Christmas seems to have snuck up on me this year.  Thanksgiving was late.  Lots of December deadlines leaving little free time (you might have noticed my posting has been limited to Twitter, Facebook and Instagram).  The weather has been rainy with more on the way.  Gift-giving has seemed like a chore.  And the holiday just hasn’t felt very joyous.  But now the presents are mostly bought and wrapped, and it’s time to start cooking, which hopefully puts me in a more festive mood.

This year, Kyle and I are combining families and venturing into unfamiliar territory with a little bit of the familiar.  Christmas Eve will have a ham but with my scaled-down version of seven fishes as appetizers and, if all goes well today, my Mom’s cheesecake (secret recipe).  In the morning, my fancy King Crab Benedict will be replaced with his mom’s breakfast casserole that I’m looking forward to trying.  For Christmas dinner, it’s an elegant mixed greens salad with strawberries, blue cheese and candied nuts, prime rib roast, stuffed baked potatoes, asparagus and his mom’s spinach quiche and her pecan pie for dessert.

One of the things I love most about the holidays is tradition – and finding some new ones along the way.

A Very Merry Christmas to Everyone!

-Kara