A quick trip to Wegmans this morning.
In at 9:20 a.m., out at 9:55 a.m.
Busy but not crazy.
Everyone seemed to be patient in the aisles.
I can deal with that.
It seems salmon has been my Christmas Eve meal of choice for the past 2 years…so let’s make that 3 years.
A couple of days ago, my brain fixated on a prosecco sauce. I found several that I thought would work with one of the pony bottles I had at home. (Ended up being a Mumm Brut, but close enough.)
Salmon with a champagne cream sauce (from a very poorly written blog recipe linked below), to which I skipped the dill, because I don’t like it, added a tsp or so of fresh lemon juice to amp up the sauce a bit, and sprinkled some fresh parsley on top.
Drank the rest of the Mumm Brut while I prepped.
Sautéed sugar snap peas, red bell pepper and onions with Penzeys’ Mural of Flavor seasoning and a pinch of s/p at the end.
In a shocking turn of events, it snowed in the mountains! My honeybee turned around two hours into the drive at Banff. It was cutting in and out when I spoke to him, so I ended the call. I decided to save Christmas! I went to the grocery store to get everything for a dinner tonight, tomorrow and brunch tomorrow. Plus a couple more types of cheese from the treasure chest. On my quest to store, a suspension fault popped up on my car. That will be something to deal with in the next couple days that I’m sure will be very expensive. My guy got home and said he is going tomorrow morning. So now I have all the food to make dinner tomorrow. So much for my cheese plan. Tonight was tortellini alfredo with cajun chicken, ceaser kalettes and some grocery store garlic bread. It was delish.
Mushroom and Boursin black truffle cheese risotto. Regular risotto recipe, the cooked mushrooms and cheese added just before serving with extra mushrooms, cheese and parsley. Spinach salad with honey mustard, bacon, sweet onion, avocado dressing.
Merry Christmas to those that celebrate! We started off with homemade guacamole (not pictured) and an espresso martini. Mrs. P then made fried shrimp cocktail with homemade cocktail sauce and horseradish cream. For the main course Mrs. P made a double cut elk chop topped with cranberry blue cheese, roasted delicata squash with hot honey, and roasted figs. For dessert we enjoyed a slice of that excellent Reese’s peanut butter pie with an Oreo crust. It all went great with an excellent red blend and cabernet.
Thank you Not only can she cook, but Mrs. P is very creative.
This is the first time in 3 years that we put up the Christmas tree, because we were afraid that our Frenchie would rip it to shreds. It turns out he wasn’t interested in it. Now, if it had tassels (like our couch), then all bets were off
Christmas Eve and all is well. The two of us are celebrating the holiday at home this evening together, and will again with extended family tomorrow.
Our special dinner tonight was filet of Wagyu beef with chive butter. Spinach and onion gratin. Mashed potatoes with jus. For dessert - lemon possets with strawberry sauce. This feast to be followed by the opening of a few presents, and a profound sense of gratitude for all things comforting and dear to us.
Wishing you all the best during this holiday season, and onward into the New Year.
Tonight’s dinner was another Brat & Onion Quiche. I’m still working my way through the brats in the freezer – still very happy I grabbed them when they were on clearance.
Spiced Meat Loaf (from Season by Nik Sharma) with Braised Brussels Sprouts and Roasted Potato Wedges - Season has interesting recipes with often many influences and flavor layers like for this meat loaf. It’s made with ground beef, onions, garlic, ginger, garam masala, coriander, cayenne pepper, grated Granny Smith apples, mint, parsley, bread crumbs, eggs and Worcestershire sauce. The glaze is mix of ketchup, pomegranate molasses, light brown sugar, amchur and cayenne pepper. The brussels sprouts were quickly braised with shallots and vegetable broth. The roasted potatoes were pre-cooked and then roasted in the oven just with olive oil and thyme
I spent most of yesterday cooking with my mom - put together two big pans of lasagna to take to my sister’s house today for Xmas Day dinner, a double batch of nut patties (aka buttertarts) for general snacking, and a delicious Xmas Eve dinner for the four of us. Spicy cilantro crab cakes (not pictured), a fennel and orange salad, rack of lamb with mint almond pesto, and decadent twice-baked mashed potatoes with cream cheese, garlic and loads of butter. Homemade caramels and fudge for dessert. Mmmmmmmmmmerry Xmas!
Christmas Eve dinner at my son and DIL.
Pork belly porchetta style, better than suckling pig.
Hasselback style potatoes, spinach lasagna, roasted veggies and a wonderful salad!
Not only can she cook, but Mrs. P is very creative.
