Christmas eating

Who-boy, have we been eating well and plenty lately!  We decided to have a big Christmas Eve dinner this year and then take things easy for Christmas dinner itself.  We invited our friends Irena and Dusan and their two kids, plus Irena's sister over for Christmas Eve dinner.  I wanted to "go all out" and so we planned a menu of

-Arugula and roasted red pepper salad with red onion and a red wine vinegar dressing.  Aleks roasted the peppers on the grill. (http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Chopped-Arugula-Salad-230965)

- Lamb loin chops with a shallot, garlic, bread crumbs and balsamic vinegar crust held on with mustard and then grilled to perfection! (http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Rack-of-Lamb-with-Caramelized-Shallot-and-Thyme-Crust-13454 - adapted for our lamb chops)

-Lasagna bolognese - (http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Lasagne-Bolognese-with-Spinach-351166)  the best lasagna I've ever had.  A bolognese sauce of sauted carrots, onions, and celery with ground beef, cooked down with white wine and milk, a spinach ricotta filling, and homemade pasta.  I subbed in blended cottage cheese for about 1/4-1/3 of the ricotta.

Mila and Will worked together to make the pasta

The extra dough was made into fettuccine.









-Roasted carrots and fennel - one of my favorite side dishes.  A lovely blending of flavors and it takes only about 5 minutes of pret. (http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Roasted-Fennel-and-Baby-Carrots-231805)

- Cranberry eggnog cheesecake with gingersnap crust for dessert.

Oh my goodness - it was good.

Christmas Day breakfast was sausage gravy and biscuits plus coffee and mimosas.

Christmas Day dinner was leftovers from the night before.  Another delicious meal, but we got to take it easy all afternoon.  Perfect!

Tonight we made beef wellingtons, which we had originally planned for Christmas dinner.
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Beef-Wellingtons-with-Gorgonzola-14632

We didn't spring for the filet mignon, but got some NY strip instead.  Sauted a shallot with some garlic, added some sherry and mushrooms and cooked until it was time for Suzie's bath.  I seared the beef, then wrapped it in puff pastry with the mushrooms and some gorgonzola.  Seriously 10 min of work, but oh my god, was it good!  I chopped my mushrooms up into tiny pieces, since I don't like mushrooms, and it worked out great - I still got to enjoy the flavor without having that feeling of eating mushrooms.  We served it with a salad and fresh bread - gratuitous perhaps, but it was fresh homemade bread... Leftover pecan pie for dessert.

Molly heads back to Tucson tomorrow and from there on to PA and it's time for us to get back to normal eating.  I'm looking forward to 10 bean soup made with turkey broth from Thanksgiving at some point in the next few days, and sausage and sauerkraut for New Year's.  We're heading up to LA with Irena and Dusan + kids and meeting up with Brandon Kelly (who married us) and his new wife Alyssa for what I'm sure will be another delicious, but likely simpler and lighter, meal.  I'm planning on taking fresh bread, since as far as I can tell any meal that involves fresh homemade bread is a good one.

We feel incredibly lucky to have such beautiful food and wonderful people with whom we get to share it.

-Maggie