Christmas Day Goodies

Christmas Day was the first time  I did not have one or more of my children with me to celebrate the holiday.  It was odd to say the least but each did call to wish me good tidings.  They also sent gifts to me in the mail.
Each picked out such wonderful gifts for me... My son and daughter-in-law gave me 5 gift cards for my favorite stores.. (You know what I'll be doing with the after Christmas sales!).   My daughter Cyndi sent me a good read and two gift cards for "itunes and the app store".. to go with my new ipad and the iphone I also received.  They all know how much I love books.
  My sister,  niece and nephew also sent such wonderful gifts, ( I'll talk about these at a later date).

Christmas was very good to me this year.

One of the gifts I need to talk about are  "French Croissants" from my youngest daughter.

A few days ago I received,  from the Fedx truck, a box with these wonderful buttery delights packed in dry ice.  The note enclosed said, "Keep frozen until ready to use"

Gina told me she heard about these croissants on "Oprah's Favorite Things" program.  Oprah said, "These are the closest thing to the real thing in France".  My daughter remembered my telling her about the croissants I had in France and that I have never had any in the states that could even come close.  She wanted me to have them with my Christmas Breakfast.

After reading the directions I took out 5 and placed them on a parchment lined baking pan, covered them with another piece of parchment and let rise on Christmas Eve, while I slept.  When I woke Christmas morning they were huge!

Before putting them in the oven,  the directions said to brush with an egg wash.

Then I waited.... peeking through the glass  oven door, to see them brown and rise a bit more.  In all it took only 12 minutes of baking.  They came out fluffy like clouds.

What more can I say?  Oprah was right. 

These were so buttery and light, and oh so good!  No butter needed on these little gems, they were so greasy with butter.  I did put a bit of blueberry jam that I made this past summer.  

I had to eat two!

Now you can savor fresh-baked croissants just like those in a French patisserie. Shipped frozen, made by French pastry chef Jean-Yves Charon. The web site is easy to pull,, just look for "Galaxy Desserts".

A big "Thank You" to all my family for being here with me in spirit and for the wonderful gifts... Gifts that I will use over and over.
Although I did not look forward to being alone this year,,, it was indeed a

 "Merry Christmas"

Neighborley delights

I spent yesterday morning making my edible Christmas Gifts
for all my neighbors... Everyone on my street talks throughout
the year and I so love to walk down to everyone's home on
Christmas Eve with treats for each of them.
I even took one to my Doctors office yesterday, set it in the
lunch room for all the staff... (they loved it).

This year I chose "Cranberry Orange, Pistachio" Xmas cake.
It's a loaf cake and so good to sit with a cup of tea in the mornings
or evening.  

All together I made 8, no 9... have to count houses down my
street.  

 For delivery and display I simply used red plastic disposal plates.

Rolled parchment paper and cut tiny pieces of the round to create
a filler on the plates..
Makes for a nice look.

Using red plastic wrap tied with a bit of ribbon,  then attached a
Christmas card on each.... there, ready for my Christmas Eve
walk down the street.

My only regret,  I am not able to walk around bloggie land and
give out my tasty Christmas Loaf Cakes to all my friends on this
street.  Just know in my heart I am knocking on all your doors
tonight......

"Merry Christmas to all and to all a Good Night"

HOLIDAY EATING TIPS

1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Holiday spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately.. Go next door, where they're serving rum balls. 

2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. It's rare.. You cannot find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an eggnog-alcoholic or something. It's a treat.. Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have two. It's later than you think It's Christmas!

3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat. 

4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.

5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Holiday party is to eat other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello?

6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.

7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and
size of Santa, position yourself near
them and don't budge. Have as many
as you can before becoming the center
of attention.. their like good shoes,, they
will be gone if you don't get them now!

8. Same for pies. Apple, Pumpkin, Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day?

9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some standards.

10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Re-read tips; start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner. Remember this motto to live by:

"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate and wine in one hand, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO what a ride!"

Have a great holiday season!!
Merry Christmas !!!

Egg Nog

 

If you're like most holiday revelers, you've got a few parties to attend this season. Odds are that upon walking through the door, you'll come face-to-face with a large bowl of murky liquid known as eggnog.

Your first reaction may be one of confusion, but try to keep it together. Although eggnog ain't much to look at, it's impossible to get away from. Around the holidays, sales of this gelatinous liquid skyrocket, and so do the Web searches.

In fact, over the past week, online lookups for "what is eggnog" have bubbled up to a 23% gain, and related searches on "eggnog recipes" and "eggnog cookies" spiked as well. But wait, eggnog lovers -- there's more.  Online searches for "eggnog history" is starting to soar, and the equally mysterious "why is it called eggnog" is also posting gains.  You can check out recipes  Ingredients vary, but most recipes call for milk, sugar, eggs (duh), flour, and nutmeg.

So, why is it called eggnog?  There are a few theories on how the drink earned its unfortunate title. The site explains, "One version says that eggnog derives from an Old English word for strong beer, hence 'noggin.' Another version attributes the name to Colonial America where colonists referred to thick drinks as 'grog' and eggnog as 'egg-and-grog'."

And remember, the name literally means "eggs inside a small cup."

 Originally, eggnog was a combination of eggs and, well, nog. Nog being a "kind of strong beer originally brewed in East Anglia." The blog goes on to explain that various forms of alcohol have been substituted over the years.

 George Washington had his own recipe for the holiday drink.  GW liked to use three different types of liquor in his nog: Rye whiskey, rum, sherry.  "Nobody could tell a lie after having a few cups of that."

Eggnog, in one form or another, has been around for centuries. In fact,  the drink was enjoyed by the pilgrims way back in 1607 (and you thought they didn't know how to party). Mental Floss writes that eggnog may have originated even earlier in the 14th century.
And while eggnog is often made with liquor (keep it away from the kids, parents), it doesn't have to be. You can get the same flavor from many a non-alcoholic recipe.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - 

I am a lover of Egg Nog. 

I even made an Egg Nog Pie and ate most

 of it in one sitting.

Don't you  just love holiday trivia.. how our traditions

were started and who started them..

This article was found on yahoo today.

We only have a few more days to get our shopping

finished for Christmas.

Go slow and be safe, but get it done.