Good Afternoon(!!), Darlings!

I trust you all had a bang up Christmas.  We certainly did.  There were six of us gathered around the table this year and it was the one of the nicest Christmases I can remember. Oh, we had fun. But you knew that already, didn’t you? 🙂

First, let me list the menu:

Prime Rib, Dry Aged By Eric
Yorkshire Pudding
Mashed Potatoes
Peas
John’s Awesome Veggie Bake w/Brussel Sprouts, Portabellos, Broccoli, Wild Rice, Cheese (Everyone had at least 2 helpings of this!)
Beef Gravy
Chocolate Brioche Bread Pudding w/Homemade Whipped Cream
Everything Cookies
Buckets and Buckets of Champagne

John arrived first and gifted us with the coolest photograph he took at our Christmas Party of the table decor. He photographed the mother of pearl easter grass and then played with it so it became the coolest piece of art ever. We hung it in the dining room immediately.

Since our first guest was here, it was time to pop some corks.  Earlier in the week I had picked up a case of champagne at Hop City so no glass would run dry during dinner and beyond. I like for our special occasions to be really special.  And it was.  Teague and Crystal arrived next, looking way too cute in their hats and rosy cheeks.

Earlier in the day, Eric had trimmed the beef he had been dry aging for over a week and roasted them in a 220F oven for 3 hours. Right before serving, it gets a blast in the oven at 500F for 10 minutes.

In the afternoon I had mixed the batter for the yorkshire pudding and left it in the fridge to rest.  Although I missed a step (I was supposed to pour the batter into a heated pan), it seemed to turn out just fine.  Take a gander:

The table was set with pieces received by friends near and far.  I used the gold flatware from California friend, Alison and candle holders from both Vickie and Miss Diane. So I had a little part of them at dinner, too, which made me very happy indeed.

We also included poppers on the table and Eric taught us all the proper technique.  Hold the popper in your left hand and the person to your right grabs the other side – you both pull and POP! it started the evening off with a bang! Inside each popper is a gift, a joke and a paper hat. You must wear your paper hat. It’s de riguer.  John made this paper had look incredibly fab – isn’t he handsome?

Here are some more table shots for your enjoyment.

Tracy had another party to attend so she gave us our gift before she left. She gifted us with a commissioned art piece of our choice. So exciting! It was an Arty Christmas!

Dinner was fab, but there were presents to unwrap. Dishes could wait til later, although everyone was so wonderful and helped clear the table before we moved on to gifts. Love my friends!

Gift exchange was a blast. Eric and I were making up for two missed Christmases and had so much fun with the giving.  John received a Paula Deen Family cookbook and a gift certificate to Cook’s Warehouse; Crystal, the stone planters she has been yearning for and Teague….well, let me tell you about Mr. Teague.  Teague has recently purchased a 2007 Mustang – it is crazy sporty and has been looking to outfit it with cool accessories.  We had Crystal tell us what he wanted most and it became our gift to him.  Teague wanted a turn signal flasher for the Mustang – official name – Sequential Tail Lights. Now this thing was delivered to us and looked to me like nothing but wires and plastic. But our buddy was thrilled. I do believe it was the best gift giving experience we have ever had. Photos!

Then it was our turn – Eric’s gift from Teague was this hilarious shirt and a fab bottle of scotch from our darling Crystal:

And as for me?  My darling Crystal hit the nail on the head with my gift – the most gorgeous soup tureen. So beautiful!

Then it was time for more champagne. One of my favorite lines of the night came from Crystal, “now I know what it’s like to drink my fill of champagne” – shouldn’t everyone?

Then it was time for dessert – a chocolate brioche bread pudding with english toffee and whipped cream.  For some unknown reason (champagne?) we never got a photo of this ready to eat. But I did photograph it earlier in the day as it came out of the oven.

That’s a photo of how it looks above it. And it did look like that, only better. I took a recipe from Charlie Trotter’s Desserts and totally dumbed it down for my use.  In the recipe they expect you to make the brioche and the toffee. Uh, no, that is not happening.  What I did use was four huge chocolate chip muffins and toffee from Trader Joe’s.  You can’t tell me mine was not as good. And Eric’s homemade whipped cream was a triumph.

It was the best Christmas ever.  Not too many casualties (2 champagne glasses), so I’m thinking we were wildly successful. Full tummies, joyous smiles and wonderful friends.

I could not ask for more.

xoxo, Patti