What We Ate

In most years I claim that Christmas is not over until after January 6, since I grew up celebrating Epiphany as the final fireworks burst of the season. This year, though, I will be blogging about our Yule-ish festivities for several more days so I have a new claim: Christmas is not over until the Christmas letters are mailed. Mine are still in sitting in the envelope the printer marked "RUSH!" so that they could go out before Dec. 24. Hahahaha!

Anyway, this post is so that next year, when I can't remember what was on our Dec. 25 menu but I'm still struggling to zip up my jeans, I will be able to look back and recall that 2015 Christmas Day was a pretty good food moment at the House on the Corner.

(A disclaimer: The links to recipe sources and photo credits are under each picture. I didn't photograph any of this food porn except the cheesecake at the top of the post, which I had to document as the first time in my life I've made a ganache that actually looked like a ganache and not like sad, drippy failed dreams. Also to show off my mother-in-law's gorgeous cake stand that Husband inherited and I appropriated.)

We began the day with Overnight Cinnamon French Toast,

Overnight Cinnamon French Toast

I made this after Christmas Eve services using a loaf of sourdough cranberry bread that had been with the last shipment of Bountiful Baskets, and it baked the next morning while we opened stocking gifts. It was yummy, yummy, because sourdough cranberry bread plus heavy cream apparently is my nirvana.

For Christmas dinner (which was finally ready by 4 p.m. because we had no deadlines) there was ham, of course, but also crescent rolls because the Boys believe there is no special dinner without crescent rolls and I can do a lot of experimentation with side dishes as long as the rolls keep coming. I don't have a picture of the actual rolls, but this recipe is tried and true and so easy. Use instant mashed potatoes; this is the only valid use for that Ore-Ida abomination.

We also had two new recipes: 

Roasted Winter Vegetables

and

Winter Fruit Salad 

because "winter" apparently was the theme of this meal. (Our Winter Fruit Salad had mangoes substituted for the bananas because Boy#3 cannot abide bananas and I'm a softy about dietary preferences on this one and only one occasion during the year. Usually we eat in the Take-It-Or-Leave-It Cafe.)

Oh, also Twice-Baked Potatoes using the Pioneer Woman's recipe because they can be assembled in advance and heated on Christmas Day and are so, so delicious and because at that point I had not yet used all the butter and sour cream in the world. After finishing these, mission accomplished. 

Dessert, as you see waaaaay above, was the Double Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake.   Oh, my goodness. I do love cheesecake, and this one was enough for three days of desserts for all seven of us, because tiny little slices were ideal. Mmmmm.....

So as you see, we did not go hungry as we celebrated one of the most sacred days on the calendar. I'm pretty sure this is exactly the same menu Mary served to the Wise Men. 

My New Year's Resolution may have to be a walk to Egypt.