Treat of the Week: The Most of Christmas Past

Ah! Christmas… It means many things to many people. For me, beyond images of mangers, stars and sparkling trees, Christmas means food. Now, as you all know, my mother treats me and Bertie to a beautiful meal once a week when we visit her and my father. But, on Christmas (and New Year’s Day and Eve), the food is at the very height of its gloriousness. 

So, this week, and next week, for the “Treat of the Week,” we’ll be taking a look back at our sumptuous holiday feasts. It was a grand end to 2012, I’ll tell you! This is especially fitting since the diet has now begun so I won’t be wearing that “grand end” for the rest of the year. I will say that I loved every bite and my motto was, whenever asked if I wanted to eat something, “I want everything I can get.” So, let’s see what there was to get. 

You’ve all already seen the cookies. Oh, the cookies! Lovely, wonderful cookies. But, there was so much more…

On Christmas Eve, we started with a breakfast of homemade scones and scrambled eggs. 

And, that evening, we began the celebration with a wonderful pasta al forno with a sauce of cream, asiago cheese, Romano cheese, mozzarella, parmigiano, fontina, ricotta, Gorgonzola, tomato pureé, cream, basil, and scallions which is then baked to bubbly, gooey perfection. We each had our own personalized antipasto to go with it. This is our traditional Christmas Eve dinner, and I always look forward to it.  This year, we added mulled cider to the mix, and it was quite tasty.

Cookies followed.

And, then it snowed. 

Typically, our Christmas tradition begins thusly--a large Italian feast starts of the festivities. This is a nod to our Italian heritage. In case you hadn't guessed, "Crisalli" is an Italian name. Christmas Day, however, we indulge in a traditional English feast--not because we're English, but because we are Anglophiles. This will come as no surprise to regular readers of this site.

So, on Christmas Day, we stuffed ourselves with herbed prime rib and Yorkshire puddings (one of my favorite things in the world) garnished with a luxurious gravy and whipped cream infused with horseradish. Gorgeous! This is accompanied by roasted potatoes and petite, buttered Brussels Sprouts.  Lovely, fluffy homemade biscuits were an ideal companion to the meal.

Both nights, we open crackers and wear our paper crowns despite the fact that the sound bothers Bertie and he has to be coaxed back into the dining room. 

And, so, once Bertie was soothed and convinced we weren't shooting one another, we sliced into this year's Christmas Cottage Cake.

This ginger spice pound cake, in the form of a snow-covered cottage is painstakingly decorated by my mother who takes great care with it--down to ensuring that each of the four trees are trimmed with little icing ornaments. Each year, one or more of you will always ask if my mom is going to make the “cottage cake,” so, we thought of all of you as we ate it. And, we laughed…because you can’t have any. Okay, I’m kidding about the laughing bit. 

We had a wonderful time and , as usual, we are far too much. But, as the song says, “Christmas Comes But Once a Year.” And, so, I’m gonna get all that I can.

Next week, you'll get a look at our New Year's festivities.  And, I will continue to drink water and lemon and very small portions...