Christmas Recap

I'm listening to "One Happy Christmas" as I write this on Boxing Day (Day after Christmas to Americans), and I have to say, that's what we had.

The food happiness started on Christmas Eve with pasta, continued through Tracie and Kizzie's visit for Christmas lunch, and kept going through lunch today with leftovers.

Here's what we've been eating:

Christmas Eve
Pasta with Gorgonzola and Arugula
Homemade Baguette

Christmas Lunch
St. André cheese and strawberries, salted almonds
Stuffed Pumpkin
Brussels Sprouts
Mashed Potatoes
Brisket that Larry made
Kohlrabi greens and stems
Chocolate Truffle Tart
Port and Stilton

Boxing Day Lunch
Bubble and Squeak

The Christmas Eve baguette was made with a recipe from The Idiot's Guide to Artisan Baking. That's a whole other post.

I used penne for the pasta, and a 14oz can of diced tomatoes (drained) in place of the fresh tomatoes.

I cooked the stuffing for the pumpkin on Christmas Eve, and filled it Christmas morning after scooping out the seeds and guts. The stuffing was a delicious pilaf of cooked brown basmati rice, mushrooms and cashews sautéed in butter, onions cooked until they were dark brown, and pinquito beans. Unfortunately the pumpkin had very little flesh, and it stayed hard as it cooked (90 minutes at 350°). So we scooped out and enjoyed the filling. Next year my Mum will be here at Christmas -- she's the expert stuffed-pumpkin cook -- so hopefully we'll have a fully edible dish. (Although I have to say, serving rice pilaf in a pumpkin is a show-stopper. I got the gorgeous burnt orange color by brushing it with oil a half-hour into the cooking.)

We didn't eat dinner Christmas night - still full from a leisurely lunch.

I used the leftover mashed potatoes and Brussels sprouts (in place of the raw potatoes and cabbage) in Boxing Day's bubble and squeak. Boy, I love leftovers.