My first attempt cooking Christmas dinner for my family was a success; delivering it 45 miles away and serving the food warm was a different story. I prepared the food at my house but we ate at my grandparent’s home on the other side of town. We ended up microwaving plates before sitting down.
Someday I’ll have a home large enough to accomodate everyone, including enough silverware and the such to cook and feed everyone in the same locale. In the meantime, delivery service it is.

Pumpkin chestnut soup

Round two of the pumpkin chestnut soup. I enjoyed it just as much the second time I prepared it in the same week, and keeping it warm in a Crockpot was genius. My girlfriends are so smart.

Squash poppy seed rolls

Squash poppy seed rolls. I know? Can you believe it? I get all gutsy after one good loaf of baked bread and starting going wild and crazy with seeds and rolls and guess what? They weren’t bakery quality, but they were still good.

Garlic green beans with pine nuts

Garlic green beans with pine nuts. Easy peasy.

Garlic and horseradish mashed taters

Garlic mashed taters with a side of horseradish. Also pretty darn easy, although I need a masher. I had to use a pastry cutter and they were lumpy.

Jalapeno orange cranberry relish

Orange jalapeno cranberry relish. There was just enough kick to make it spicy and sweet.

Cauliflower thyme gratin

Cauliflower gratin with thyme and ham. Took less than 20 minute to prepare and was a big hit.

My first bird

My mom bought me a roasting pan for Christmas and it came in handy! My first bird, and she was a beauty. Again, the folks at Cooks Illustrated know what they are talking about. Their November/December 2007 issue had a great article on roasting turkey breast and I followed it to the t. It worked well.

My grandfather's coconut cream pie

Coconut cream pie, my grandpa’s fave. This pie is a huge pain in the ass to bake — taking 2+ hours just for the filling. Thankfully, I only do this once a year and he was tickled pink to see and eat it.

Peppermint brownies

Peppermint brownies, to get rid of my growing stash of candy canes.

And to all, a good night!
~K