2009 Christmas Menu

I've finalized the Christmas menu for this year. Click on the links for recipes.

Aromatic Christmas Ham
Sweet Potato Casserole
Garlic Roasted Green Beans with Shallots and Hazelnuts
Chestnut Chocolate Pots

Check back here for updated posts on progress.

Bon Appétit!!!

Oh, the silent majesty of a winter's morn...

So I'm quite excited about my first Christmas with Chris. In lieu of actual family plans on Christmas Day, we get to spend the day together and I am damn sure going to make it the best day ever.

Aiding me in that endeavor will be Nigella Lawson and her fabulous cookbook, Nigella Christmas.

I haven't quite pinned down the sides for our fabulous Christmas meal, but the centerpiece will be the Aromatic Christmas Ham. It will be the first ham I've ever prepared and I'm getting pretty stoked about it. I can't decide if cooking it or eating it will be better.

Ever absent, ever near

I seriously have to be one of the worst bloggers on Earth. I'm like a bad boyfriend. I always leave you hanging. Alas, my life has been quite busy as of late. The past months have been a whirlwind of activity with numerous trips and weddings. When I last left you, it was the beginning of October. I was about to embark on the old annual camping trip, promising an update. Yeah, I didn't do that. Minus one point for me. (Yes, just one point. It's my blog, and hence, I am the overseer of the point system).

Anyways, even though the camping trip went really well despite how frigid it was and I would really love to tell you about it, I'm not really one for living in the past. I'm actually quite excited about the future now. It's almost the end of the year and there are all these LISTS to create and review. I love lists. They give life a sense of order in a world of chaos.

And, naturally, since it's the end of the year, I'm thinking about how I want to make 2010 better.

The year of '09 was quite successful in that I landed a swell guy and cut a handful of poisonous ones from my life. Quite easier said than done, but the result has been pure bliss and a refreshed outlook on love and life that I probably wouldn't have had otherwise. So, that brings me to resolution number one, which is more of a continuance from last year's accomplishment: Only include people in my life that deserve to be there, who make me a better person, and who love me as much as I love them.

And while I'm on the track of only including people in my life that are good for me, I should probably consider expanding that idea to encompass only including THINGS in my life that are good for me. Read: healthy food and exercise.

Being in a relationship certainly can wreak havoc on your BMI, especially if the only contents of your loved one's fridge includes soda, beer, meat and cheese and their standard dinner consists of "freezer treats." I'm a foodie by nature and I come from a family of eaters. My mom is a cook, so of course I like to take a stab (ha) at preparing delicacies in the kitchen. Whoever said good food is made with lots of love and lots of butter wasn't kidding. But, if I want to live to see age 30, I might as well get back to my old ways of eating healthy, organic, mostly meat-free fare and hitting the gym a couple of times a week.

So ... so long, Coca-Cola, brownies and the convenience store in the downstairs lobby. It's been real. I'll miss you guys, but you're not really doing anything for me. It's not me, it's you. Let's just make this a clean break. Really, I'm better off.

Love, Brandy