Christmas 2011

I can't believe Christmas came and went so quickly.


This year was my first Christmas as a married woman, and also my first time cooking a full Christmas dinner. Since I couldn't make it down to see my family for Christmas because stupid work got in the way for both me and Gary, I really wanted to have a 'Misfit Christmas Dinner', so to speak. I wanted to offer up a meal for anyone in my now larger family who would otherwise have spent the holiday alone.


But woah boy, was it an undertaking.




The Menu:


Roasted Turkey Breast with Herb Butter
Vegetable Stuffing
Golden Roasted Potatoes
Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Horseradish Cream
Collard Greens (Gary cooked these, so I can't take credit)



I brined the turkey breast the night before, and I cannot reccomend it enough. It makes the meat so juicy. Everyone in attendance raved that mine was the best turkey they'd ever had. Not to toot my own horn... but seriously, try brining. It does amazing things to meat and imparts it with so much flavor.


I used this recipe, stolen from Curtis Stone and modified a bit:
- 3 cups water
- 1/2 cup salt
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
- 2 cloves crushed garlic
- zest of 2 lemons + a squeeze of lemon juice
- a few sprigs of fresh thyme
- a handful of fresh rosemary leaves


Stir to combine the ingredients and submerge your turkey in the mixture. Put it in the fridge, covered, overnight (I brined mine for 12 hours, but you don't have to go that long if you don't have the time. But the longer you leave it, the tastier it becomes!)


Gary gave me a gorgeous pair of opal earrings and a hat for Christmas. We got his dad a rocking chair, which he loved, and we gave his brother a fish finder thing that is supposed to tell you where the fish are if you're catching fish. I got Gary a couple of books he was wanting.


After that, I spent the majority of my time in the kitchen, playing wifey, cooking up a delicious meal. It made me feel good to welcome people to our place and share an important meal. I got a bit stressed near the end of cooking, when I almost burned the stuffing and the gravy was think, but overall it was a success.


We sent the leftovers home with Gary's dad. After everyone left, we literally rocked around the Christmas tree. The song came on the radio and Gary pushed the coffee table to one side, moved the tree into the middle of the living room and extended his hand. We slid around in our socks and shared a few slow dances.


Gary told me that his favorite part about that day was me cooking for everyone and sharing a meal. He said it really sank in and made it feel like he and I were a family for the first time. I felt the same way.


The only thing that made me kind of sad about the day was that he and I didn't take any pictures together for our first holiday as husband and wife. The tree is still up though - maybe we could take a few shots and just tell people that we took them on the day. It's what we did for our wedding after all!


Happy Holidays everyone!