Cooking All Day - Getting Ready for Christmas

Thanks for stopping by on this special day - the day we gather ourselves and our offerings for Christmas. If you were here with my your senses would be aroused:

* You'd smell the vanilla and the almond in the cupcakes I made. You could taste the maple cream cheese frosting that I made to top the carrot cake mini-cupcakes. They were a great hit. I combined two recipes to get what I wanted. I had originally intended to include the pineapple, but it must have been left at the check out stand so I went without it. I am making a trial run of the recipe. My mother was delighted because she loves carrot cake, but can't have walnuts. I left the walnuts out of the batch for her so she could have them. I topped them with the maple cream cheese frosting and then with shredded, sweetened coconut which was embellished with three red hots as well as green leaves I made with candy melts. They were a hit. I've included the recipe below. The almond cupcakes are very tasty, but the mini versions sank, but the big ones did not. I will have to investigate that so that I can get that recipe straight.

* You'd see the maple syrup, corn syrup, sugar and butter mix bubbling on the stove in anticipation of being baked into a Maple Pecan Pie.

* You could also steal small bits of the pie crust dough and pop them in your mouth. I cut out snowflakes from the left over dough, topped them with Parmesan cheese and baked them into a savory cracker.

* I switched gears for a while to make a batch of Sausage and Cheese balls. I'll include that recipe, too.

* I made a double batch of Toll House Chocolate Chip cookies.

* Right now I have Swiss Cheese Wafers, nearly like Julia Child's recipe, in the oven crisping up.

* Oh yes, I almost forgot. You'd smell the lovely odor of yeasty bread dough raising for the Sour Cream Lemon rolls I made for my mother's party.

* Don picked up the spiral cut ham and brought it over. It will be really yummy tomorrow.

Let's see, even with a list like that, it is likely that I have forgotten something. It seems like I have been cooking all day. Well, in fact, I have. This year I do not have Eleanor to chip in, but I want as many of our traditional items as possible. I focused on making sure we had all of the things she usually made. I did not have time to get to making a Buche de Noel. That will simply have to wait for another year. Tomorrow we will have a feast thanks to the contributions of the others who are joining us for the day.

Larr could not join us much. He came down very ill last night. He felt better after puking for a while, but he is tired, achy and has the chills today. No matter how many coats and blankets he used, he could not get warm. We encouraged him to go to bed. He hates being sick and not being productive. We are hopeful that he will feel better for Christmas.

The kids are really into getting their own presents this year. Ellie made me a really cool organizer that I already opened because she simply could not wait! Ethan carefully chose presents for each person. He got earbuds for Grandma Gay, chocolates for Grandpa Don, earrings and a jewelry organizer for Ellie, a set of Star Trek New Generation - Borg Edition videos. He and Ellie went in together to get something super special for me. I am under strict orders to open it first. The secret is killing them and they are so excited. I am, too.

In the early evening we went to Grandma Gay's house for her annual Christmas Eve party. Amy and her two boys are there. Bobby shows up with his two girls. Today was Kaylah's 16th birthday so we made sure to celebrate it in a very non-Christmasy way. My Aunt Kathy, along with Marianne and Evan came along, too. Finally, Don finished up the group. We had great food and lots of fun chatting. Grandma Gay's stockings were a real hit, as always.

A near miracle happened later in the evening. As I was cooking the kids each separately decided to end their gaming and tidy up the main part of the house. They put away stuff, combed the dog, fluffed the rug, arranged the presents and swept the floor. I was touch, amazed and relieved. I love how they took ownership of making it lovely and it also means that I get to go to bed much sooner.

Speaking of that, I am nearly ready to head up to bed. I think I will have to post those recipes another day.

I hope you have the merriest of Christmases!