Merry Christmas! Did you have a good holiday? We sure did! So good in fact I have been nursing a nonalcoholic holiday hangover for the past 3 days LOL. Today was back to the grind. Grocery shopping, cleaning the bathrooms and laundry. Oh the laundry!
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| At Star Wars with Daddy, Papa, Grandma & Grandpa |
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| Playing with Star Wars Potato Head from my MBesty & Family |
I don’t know about you but I am exhausted. I was talking with my Uncle on Christmas Day and he mentioned how my Nana was always miserable during the holidays. I can completely relate. It really does make me happy to cook a delicious meal, bake tasty treats, decorate the house to make it festive, and do it all with happy holiday smile.
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| FaceTime with Auntie and JQ |
But all of those things that make me happy also make me a complete Bitch. I’m not ready to talk about it yet but this holiday opened my eyes up to a few things I didn’t want to see. Maybe 1 day I’ll share but for today I am going to focus on the happiness that surrounded me this Christmas Season.
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| Late Christmas Eve, putting together Santa gift for SBean |
Every year I make Christmas eve dinner. This year Ninja and I made:
Caesar Salad Wonton Cups with Candied Bacon
Herb Crusted Rib Roast with a Pinot Noir Au Jus and Horseradish Cream
Caramelized Onion and Nutmeg Mashed Potatoes
Giant Yorkshire Puddings
Blistered Cherry Tomatoes with Garlic and Feta Cheese
Brie Stuffed Mushrooms
And
Gingerbread Crème Brûlée
Yeah we did.
Look for those incredible recipes next week!!!
On Christmas morning we always have my Mom’s make ahead breakfast and some delicious cinnamon buns from Cobs Bakery. Of course, we drink a whole bunch of mimosas as well 🙂
We go to my in-laws for Christmas dinner and they served the best traditional Christmas dinner you could imagine! A huge 16 lb. roasted turkey, homemade stuffing, herbed carrots, Brussel sprouts with bacon, peas with crimini mushrooms, mashed potatoes, homemade clover buns and homemade plum pudding for dessert!
Yeah they did.
Last night & tonight we are having leftovers! LOL
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| Our annual day after Xmas dumping! |
We used to have appetizers on Christmas Eve. I kinda miss that whole experience so we decided to do an appy dinner on December 23. We had a bit of everything and sat in the living room and watched how the Grinch Stole Christmas.
I made homemade crabcakes, bourbon meatballs, baked mozzarella wonton sticks, spring rolls, and honey garlic chicken wings.
These would make great appetizers at your New Year’s Eve party! They are crazy easy and absolutely delicious!
Crab Cakes
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup minced onion
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon dry ground mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
1 lb. lump crabmeat
1 cup Panko bread crumbs
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup chives, chopped
1/4 cup vegetable oil
In a medium bowl, combine the mayo, onion, eggs, Worcestershire, dry mustard, salt, Old Bay seasoning, chives and cayenne.
Fold in crabmeat and 1/4 cup Panko.
Shape the mixture into small cakes about 1 inch thick. Coat the crab cakes with the remaining Panko crumbs and transfer to a baking sheet lined with wax paper.
In a large skillet, melt 1 tablespoon of butter into 2 tablespoons of the oil. When the foam subsides, add half of the crab cakes and cook over moderate heat until golden and crisp, 2-3 minutes per side. Drain crab cakes on paper towels and keep warm in low oven if you like.
Cook the remaining crab cakes in the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter and 2 tablespoons of oil.
Bourbon Cocktail Meatballs
1 Pound frozen meatballs
1 Cup ketchup
1 Cup brown sugar
½ Cup bourbon whiskey
2 Teaspoon lemon juice
2 Teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
¼ Teaspoon garlic powder
In a medium sauce pan, combine all of the ingredients except the meatballs. Mix until well combined.
Place the frozen meatballs into the sauce and combine. Let cook on medium heat until slightly bubbly. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for at least one hour.
Mozza Sticks
10 mozzarella sticks (string cheese)
20 wonton wrappers
Marinara Sauce
To assemble mozzarella sticks, place a wonton wrapper on the counter in a diamond shape. Place the string cheese at the bottom of the diamond.
Roll up, tucking in the left and right sides of the wonton wrappers. Make sure that there are no rips or tears in the wonton wrapper or the cheese will come oozing out. Secure the edges of the wonton wrappers with a bit of water.
Bake at 350 for 12 minutes.
Serve with marinara sauce for your dipping pleasure.
