Catch Up

I'm pretty behind and so this will be sketches, vignettes of our holiday celebrations.

• GS Progressive Dinner:  For the GS Junior badge in New Cuisines, the girls planned a progressive dinner in mid-December.  My house was the final stop--desserts!  And we opted to make Paula Deen's Pumpkin Gingergread Trifle, but with homemade gingerbread from King Arthur Flour.  The girls whipped cream from scratch (with brown sugar!), combined the pumpkin puree (with cinnamon and cardamom), and then combined it all with the gingerbread in 8 oz ball jars that they'd decorated.  They were so proud of their efforts and delighted in presenting the jars to each guest when it was our turn.  They also made crockpot hot chocolate and Zinger Punch.  The other stops were just as tasty; it was a fun way to celebrate the holidays and earn a badge!

• Sis's Slumber Party:  A few nights later, Sis hosted a slumber party for two school friends, with more food (mac and cheese) and a homemade birthday cake for one of her friends.

• Cookie Party:  Then just a few days after that, we hosted our annual cookie-decorating party, with some friends from GS and from the slumber party!  And, for once, they decorated cookies in a ways that they could actually eat them instead of piling on the frosting and the sprinkles.  

• Gommie and Pop's Visit: Gommie and Pop arrived the day before school let out for the holidays, which made the kids going to school the next morning pretty tough.  That gave us time to prep and wrap, though.  The next few days were filled with musical performances (piano, violin, and cello--the kids even gave my folks little lessons!), games, swimming (at their hotel), and an extra speedskating practice to prep for January competition.  One down side--Mama had a nasty cold along with vertigo, which kept her pretty much bedridden for most of the holidays.  She did rally a bit for Christmas itself but paid for it in the following days.  

• Christmas:  It was a larger affair than usual, with both families here for Christmas--us, my parents, and Mama's brother and parents.  Fortunately, we did the gifts in shifts!  The kids were up early, of course--it's so sweet to hear them gather early to wake us up--and were soon met by my parents.  We ate Sis's bacon bites and opened lots of presents.  Not long after, Ma and Gong and Goo showed up and we opened even more presents.  Soon after, we all ate baked brie, gumbo, muffalettas, various delicious pies (Mama brought them for Gommie and Pop to sample), Christmas cookies, and the gingerbread bundt cake I made.  Everybody helped work on a Snowy Owl puzzle Gommie had brought; most of us tried our hands at a cup stacking game that Bud received from Gommie.  

• Presents:  There were some themes this year:  Sis got a lot of horse-themed items, including a jacket from the farm where she rides.  Bud got a jacket from the kung fu national team, as well as various Zelda-themed items.  There were lots of videogames for different platforms, some books in their favorite series (Warriors for Sis, Wings of Fire for both, Magisterium for Bud.)  I received what I call "smelly goods," or nicely scented candles and soaps, plus lots of Snowy Owl-themed gifts and bird books.  Mama was in on the videogame haul.  Plus the present I was most excited to give her--a c.1870 plaster cast of John Rogers's Parting Promise. Rogers created sculptural groups to mass produce, often depicting touching genre scenes of middle-class white Victorian America.  This one shows a man putting a ring on his young love's finger before leaving, suitcase nearby.  I like the detail and the scene, though our cast seems to have been painted a beige color and is flaking in places; I think it gives it character.  Interestingly, we had just seen a set of Rogers's groups in Vermont (at the first Vermont Country Store, I think, in the rafters), so I was excited to find one at a local antique mall.  I also picked up a silver card case, c. 1850, for an anniversary gift for Mama.  Yes, it was an antique Christmas.  (But we do both love history.)  Gommie and Pop got a lot of history and bird books, plus some fancy hiking socks.  Ma got her usual Hallmark ornaments and singing snowman, while we gave Goo, among other things, a gift card to King Arthur Flour.

New Year's Celebrations:  We didn't do much for New Year's besides letting the kiddos stay up late. Most of the day, we watched our new family show, "Once Upon a Time" (Disney-fied fairytales with a modern twist) and played games (I crocheted on a blanket for my hospice patient.)  Sis made a delicious batch of oatmeal scotchies.  Later, we all watched some of New Year's Rocking Eve and saw the Mariah Carey meltdown/technical difficulties; Mama, who did some sound work in Chicago, couldn't believe it would go so badly without the professionals fixing it (though, Carey didn't seem to be trying very hard.)  We ate pizza for a late lunch and then had various snacks throughout the evening, including mozzarella, basil, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and breadsticks.  The kids stayed up til 2 or 3 a.m., but Mama and I barely made it to midnight.  The next morning, we repeated most of the same.

And so now it's Tuesday and everyone is back where they usually are (though I'm at home nursing a cold.)  We liked having the day after New Year's off, to cushion the fact that we stayed up late.  It was hard to get going this morning.  There are a lot of great activities coming up this winter and spring, so we're looking forward to what 2017 holds.
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Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle with Homemade Gingerbread

Easy Gingerbread

• 
  2 1/4 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
  1/4 cup granulated sugar
  1 teaspoon baking soda
  1/2 teaspoon salt
  1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
  1 teaspoon cinnamon
  1/4 teaspoon each cloves and nutmeg
  1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
  3/4 cup molasses
  1/4 cup water
  1 large egg
  1 cup buttermilk
  1/2 cup diced crystallized ginger (optional)
  
  Grease and flour a 9" square pan. Preheat the oven to 350°F. 
• 
  In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. 
• 
  Melt the butter in a heatproof measuring cup. Add the molasses to the cup, and pour into the dry ingredients in the bowl, mixing to moisten.
  
• Add the water, stirring until everything is moistened. Whisk together the egg and buttermilk. Stir into the batter until it's evenly combined. Stir in the crystallized ginger.
  
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the cake just begins to pull away from the edge of the pan.
  
• Remove from the oven and cool on a rack for 15 minutes before slicing; gingerbread is best served warm with whipped cream or ice cream. 
• King Arthur Flour
  

Gingerbread Bundt Cake
2 1/2 cups KAF flour
2 tablespoons gingerbread spice; or 2 1/2 teaspoons ginger, 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon cloves, and 1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
1/2 cup molasses
1 cup water

Glaze
1/3 cup rum or water
1/2 teaspoon gingerbread spice or 1/4 teaspoon ginger and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup granulated sugar

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 10- to 12-cup bundt-style pan.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, gingerbread spice, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until fluffy.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating well and scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl after each addition. Stir in the molasses.

Add the flour mixture in three additions alternately with the water, starting and ending with the flour. Mix just until smooth. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top.

Bake the cake for 55 to 65 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

While the cake is baking, make the glaze by stirring together the water spice and sugar. Set aside.

Remove the cake from the oven, cool it in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn it out onto a rack. 

King Arthur Flour
Brush the cake with the glaze, and allow it to cool completely before serving.

New Year's Weekend

Happy 2016!

We celebrated New Year's quietly.  Mama worked a half day and we did the grocery shopping after I went to PT.  Our menu was pretty simple:  cheesy bacon bites, chips and cheesy beef dip, ham, black-eyed peas, cornbread, Red Zinger punch, and Mama's special mozzarella and prosciutto with basil and balsamic on bread or breadsticks.  Gommie and Pop left early, but the kids were intent on staying up til midnight.  They played various videogames, but we turned on the tv to watch the ball drop and hear "Shut Up and Dance" and some other songs.  It was actually pretty fun, if quiet.

And then we all slept in.

New Year's Day was similarly quiet--all that food, some football, the Rose Bowl Parade, more dominoes and checkers, and crochet.  We also introduced Gommie and Pop to "The Great British Bake Off," which they enjoyed enough to watch several episodes over the weekend.  We also watched the first "How We Got to Now."

Saturday was a tiny bit more lively.  Bud had kung fu, which Gommie and Pop enjoyed watching.  Afterwards, we all went for a seafood lunch.  Then it was more games, tv, videogames, and crochet.

And today, we hung out for a bit before heading to the new outdoor store in the area.  It's huge!  And seemingly so out of place here in our part of Connecticut, which isn't exactly outdoorsy.  I mean, sure, Texas or rural Pennsylvania; I guess there are more hunters, fishers, campers--and what did the sign say? Liars?--who go through I-95 than I thought.  It was very decorated--dozens of taxidermied animals from marlins to beaver to bobcat to deer to mooses--and all manner of gear and gifts.  And lovely murals of the shore and woods.  We actually bought some freeze dried meals to try for fun--lasagna and teriyaki chicken--and the kids had them for dinner; not much better than a frozen dinner but probably pretty good if you're backpacking on the trail.   There were tents, boats, and even quads to crawl on. Eventually, they might open up the single-lane archery range for practice.  There's bowling and a restaurant, too, but we didn't stay.  We had hamburgers elsewhere.  And then, you guessed it--"The Great British Bake Off," dominoes, and checkers.  (Mama and I cleaned out a closet to get out the winter things--it's going to be 15F tomorrow night and we needed the mittens and scarves.  Finally.)

Gommie and Pop said goodbye to the kids tonight and they leave tomorrow.  That was hard.  Though I think I was the only one teary.  It's hard to have such great grandparents whom we only see a few times a year.  These times are nice and long and intensive and special.  And I know there are a lot of special memories for all of us.  But it was just hard to watch them say goodbye tonight.

I'm consoling myself with the beginning of the end of "Downton Abbey."  It's extra-fun to watch because I just keep thinking, we were there!

It's back to our regularly-scheduled life tomorrow, after I take Gommie and Pop to the train station.  But more on all that later.

Time for Lady Mary et al.

Fender Bender and Other Disappointments

Well, maybe snow isn't always so great. Mama was in a small car accident today on the highway, the third car in a chain-reaction pile-up, one of four such accidents in about 1/8th of a mile. No one was hurt, as they weren't going near the speed limit. The driver in front of her didn't even know she hit the car. Only her license plate is bent a bit. The cops who came just waved her on. She's at her office now, waiting for it all to clear.

And now a second negative: no one is coming to our New Year's Eve Noon party. Which I totally understand. In fact, I can't count it as a total negative because it means everyone will be safe. The kids were excited--we have a bunch of New Year's hats and blowers and we made chocolate cupcakes. I haven't told them yet. No telling how they'll take it. Sometimes they are very even keel. Sometimes not.

At least the snow is pretty.

And we'll still have snow ice cream.

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Update: I just told Sis and Bud that no one could come to the party because of the snow. Sis made a sad face but then opened her eyes wide, "that means we can eat all the cupcakes!" And she ran downstairs. Let the fun begin!

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HERSHEY'S "PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" Chocolate Cake

A great basic chocolate cake (fall 08).

Ingredients:

* . 2 cups sugar

* . 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour

* . 3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa

* . 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

* . 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda

* . 1 teaspoon salt

* . 2 eggs

* . 1 cup milk

* . 1/2 cup vegetable oil

* . 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

* . 1 cup boiling water

* . "PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING(recipe follows)

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.

2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.

3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost with "PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING. 10 to 12 servings.

VARIATIONS:

ONE-PAN CAKE: Grease and flour 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Heat oven to 350° F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely. Frost.

THREE LAYER CAKE: Grease and flour three 8-inch round baking pans. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake 30 to 35 minutes. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost.

BUNDT CAKE: Grease and flour 12-cup Bundt pan. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 50 to 55 minutes. Cool 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely. Frost.

CUPCAKES: Line muffin cups (2-1/2 inches in diameter) with paper bake cups. Heat oven to 350°F. Fill cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake 22 to 25 minutes. Cool completely. Frost. About 30 cupcakes.

"PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter or margarine

2/3 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa

3 cups powdered sugar

1/3 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups frosting.

Hershey's Cocoa box

My New Year's Resolution: Ban the Can!

It came to me in a flash, what my New Year's resolution would be: I'm giving up cans. Yep, I'm clearing the house of canned goods and will be using only fresh ingredients or those from jars, boxes, or bags.

Why? I read the Consumer Reports study that the average single serving of green beans has 80 times more BPA than the FDA recommends for a 165-pound adult! And that children eating one or two foods from cans a day receive levels of BPA that cause serious and harmful effects in lab rats.

And this week, Nicholas Kristof writes about the health bill and the kitchen. I had wondered if we weren't bailing the boat without fixing the hole: sure we can provide better health care coverage, which I absolutely believe is desperately needed, but if we are poisoning ourselves at the same time, it isn't going to make us a healthier nation. As Kristof points out, breast cancer rates have soared in the last 40 years, with risks at only 1 percent in 1975 to 12 percent now: that's 1 in less than 10 instead of 1 in 100! As someone at risk--early menstruation, late first pregnancy, overweight, family history--this greatly concerns me (which is why I read about the breast cancer prevention drug with great interest--it cuts risk rates dramatically; I'll be asking about that at my next OB visit).

So, we have already gotten rid of almost all the plastic containers in the house, and not just the "bad" plastics. We've switched to glass storage for everything but iced tea (which we're reconsidering as I type) and school snacks. And now we will be getting rid of almost all of our cans, especially canned soups and vegetables (with high rates, according to the CR study). But also cans of beans, fruits, tomatoes, whatever we have hanging around in the house. Yes, we'll still eat some cans--probably rare Asian fruits you can't get except in sugar syrup, and Ranch-style beans, maybe Ro-tel tomatoes. But only for once in awhile. Because while there seems be some evidence that much of it leaves with 5-9 hours, some stays around (and that 93% of us have some BPA in our bodies!!!!!). Cutting out our exposure to it can do nothing but help.

And, we'll be starting this New Year's resolution now, not in a month.

Happy New Year's Resolutions, Part 2

Motherlode explores parenting resolutions today, with links to Parents.com's "50 Ways to Be a Fantastic Parent," a blog that asks for one-word resolutions, and another whose writer's trick is to pretend she is 20 years older.

As parents, Mama and I have chosen "get more sleep." And we're actually doing pretty well with that one already. I think getting more sleep--though not at 8:15 every night!--will make us better, more patient, more positive, more playful parents, as well as better partners (for pretty much the same reasons).

For me personally, well, there's always the obvious resolution about diet and exercise that most of the nation makes, or perhaps keeping in better touch with family and friends. I'm still a vegetarian and I'm cutting most sweets out of my diet except for celebrations. I also want to try to do something professional/academic this year but am not sure what form that will take, from teaching to writing (and hopefully publishing) an article to taking a class even, who knows. But something.

In the end, though, I imagine "get more sleep" will take be the best resolution of all of them. And maybe the hardest to keep.

New Year's Noon

It's 2009 here at my house. We just returned from a wonderful playdate where we noisily and joyfully welcomed the new year at 12:00 P.M. What's twelve hours to preschoolers? And now, we grownups can go to sleep without the need to stay up to celebrate. It was an inspired idea.

We're lucky to have gotten home though. Mama, who is still out sick with bronchitis, had dropped us off and had trouble getting us home. We couldn't get enough traction to leave. But eventually picked up enough traction to get moving. Glad I wasn't driving! I bet Mama Teacher was too, because we would've have just stayed over!!

There was enough food to stay, though. Yummy monkey bread, chocolate chip scones, baked brie, punch, and my favorite fruit dip (Mama Teacher--I found some of the recipes on the web; let me know if they're wrong). Plus Mr. Teacher's yummy omelets. We tried the juice concentrate slushies in the snow; they were the weakest link. Too sweet for most of us, but CJ and Bud sucked them down. I'm guessing plain juice would be better. And except that Mama returned home (and was supposed to be napping but instead rearranged our living room, in a good way) and didn't celebrate it with us, it was a perfect party.

I hope your celebrations are as fun and safe!

Happy 2009!

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Mama Teacher's Famous Fruit Dip

2-6 oz containers Yoplait Light Yogurt, Very Vanilla
2 tablespoons fat free cream cheese
1 teaspoon cinnamon

In a microwave-safe bowl, combine all ingredients. Heat for 45 seconds in microwave. Stir an dmicrowave an additional 40 seconds. Serve with fruit for dipping.

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Miss K's Baked Brie

1 prepared pie crust
1 round of brie
slivered almonds
apricot preserves
egg wash

Roll out a boxed pie crust ( I use the Pillsbury pie crust found in the cold section near the orange juice - 2 in a box) with a little flour into a large circle. Spray the baking dish with Pam (or whatever) and put the pie crust in the dish. Place the large brie in the middle (I use the President brand), top with a layer of preserves (for the party I used apricot but I've used others like orange, etc.) then top with sliced almonds (if you use cranberry then walnuts are good). Fold up the pie crust around the brie, pinch closed and tear off extra crust. Put a light egg wash all over and then if desired, put another thin layer of preserves and nuts on top. Bake at 375 for 25 minutes or until the pie crust is golden brown. Let it sit for about 10 minutes.

I love this recipe because it is so quick and easy and you don't have to be at all neat about how you put the ingredients on. You can also make it the day before and then bake it the next day - if I do that then I put the egg wash on just before I bake it.

Enjoy!

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Mama Teacher's Chocolate Chip Scones

2 cups Original Bisquick mix
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup whipping (heavy) cream
3 tablespoons sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
Additional whipping (heavy) cream
Additional sugar

1. Heat oven to 425°F. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray or grease with shortening. Stir Bisquick mix, chocolate chips, 1/3 cup whipping cream, 3 tablespoons sugar, the egg and vanilla in medium bowl until soft dough forms. 2. Pat into 8-inch circle on cookie sheet (if dough is sticky, dip fingers in Bisquick mix). Brush circle with additional whipping cream; sprinkle with additional sugar. Cut into 8 wedges, but do not separate. 3. Bake about 12 minutes or until golden brown; carefully separate. Serve warm.

For easier cleanup, line the cookie sheet with cooking parchment paper. Look for it in either the baking aisle or storage-wrap aisle of your grocery store.

Raisin Scones: Omit chocolate chips and vanilla; add 1/2 cup raisins. Drizzle warm scones with mixture of 1/2 cup powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon whipping (heavy) cream.

Drop Scones: Heat oven to 400°F. Drop dough into 8 mounds onto cookie sheet; pat to slightly flatten. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.

Bisquick website

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Mama Teacher's Monkey Bread

1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cans (16.3 oz each) refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, if desired
1/2 cup raisins, if desired
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 cup butter or margarine, melted

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease 12-cup fluted tube pan. 2. In large plastic food-storage bag, mix sugar and cinnamon. Separate dough into 16 biscuits; cut each into quarters. Shake in bag to coat. Arrange in pan, adding walnuts and raisins among the biscuit pieces. 3. Mix brown sugar and butter; pour over biscuit pieces. 4. Bake 28 to 32 minutes or until golden brown and no longer doughy in center. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Turn upside down onto serving plate; pull apart to serve. Serve warm.

Pillsbury website

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Our Mama's Favorite Punch Recipe

1 quart pineapple juice
1 quart orange juice
1.5 quart cranberry cocktail
2 liter gingerale
1-2 containers rainbow sherbet

Combine and serve immediately. Buddy likes it with frozen blueberries thrown in. Both kiddos drink it just for the sherbet.

Happy New Year's Resolutions

It's almost 2009 and we're already successfully accomplishing one of our traditional New Year's resolutions: getting more sleep.

On Sunday, we went to bed at 8:15. No, I'm not kidding.

Last night, it was 9.

Tonight, we were upstairs before 9, with Mama asleep soon after, but I started blogging and will get to bed closer to 10:30.

Still, that's much earlier than our usual 11.

We even decided to celebrate tomorrow night by going to bed super-early.

I wonder if that means we'll go to sleep with the kids at 6:30?

Don't call us to find out!

Celebrating

There are two meals, if you can call them that, that DP and I make for special occasions. One could be considered Italian, the other relatively British, reflecting two of my favorite places, though I don't think I had either of these there.

The first is what we can call our Millennial Meal, because I believe it got started right around 2000. Prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, fresh basil, crusty bread, and balsamic vinegar mixed with olive oil (little oil, lots of vinegar). Being relative non-drinkers, we usually have sparkling cider. This year we also had mulled Glogg, from Ikea, but something we first had in Chicago from the Swedith American Museum's Christmas festival (it's like spicy grape juice, sometimes with kick, in this case not). In a pinch, we make a mean wassail, with slices of orange floating in spiced cider. I distinctly remember eating this all Y2K New Year's Eve while watching the new (yes, I know, false) millennium arrive all over the globe on CNN. We ate this again on this New Year's Eve and New Year's night, watching the Met Opera telecast of I Puritani on tv. Not quite puritannical, though, I know.

The second meal is more of a tasting--DP buys several cheeses (when she was in Manhattan, she got them from Murray's and the Ideal Cheese Shop. Now she goes to Balducci's), plus crackers, marinated olives, and spreads, sometimes various meats like soppressata. I'm very partial to Saint Andre, which might as well be butter. Oh, so creamy. I also love Wensleydale with cranberries. And Pecorino Toscana. And any good sharp cheddar. This year it was Australian. These last two cheeses go well with pickle (we like Branston's--for you non-Anglophiles, pickle is a chunky, vinegary chutney-like spread. You have to try it to understand; I'm not sure the US has anything comparable). Or quince paste (membrillo, in Spanish). Or, this time we had a Stonewall Farms Farmhouse Chutney which was really good. All on Carr's water crackers. DP loves Stilton and so had that. I like it if there is a lot of membrillo on it too. And we had a brie en croute, which wasn't as creamy as I expected. Maybe we over/underheated it. I'm not sure when the cheese thing got started. We had seen a Wallace and Gromit movie (seriously) and were inspired to try some various cheeses. I think there had also been an article in one of my magazines about NYC cheese shops. And some Italian-American colleagues of hers took her along to a small Italian deli down on the Lower East Side to buy cheese and sauages for the holidays (if I remember correctly, they differentiated between a table cheese and a basket cheese). It's definitely a post-Chicago thing. And we've also started sharing it with my folks when they visit. They love the olives and trying all the different cheeses. We lose track of what we've had and liked, or not. And none of us speak cheese-lover's lingo, but we do love it. I think DP likes it best, especially because she often gets several free tastes when she's at the special shops choosing. So this year, we had all our cheeses with my parents on Christmas Eve as we set up for Christmas and then DP and I finished off the rest after they were gone.

Either of these meals goes well with panettone or some other kind of fruit dessert, like our fruitcakes from Shropshire or my mom's from the Collin Street Bakery in Corsicana. Or my shortbread, amaretti (we got this new "soft" one this year that is very tasty), or these great spiced cookies from Speculaas that I bought in Tarrytown. This year, we continued another tradition, that of a steamed plum pudding with brandy butter. I like William-Sonoma's brandy butter with its bits of citron and ginger best, but this year's Elizabethan brand of butter and pudding were very good. And that brandy butter will be good on plain ol' out-of-the-box gingerbread when all the fruitcake is gone. Of course, we drink tea--usually Earl Grey--with the dessert.

Now with the holidays over, we are done with all the edible indulgences until the next celebration. It's going to be a long time to Valentine's Day. Hmmm, cheese isn't exactly right for Chinese New Year. But, hey, Groundhog's Day is one of my favorite holidays! Perfect for something tasty . . .