My Christmas Table in 3D

 

Actually I didn't get the table, just photos of the food.

 

Please notice my new cookie sheets my dear husband picked up for me at Sam's.

They made everything look better and taste yummier. :-)

I would show a picture of my old cookie sheets but it's simply too embarrassing.

Mark has since taken them to use in his outdoor kitchen. It's all in the spirit of giving. :-)

 

Above is the traditional Cinnamon Christmas Tree Rolls (idea fetched from Pinterest last December).

It's easy and not heavy. With Christmas meals being so heavy I want to offer something light and sweet for my hobbits looking for breakfast.

 

I see us possibly having some Christmas breakfasts here in the future as the children are growing and marrying and leaving home which, naturally, constitutes adjustments to the predictable Christmas noonday feast.

 

This year all 5 children were here with their significant other and our first grandbaby Mr. Hudson.  It was a blessing but one I know not to expect every year. It's called mid-life change. I'm forever grateful God sent us the last two girls in our thirties so there really is no vacancy in this house.

 

In the future, if no one is here for noonday feasting, my plans are to do a good Christmas breakfast and offer a later Christmas dinner for those stopping by in the evening. With the two younger sisters here, I don't see lonely days ahead. There will always be someone to cook for, at least for the next seven years or so. Then I figure we'll find some stray child's home to crash enjoy.  

 

I think it's practical for the next couple years to have a Plan B and Plan C.

 I'm in hopes that the children and grandchildren always feel like this house is a home to come back to at any time of day. It's a blessed-plus that we live in the family home where many holiday memories were made in days-gone-by.

 

In a sense, we maintain the physical house that harbors the mental house of memories.

 

So what did I serve?

 

This was a breakfast dish I put together for Opa who adores oysters in any shape or form. I sauted them in butter in my black iron skillet then made a Hollandaise Sauce to cover them.

I placed thin slices of French bread in a casserole dish, topped with fried Canadian bacon, and a sunny-side-up egg, then poured the oysters and sauce on top of everything.

 

Here is our Cajun Appetizer Tray.

 

It's a simple (but very pretty) tray assembled with pickled okra, boudin, sliced cheese, baby corn, peppered black ham, homemade summer sausage, and centered with pickled beets.

We bought this turkey for Thanksgiving and ended up going to the camp to meet family and friends and didn't take it out of freezer. So our Thanksgiving bird became our Christmas bird.

 

Dear husband always does the meat and the past two years he's been able to cook in his outdoor kitchen so that's a blessing beyond measure. Really clears out a great deal of my kitchen space for the other dishes. He brings it in to brown in oven and to carve.

He injected the dear bird with Cajun Butter. It's the best yet.

Baked beans with browned ground meat, buttered corn, and string beans flavored with onion and bacon for those who like common vegetables.

Easy-Peasy Cherry Salad

Small container of whipped cream

15 oz can of sweet-condensed milk

Small can of cherry pie filling

Small can of crushed pineapple (drained)

Handful of pecans

Almond slivers for topping

 

Mix everything together.

Put in pretty bowl.

Top with almond slivers.

 

Avocado and Asparagus baked with bacon-flavored white sauce and topped with Italian bread crumbs.

 

My mom brought the rice dressing, fruitcake, pumpkin bread, sweet potato pie and pecan pies.

Also crescent rolls were at end of bufft to top off the mountain of overloaded noonday plates.

(You know, the way everyone tops off their plate by putting bread on the very peak?

Doesn't your family?)

 

It's classic. :-)

 

I made my annual rum cakes but in muffin size this year.

Rum Cakes & Sauce

And, because my husband requested them, I made the mini-pineapple cakes from last year.

Here's the recipe:

Petite Jeweled Caked

 

~ Prayers that your New Year 2013 will just as bountiful and productive. ~