When my dad was a boy; on Sunday morning his father would buy a large pecan ring. This treat was their entire Sunday breakfast. Later on it became our tradition for breakfast every Christmas morning. My dad always complained that the bakeries were getting stingier with pecans every year. Now as a senior citizen I agree! The price of everything has gone up while the quality has gone down.
After my father passed I wanted to start new holiday traditions that were mine alone. On Christmas mornings I made eggnog pancakes dusted with cinnamon & powdered sugar. And on New Year's morning it was ginger ale pancakes dusted with red sprinkles & powdered sugar. Both were so delicious alone no butter or syrup were needed!
But after a decade or so, I wanted a change. Now for both holiday mornings I enjoy hot hors d'oeuvres with fresh fruit.
Fruitcake is another holiday tradition served throughout the season and I love it! YES, I'm the one! But as Dad would say, "There's fruitcake and then there's FRUITCAKE!" The dry pre-packaged kind on the drugstore and supermarket shelves is the one giving it the bad rep. --But even that can be rendered delicious! First, slice a piece and place it in a shallow bowl, add nuts/dried fruit and drizzle with honey, nuke it for 30 seconds. If that's not good enough add whipped topping or ice cream! I guarantee no dessert lover will turn up their nose at this!
For dinner on Christmas Eve, it's often an individual mushroom & chive quiche topped with a slice of Havarti or Asiago cheese along with my fresh fruit salad sprinkled with walnuts & drizzled with raspberry dressing also deviled eggs, and ending the meal with chocolate truffles.
My Christmas Dinner is truly a celebration! My favorite is a baked Barber Chicken Breast stuffed with creme brie & apple, (I always add more brie!) garlic mashed potatoes, a colorful salad, plus petite fours for dessert.
For New Year's Eve it's a small ring of cocktail shrimp, deviled eggs, Brie & crackers, plus chocolate truffles & petit fours.
On New Year's Day it's always been crab cakes with lemon butter, jasmine rice, black-eyed peas, & a colorful salad. And for dessert I enjoy a tangerine cakelette topped lightly with sugar free orange marmalade & orange sprinkles just enough to make it sparkle under my chandelier lights. And if the bakery is offering all of these this year, I'll do a repeat!
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