RoobiFood

The binge began at our annual big Christmas Eve party.  The house was decked out.  Each room had a Christmas tree, our two fireplace mantels were covered w/ garlands and flowers, lights and candles, a welcoming wreath hung on our front door and the outside was covered with little white twinkle lights welcoming everyone.  As the guests arrived they were handed a champagne glass filled with a holiday cocktail made with champagne, Triple Sec and cranberry juice.

The eating began with a seafood dip appetizer we discovered at Costco along with additional appetizers brought by a few guests.  Two of those appetizers were cheese balls (recipes below).  I love cheese the way some people love chocolate and these homemade cheese delights had a wonderful ‘adult’ kick that I’m still dreaming about – no sugar plum fairies for me!

My husband, who had been marketing and cooking for two days (I decorate), set out the entrees on the dining room table dressed with Christmas linens: two huge platters of poached salmon with a champagne/shallot/vanilla/cream sauce (courtesy of Emeril Lagasse and the Food Network’s website), 12 pounds of sweet potatoes rendered into four bourbon and sweet potato casseroles and a platter of sauteed string beans and red bell peppers (so very red & green, so very Christmas-y).  On each end of the table sat two large bowls filled with a pear and walnut salad (made with Harry & David pears given to us by a friend).

And, of course, we had a Christmas honey-baked ham, dinner rolls and crusty peasant bread.   Desserts were also compliments of various guests: homemade raspberry fudge that was to die for, a delicious chocolate/gingerbread cake and a Viktor Bene’s apple pie.  We even had a sheet cake decorated like a Currier & Ives Christmas card.

The bar was stocked with red and white wine, sodas and tons of Pellegrino and flat water.  Coffee was perking and the music was playing.  By the time the evening was over almost all the food was gone and we were stuffed and sated.  The binge had begun.

On Christmas day it was our turn to be feted as we went first to one friends’ home for brunch – more ham, a few quiches and an egg, cheese, corn casserole that I devoured as I sipped a mimosa.  Then we were off, as has been our tradition for the past 18 years, to other dear friends for Christmas Day dinner of standing rib roast (one of my favorite foods on earth), roasted potatoes, roasted brussels sprouts, string beans, homemade cream spinach and gorgeous, piping hot, mouthwatering popovers… Desserts were made by one of the other dinner guests (the same friend who made one of the great cheese balls and that creamy, dreamy raspberry fudge for our party).  Though a tv writer by ‘trade,’ she’s a spectacular cook and for this dinner made homemade coffee ice cream, peanut butter cookies, pecan sandies, and Thomas Keller’s chocolate tort.

I can’t even begin to describe how amazing that tort was and I won’t even attempt to make it, but for those of you who love to bake, the recipe can be found on-line.  By the time we left, I had sipped more than my share of some fine red wines, ate half a cow (rare), savored the hot popovers and dove into the ice cream and chocolate tort…

You’d think I would have stopped after Christmas day, but the binge continued.  The following night my husband turned the leftover salmon into a sort of salmon alfredo with peas over wheat/egg noodles.   I haven’t had anything alfredo since the ice age and now I want it every night.  A night or two later, he made pea soup from the leftover ham bone and we invited a friend over to share it with us… more appetizers, more champagne, rich, thick pea soup with warm crusty bread and butter and leftover heated apple pie with vanilla ice cream!!!

Oh, and did I mention that my brother sent us two homemade loaves of pulla (pronounced bulla), a Finnish coffee bread with cardamom seeds that we toasted each morning and spread with butter for breakfast until it was all gone.  And, of course, we had to have some of the leftover ham fried with scrambled eggs along with the pulla.

And then came New Year’s Eve at a private party at The Village Idiot (reviewed here some time ago)… martinis, white wine, champagne, finger food, but I still had to have the Idiot’s amazing cheeseburger and fries.

The holidays are over and it’s now time to go into the fridge and throw out any leftover desserts lingering there.  I know I’ve gained a hundred pounds, so I think I’m going to have to start jogging and eat only lettuce leaves for the next month – well, that is unless my friends drop by with their cheese balls.

Happy New Year everyone.

JULE’S CHEESE BALL

Blue Cheese
Cream Cheese
Caramelized Onions
A pinch of olive oil
Roasted red peppers

Mix together in the Cuisinart.  In a bowl (or any shaped dome you would like)  lay plastic wrap.  Spoon the cheese mixture in, press to fit the form. Cover the top and refrigerate.  When ready to serve, lift the plastic wrap, turn the mold onto a plate and you will have a dome of cheese.  Cut the roasted red peppers into small squares and press them into the cheese mixture into a design. Put a sprig of rosemary on the top and it looka like a Christmas snowscape.

SANDY’S CHEESE BALL

8 oz cheddar cheese – softened

8 oz cream cheese softened

4 oz roquefort cheese – softened

1 small clove garlic – minced

1/4 cup chopped pecans

Topping:  1 Cup chopped parsley

1/2 Cup chopped pecans

Put all in a food processor and blend until soft.  Shape into ball or log and refrigerate until firm.   Roll in topping.

ilona

“My Dinners With Richard & Other Musings”
www.myspace.com/othermusings