holidays

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Christmas Traditions

December 23, 2011 in Uncategorized by traveleatlove | 6 comments

It’s a holiday weekend! Today I am working a half day and then heading into New York City with friends to spend the night at a swanky hotel in Times Square. I have been to NYC a million times, having grown up not too far, but at Christmas, I love doing the Rockefeller Center tree, Macy’s and other touristy things.

We’ll likely be eating, drinking, and being merry!

When it comes to Christmas, I am all about tradition. For as long as I can remember, we have been spending Christmas Eve, my favorite day of the year (next to Patriots Day) with my Uncle Jack and Aunt Leeny.

Christmas memories

In past years, we have gone to visit my nana at the nursing home before church and dinner. It’s sad and strange that we won’t get to see her this year. Christmas is definitely one of those times that makes all sorts of emotions more acute and brings to mind people who are in a far-off place. My father hasn’t been around for nine Christmases now, and it never fails that I hear a song that reminds me of Christmas when I was little and end up crying. I am a giant mush like that.

But remembering people we were lucky enough to have comes hand-in-hand with appreciation for those who are still here. And we are so very lucky. Side note: my nephew has grown to about 10 times the size he is in the above picture, in just a year. He’s a moose!

Our newest tradition on Christmas day is to have dinner at my sister’s house. She is a mini Martha Stewart and always has a fantastic setup. This year, it will be just my immediate family for Christmas dinner, followed by movies, playing with new toys, and relaxing.

table decorations

I can’t wait. It’s nice to just sit back and be.

table decorations

Whatever you are doing this weekend, whether you are celebrating a holiday, getting an extra day off, or just enjoying the weekend, I wish you all of the good things life has to offer, family, friendship, warmth, great food, and fun.

Happiest of holidays to you all!

 

Do you have a favorite holiday tradition?

Tags: Christmas, family, holidays

Ginger Orange Cranberry Sauce

December 16, 2011 in recipe by traveleatlove | 7 comments

Tis the season for holiday dinner recipes! When I saw cranberries on sale at my local Shaw’s this week, I immediately knew I needed to make a batch of my favorite cranberry sauce/puree, flavored with spicy ginger, tangy citrus, and sweet honey. This mix can be used as a whole berry sauce at a holiday dinner (Replace the canned stuff!) or it can be pureed and used as a topper for chicken or pork, added to yogurt or smoothies, used as part of a seasonal salad dressing, or even mixed into a festive cocktail. And of course, it can be eaten on its own.

Ingredients

4 cups cranberries

juice of 4 clementines plus as much pulp as you can squeeze out

ginger – as much as you like!

honey, to taste

2 cups water

cranberries

clementines

ginger

honey

Start by rinsing the cranberries and picking out any under ripe or rotten ones. Sadly, these berries were on sale which, at my Shaw’s, means going bad. I picked out quite a few icky berries.

Once that’s done, add the cranberries, water, citrus juice, and pulp to a pot and start simmering on low. I added the clementines in just for a minute until warm, squeezed them again to get more juice, then tossed them.

cranberry orange sauce

Add in the ginger and honey and stir thoroughly. Let simmer until the berries have cooked down and are nice and soft. Taste frequently so that you can adjust flavorings. I added a splash of store-bought orange juice toward the end in this batch.

cranberries

I plan on making smoothies with much of my cranberry sauce, so I pureed it in order to get a nice consistency. I’m hoping to also use this to top a nice roast chicken before I leave for Christmas.

cranberries

The result is a bright, beautiful, and somewhat healthy puree, perfect for decorating a plate. Like my snowflake? Winking smile

cranberry sauce

Are you a cranberry sauce fan? Jellied or whole? Canned or homemade?

I actually like them all, depending on my mood! And it’s just so easy to make fresh cranberry sauce, another lesson learned from my nana!

Tags: cranberries, ginger, holidays, orange, recipe

Brown Bread Apple Stuffing

December 1, 2011 in Food, recipe by traveleatlove | 6 comments

Stuffing is easily one of my favorite parts of a holiday meal. I have loved all sorts of stuffings, from ones with sausage to cornbread stuffing with fresh corn. My favorite stuffings of all always include fruit for some reason. I love the tiny kick of sweet in a savory meal, and fruit like apples and apricots tend to pair so well with the other dishes. On Thanksgiving day, I did my dinner shopping in Ireland. Since it’s not a holiday there, people were working, and I had until 6:30 to pull off our holiday meal. Shopping during the work day on a non holiday was a breeze, and I made the most of locally available ingredients and specialties.

I decided to make brown bread stuffing. With a natural dry crust on the outside, brown bread seemed like a great fit since I hadn’t had time to make croutons.

brown bread

Instead, I roughly pulled apart this beautiful loaf and set it on the counter on some paper towels to dry a bit more throughout the day while I got my turkey into the oven. (I did an easy dry brine and let the turkey air dry for about five hours. It was the juiciest turkey ever!)

onion

When it came time to make the stuffing, the kitchen was a flurry of activity, guests were arriving, and I didn’t take many photos. But I did chop one yellow onion and four Gala apples. I tossed the apples, onions, and chunks of bread in a deep frying pan, doused them in a little bit of Bulmer’s cider, sage, and a couple pats of Kerrygold, and got them cooking on medium heat.

apples

Cooking stuffing on the stovetop was necessary as we already had a bunch of dishes and a turkey in the oven, but I often make it this way for quick dinners. Leaving it to cook for awhile means that the onions and apples soften, the bread takes on their flavor and juices, and the stuffing becomes an actual dish. It also can get a slight browned crust on the bottom if you leave it for a bit, which is really delicious. This stuffing was a hit with everyone. It was enough for about 10 servings, and with everyone looking for more, I wish I had doubled the recipe!

Have you added local flair to your cooking recently?

Tags: Food, holidays, recipe, sides, stuffing

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