Santa needs a nap after all the hustle and bustle of Christmas! The holiday was so much fun, full of laughter and good food. I hope you had a wonderful holiday too.

Let me begin with Christmas Eve, hosted by my sister and her husband. They served shrimp cocktail and other appetizers, followed by our traditional meal of fish, pasta with garlic and olive oil, salad, and garlic bread. They added green beans to the menu as well which were great. Unfortunately, I did not get any pictures of the meal, but I took some photos of dessert, including the Chinese Noodle Cookies and Cranberry Coffee Cake. We played a game of Christmas trivia and kept the night going with plenty of espresso.

My grandmother used to make fried dough every Christmas, and my sister made it for the first time this year. It came out really well, and definitely brought back good memories of being at my grandmother’s house on Christmas Eve.

Christmas morning began with Whiskey Cake as usual, but we also made scrambled eggs, and breakfast kept us all going while we opened presents!

My contribution to the Christmas meal was Caramelized Pear and Brie Appetizer. The complete recipe will be posted tomorrow, but here is a preview:

We had a very leisurely Christmas dinner which started with a first course of antipasto, including prosciutto, stuffed peppers, radishes, tomatoes, asiago cheese, and olives. My sister has become quite the expert with homemade dough, which she used to make sausage bread.

After a lot of talking and a couple of glasses of wine, we had the main course, including a lovely roast, butternut squash, yellow squash, and a new potato recipe.

After another long break, which included the Celtics game, we sat down to dessert, Chocolate Pecan Pie.

Wow – that was a lot of food! We used many traditional recipes, and a few new ones. It was a great holiday, but just like Santa, I need a nap.

I wish everyone a Merry Christmas! I’ll be back tomorrow with a recap of the Christmas menu.

Egg salad reminds me of the lunches I brought to grammar school on Fridays during Lent, and I tend to remember them as mushy and bland. But when I was staring into my rather empty refrigerator on a snowy day, I decided that was the best option for lunch. I used yogurt instead of mayonnaise to save calories, and served the egg salad on toast so the sandwich would have more texture. I think I’ll be eating these more often in the future!

4 eggs, hard boiled and sliced
1 T mustard
2 T fat free Greek style yogurt
Salt & Pepper

Makes enough egg salad for 2 sandwiches.

There are a lot of theories out there on how to make the perfect hard boiled eggs. My method is to place the eggs in cold water, and cook on the stove top until the water comes to a boil. Allow the eggs to boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat, cover for 10 minutes, and rinse with cold water.

Peel and slice the eggs, and mash slightly with a fork. Add in mustard and yogurt, and salt and pepper to taste.

Yesterday was my 9th annual Christmas Cookie Swap, and I hope that everyone had as much fun as I did! All of the kids were especially cute. There were a lot of cookies with chocolate drizzle this year which looked beautiful. I nibbled at least a bite of each and every cookie, and they all tasted fabulous.

Our family had quite a feast yesterday, and here are some pictures taken with my brand new camera. I have a lot to learn about food photography, but I had fun!

The day started with a hearty bowl of Banana Oatmeal with pecans.

We also snacked on Kelly’s Pumpkin Muffins.

Once it was noontime somewhere in the world, we opened our favorite wine.

As our guests arrived, we served crackers, cheese, and this yummy spread from Trader Joe’s. My aunt brought her wonderful stuffed cherry peppers, but I didn’t get to snap a picture.

Finally, time for the main course. Here is the turkey, ready for carving.

On the side, we had Noni’s Stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, and Grandma’s Turnip.

We also made fried peas and onions.

And we had Kelly’s Cranberry Sauce.

After a little break, it was time for dessert. We had Mom’s Apple Pie, pumpkin pie, and almond cookies.

A good time was had by all, and I would have gotten a group photo but the crowd was a little camera shy. Hope that all of you also had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope that you all have a wonderful day, surrounded by family, friends, and good food.

My parents made the Spinach Stuffed Turkey Meatloaf I posted earlier in the week, and my sister stopped by to snap this picture. See how pretty it looks? They all enjoyed the meatloaf, but suggested that adding some Worcestershire sauce to the mushrooms may add some flavor. Thanks for the feedback!

The third attempt at making the pumpkin scones was a great success. They are light, fluffy, and the perfect fall treat!