It's been a hectic past 2 weeks ..... I had very little Christmas shopping completed early this year. I had purchased only 2 gifts - rag rugs for Elly from the Village Ragpicker in Ocracoke and sea glass earrings for Katie from Indian Town Gallery in Frisco. Next year, I swear I'll be done with my gift shopping by the time I leave the Outer Banks! The problem is - I hate to shop. I much prefer knowing exactly what it is I want to purchase and at what store it can be found, then just dash in, make the buy and get out.
Since Chris & Katie were hosting Christmas Eve this year, there was very little pressure on me - no need for a good *spring* cleaning, no need to put up the tree, no need to drag the good china, crystal & silver out of storage, etc.
The weather could have been better ..... it was definitely a white Christmas this year! Lots of snow (& ice) on the ground. Bitterly cold, though. It was such a pretty drive to Rock Island with all of the lights & decorations.
I ordered a honey ham from Amana Meat Shop & Smokehouse. It arrived Tuesday evening. I was beginning to fear that it would not arrive in time for C'mas Eve. Had it not, it would have been baloney & yellow mustard on Wonder bread for dinner. I made two side dishes to carry over - Low Country Red Rice (it goes so well with ham) and Elly's favorite potato dish. I'll post the recipes for both below.
Elly made a traditional Danish dessert called Ris á l'amande. This is a chilled rice & almond pudding, served with a warm cherry sauce. A particular tradition is often associated with eating Ris á l'amande, where a whole almond is mixed into the pudding, and the person who finds it wins a prize. (I brought along the prize, but Elly forgot to place the whole almond in the pudding. Harumph.) This dish is usually served as dessert at Julefrokost (Christmas lunch) or on Christmas eve. According to Wikepedia, nine out of ten Danes enjoy it after the main course Christmas eve. It was very good, but not as flavorful as the recipe that Birgit used on the Outer Banks.
This was Katie's first *big* dinner party. She was terribly nervous, but really did a great job! The ham was baked to perfection and she also whipped up 2 of Chris' favorite holiday dishes - bleu slaw and cauliflower with Grandma Annette's cheese sauce.
Their loft was decorated in the Christmas spirit. Lots of candles, lights and a lovely decorated tree. It's a very cute & quirky place located in The District. At one time the structure had been an office building. The dining area is the old elevator shaft - the up/down arrow lights are still above the door!
Of course, Tao was the main entertainment for the evening, but before dinner we played a game called Cranium. What a blast! We didn't have time to finish the game, but I'm sure that my team, consisting of Bugs, Mom and me, would have beat the pants off Chris & Katie.
We enjoyed ourselves immensely and this was truly one of my favorite Christmas Eve's of all time.
Low Country Red Rice
9 thick slices bacon, fried crisp, crumbled & reserved
2 medium onions (preferably Vidalias), chopped
6 stalks of celery, chopped
2 cups uncooked Minute Rice
3-15 oz. canned tomatoes or canned diced tomatoes
3/4 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
In the bacon grease, fry onion and celery until soft & onion is translucent. Mix together tomatoes, water, salt & cayenne in a 2 quart casserole dish. Stir well. Add in rice & stir again. Mix in the onion & celery.
Place in a casserole dish, loosely covered. Bake at 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes or until the rice is soft, but not dry. Before serving, stir in the reserved bacon.
Also excellent served at room temperature. Goes especially well with ham, fried chicken or shrimp.
Mrs. Smith’s Potatoes
2 pound bag frozen country style hash browns
3 cups grated sharp cheddar
24 oz carton sour cream
1 can cream of celery soup
2 sticks melted butter
Thaw hash browns on paper towel. While potatoes are thawing, combine sour cream, melted butter and soup. Add in grated cheese. Then gently fold in potatoes. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 60 minutes in a 9 x 13 pan, uncovered.
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