truffles (a must-have holiday treat for my son!)

"Reindeer Food"--a nightmarish concoction involving rice chex, powdered sugar, peanut butter, chocolate.....my son loves this stuff....

Chocolate hazelnut meringues

Peanut Butter Balls

Almond cookies

Rice krispy candy 

Last week I made the rice krispy candy.  Today we're whipping up the meringues and the truffles.  I usually make truffles beautifully with two ingredients: chocolate and cream.  This year I had to modify to make them dairy-free. We'll make everything else later in the week. 

If I have good luck with these recipes I will share them!