Christmas is well and truly done at our house with the news that all those who visited have arrived back home safely. We had a full house--9 people-- and this was the first Christmas that my husband and I hosted together. The gathering was a meld of my and my husband's families.
Man, am I tired.
All I have managed to do tonight is to wash some laundry (don't mention either folding it or putting it away.) My brother was the last to leave this morning. My husband took him to the airport at 4:45 AM. I dragged myself out of bed and went to work. This next week will be one of enforced sobriety since I will be on call starting tomorrow, so I am having one last glass of red wine-- killing the last open bottle of the holidays.
Christmas Eve was a simple meal of cracked dungeoness crab, superfluous salad, bread and tons of butter. I guess this is a Humboldt county tradition. I got my crab at Murphy's Market in Bayside where someone told me they buy their crab fresh from a coworker's husband. Well, let me tell you, wherever it came from, it was DAMN fine crab.
Christmas day's menu was as follows:
1) Crisp Apple Scented Roast Turkey with Cider Calvados Gravy
I changed it up a bit in that I swapped sage for basil (I useda total of 3 Safeway plastic packs of fesh sage. Basil and turkey as a taste combo just doesn't work for me like sage and turkey. I was the cook, so it's my prerogative, baby!)
2) Stuffing: dried croutons, celery, onion, cremini mushrooms, poutry seasoning, chiken broth. My aunt's basic recipe. Mmmmmmmmmmmm!
3) Buttermilk mashed potatoes
4) Spiral sliced ham
5) Pea salad with sour cream, bacon, and cashews
6) Cranberry orange walnut relish-- this stuff was GREAT. I used white sugar (not substitute), 15 oz of cranberries, not 12, and put 1 tsp cinnamon in it. I also chopped the larger pieces up a bit after it was cooked. I made it the day before and it did get better with age. It had a very small hint of sour cherry flavor to it that was delish with both the turkey and the ham.
veggie sides from our farm based on what was available:
7) Shredded leek salad
8) Kale salad with spicy almonds, olives and roasted peppers
9) Roasted beets with orange vinaigrette
10) Cider glazed brussels sprouts
11) leek, onion and shallot gratin
It actually all turned out great. The onion gratin didn't make it to the table, so we dug into it it the next day. Dessert was apple pie I made using apples from our backyard trees and a yule log my mother-in-law brought. Everyone ate until they hurt and drank to the "I-love-ya-man!" stage. Or most of us anyway. That's me in the front end of the table and my sweetie and the far end--the Host and Hostess.
The Christmas knitting project count was 8 of nine projects finished. My brother came up with the short end of the stick: his scarf was only 8 inches long Christmas Day. Oh well. It's first on the queue. Here are some pics of the projects I knit up.
