Christmas 2009

What a wonderful Christmas!  On Tuesday I had the annual cookie party at a customer's house.  She provides the children and I help them bake and decorate cut out cookies and another treat.  This year we made the peppermint bark hearts and they were a big hit.  My friend Cathy came and helped me since we had about 12 children.  I'm not sure of the actual count since they came and went. 

Wednesday I zipped over to Decatur to deliver a Christmas gift, go to The Little Shop of Stories to buy Christmas gifts and return 2 rolling pins to my friend Cathy.  We dumped all the dirty things in a bin on Tuesday and it slipped our minds about her rolling pins.  I then met my friend Theresa for lunch and we caught up on each others lives.  A very nice lunch. 

Thursday was Christmas Eve!  So fast.  I did a little cleaning in the morning and made Mint Brownie Cupcakes from the Martha Stewart Cupcake cookbook.  They are delicious!  My husband came home early and we decided we needed lunch so out to the freezer for pizza.  We then took a little nap and luckily woke up at 4:03 since we had to leave for church at 4:15!  That was close!

Once at church, I went to the nursery and he went to the parking lot.  I held babies and he helped park cars.  I was warm and dry, he was cold and a little wet.  We went home and started dinner. 

I like to have seafood on Christmas Eve and I had decided on Crab Ricotta Manicotti with a Caesar Salad and Parmesan Bread.  Very good.  We finished dinner about 8:30 or so and were relaxing.  I set an alarm in case we relaxed too much!  We went to church for the 11:00 service which was very nice. 

Friday we didn't do much of anything.  It was wonderful!  I did cook and we ate, but that's pretty much it.  I made Sausage Rolls for breakfast.

Savory Sausage Breakfast Rolls from Cooking Light October 2009

• 1  (11-ounce) can refrigerated French bread dough
• 2  tablespoons  butter, melted
• 2  teaspoons  chopped fresh sage
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 8  ounces  reduced-fat pork sausage, cooked and crumbled (such as Jimmy Dean)
• 3/4  cup  (3 ounces) shredded Gruyère cheese
• Cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Find lengthwise seam in dough. Beginning at seam, gently unroll dough into a rectangle on a lightly floured surface. Roll dough into a 13 x 8-inch rectangle; brush with butter, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Combine sage, salt, and sausage. Sprinkle sausage mixture evenly over dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border; top with cheese. Starting with a long side, roll dough up, jelly-roll fashion; press seam to seal (do not seal ends of roll). Cut 1 (1/2-inch-thick) crosswise slice from each end; discard. Slice roll crosswise into 12 (1/2-inch-thick) pieces; arrange in a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 28 minutes or until golden.

I also made a Cinnamon Crumbcake which we had a little later in the day for a snack.  There was some additional napping but no need for an alarm.

I like to have beef on Christmas and I used some recipes from The Barefoot Contessa - Roasted Beef Tenderloin with Gorgonzola Sauce and Parmesan Mashed Potatoes.  Both very delicious.  I also made Creamed Spinach from a recipe cut out of the newspaper and it was excellent.

Creamed Spinach from Chops Restaurant

• 4 cups (1 quart) whole milk
• 1 small onion, finely diced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, plus additional for garnish
• dash ground black pepper
• 3 pounds fresh spinach
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup flour
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan

1. In a medium saucepan, combine milk, onion, salt, nutmeg and pepper.  Simmer over low heat 30 minutes.  Do not allow to boil.
2. While milk and onions are heating, in a large saucepan, bring 2 inches of water to a boil.  Drop in 1 pound pf spinach and blanch for 1 minute.  Using a slotted spoon, remove spinach to a colander to drain.  Repeat with the remaining spinach.  When all spinach is cooked and cooled, squeeze to remove all water and then chop.  Set aside.
   
3. When milk and onions have finished cooking, melt butter over medium heat in saucepan used for blanching spinach.  Add flour and stir constantly for 1 minute.  Slowly add milk and onion mixture.  Continue to heat and stir until sauce thickens.  Taste for seasoning.  Use immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.
   
4. To serve, warm sauce, then add spinach and stir to combine and heat thoroughly.  Sprinkle with Parmesan and nutmeg and serve.
   

Not much cooking in store for today.  We had leftover sausage rolls for breakfast and then went to The Center for Puppetry Arts and saw The Shoemaker and the Elves.  It was excellent.  It's there until January 3rd.

We came home and I made some Cookies and Cream Fudge, but used Mint Jo Jo cookies and added a touch of peppermint to the fudge.  I haven't tasted it yet, but it looks pretty. 



No more cooking today.  Had afternoon tea with crumb cake and there are leftovers for dinner tonight!  I may take a short nap and then do a little menu planning.