Aside from the material generosity as well as loving generosity that has been shared by my family this Christmas, I am also so blessed and lucky to have a family that is just fantastic in the kitchen! In preparation of this year's Christmas Celebration at my parents' house, my little family and a slew of Cousins gathered at my house days before the Holiday for our annual Christmas Cookie Baking Extravanganza! I look forward to this event, as it's been going on for at least 9 years now! Essentially, we get together to bake cookies, gossip, and in more recent years, make it a fun event for the newest bakers in the family such as my Girlies! Now, I must admit, this year saw a lot more socializing vs. baking, but homemade yummy cookies were still the main result of the evening. And although I did not take very many pictures of the Chocolate Crinkles, Christmas Cherries, Award-Winning Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies, Spritz Cookies courtesy of a great recipe I tried from allrecipes.com, or Sugar Cookie Thumbprints that were baked with love this year, they all ended up on Santa's plate, and ultimately in his belly that I'm sure shook like a bowl full of jelly! Here's a peak into the evening spent together to keep Santa happy:
And here's what Santa's plate looked like on Christmas Eve, filled with all the cookies we baked at the Extravaganza, along with some healthy options:
On Christmas Day, itself, a guest to our Celebration has to come ready to eat and be gloriously filled with delectable foods, both sweet & savory, traditionally American & traditionally Filipino, and all in all delicious. We're not fancy, just foodies! This year, we had so many things to eat: white rice (of course), my garlic mashed potatoes and creamy cornbread, my brother Rom's jellied cranberry mold with citrus & mint, a turkey roasted not only by my husband Alex, but one also roasted with an herb rub by Lola Te & Rom, a delicious honey-baked ham bought at a local establishment, Tita Marlene's pancit noodles, Lola Te's beef caldereta & filipino picadillo with raisins, Tita Lelet's boiled peanuts, wines by Alejos Cellars, and the piece de resistance: my cousin, Ate Gay's Rib Roast! I'm full just reading the line up. And don't forget the homemade cookies from me, my banana bread ala simplyrecipes.com, Kathy's Devil's Food cupcakes, and my MIL's pecan squares! And now, I'm really stuffed! But wait, don't forget to have a glass of wine, a cocktail, some mulled cider, a shot of Jagermeister or Jack Daniels while playing Catchphrase with the Cousins, Cousin Isabel's Orange Creamsicle shots (yum!), or Holiday Egg-Nog (though Rom was too pooped to whip some up...next year...).
And just to get an idea of what feasting at the Christmas Celebration with my side of the Family is like, here's just a taste:
I certainly hope your Christmas Celebration was blessed, fun, and delish! Mine sure was, and it was especially lovely and scrumptious because of my large, loving, and fabulous family of naturally talented cooks, for serious! Happy Holidays to you & yours!
And now to think about what I will be serving for the New Year's Day feast we're hosting at my house...(sigh!).
I can spot a rice cooker from a mile away! I have rice with every meal, yummy. I could eat it for breakfast, oh I have eaten it for breakfast.
ReplyDeleteLooks like you had a fantastic time! Try Jack Daniels and ginger beer from Trader Joes's,nom nom nom for sure!!!!!
besos, lynn