Christmas Eve and the Feast of the Seven Fishes

I haven't really talked about our Christmas plans on my blog because we don't have a ton of plans. We decided to stay here this year and spend Christmas just our little family. We are going to wake up in our own beds tomorrow morning and relax, eat, open presents and just chill. I can't wait. I will share my Christmas day menu with you all soon (after Christmas, obviously). With that being said, we're having some people over for dinner on tonight.

I wasn't too sure about making some big crazy prime rib or something (because I like cooking, but don't want to eff myself over and be the fool who ends up having to order out on Christmas Eve because something went terribly wrong).

I decided that something much easier, like the traditional Italian Christmas Eve dinner of The Feast of the Seven Fishes. In my apparently warped mind, this was more sane than the alternative. Ha! Now I'm making six seafood dishes (amongst various frozen appetizers) to serve our guests this evening. One of the guests is bringing a seafood dish, so I only have to make six recipes instead of seven (should lighten the load a little bit, at least).

Here's what I'm making.

Shrimp Cocktail (because I'm being lazy on this one)

Baked Scallops

Lemon Garlic Flounder I'm using Flounder instead of Tilapia

Chez Lorraine's Baked Salmon

Fried Calamari

Crab Cakes (I bought these pre-made from our local grocery store, so no recipe, sorry!)

As you can see, most of these recipes are very simple, but the ones I've made before are delicious and the new ones sound fantastic, so I'm excited to get to work in the kitchen!

I'll post an update after Christmas to let you all know that I survived what will undoubtedly be known as "Seafood Extravaganza 2011" or "The Christmas Beth Went Crazy" for generations years to come! Wish me luck!

The Meadow Lights

Remember a few days ago when I posted about AJ getting sick so we weren't able to go see the Christmas lights at the Botanical Gardens? Well, I think it was divine intervention or something because right after that happened I got an email from the FRSA letting us know about a different holiday light display that was better (and free-er) than the gardens. The only downside is that its about 30 miles from our house (but actually it takes an hour to get there because there is no direct route). It was definitely worth it, though!

We decided to go yesterday after AJ woke up from her nap. We knew that it was going to take about an hour to get there, and since it gets dark around 5, we left at 3:45. They didn't officially open until 5, so we hung around in the parking lot for 15 minutes until they opened. The first thing we did was walk around and look at the lights (it wasn't quite dark yet, so it didn't look too impressive) and then we went into the old country store and bought peanut brittle.

The lights at dusk.

I brought some food for AJ for dinner so she ate a little bit and then we bought our $2 tickets (each, so $6 total) for the train ride.

Let me say this: AJ is OBSESSED with trains. Every time she sees one, she drops everything to make the "choo choo!" sound and arm movement over and over again. Its very cute and hilarious. She was pumped once she realized that we were getting on the train.

AJ and Daddy hanging out before the train ride.

The train ride itself is about 5-10 minutes long, but it takes you through all the lights and its very cool because there are tons of things! They had Santa, elves playing tennis, a candy cane factory, Jack Frost blowing frosty air around, nutcrackers, farm animals, and more! I tried to take pictures of the lights, but they all suck, sorry!

My crappy phone pics of the lights from the train.

They also had a carousel and Santa was available for photos, but we already tortured AJ got AJ's picture taken with Santa this year, so we skipped that line. In case you're going to try and go see the lights, just know that both of these things cost money, so come prepared. I think the carousel was like $2 (which, whatever) but the Santa pictures were $6! It seemed like a lot to me, but I know there are places that charge a LOT more than that (ahem, the mall).

Having the time of her life with Daddy on the train.

AJ had a fantastic time and we were glad that we made the drive out to spend the afternoon looking at lights and enjoying some fun, holiday, family fun together.

Latkes

Every year around this time, I like to make a traditional Jewish holiday recipe. Sometimes I make these at other times throughout the year, depending on if the mood strikes, but mostly these are reserved for December. My mom used to make Potato Pancakes when I was a kid and these just hit the spot!

***

Latkes (Potato Pancakes)

4 large potatoes
1 yellow onion
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
ground black pepper to taste
2 cups vegetable oil for frying

Finely grate potatoes with onion into a large bowl. Drain off any excess liquid.

Mix in egg, salt, and black pepper. Add enough flour to make mixture thick, about 2 to 4 tablespoons all together.

Turn oven to low, about 200 degrees F (95 degrees C).

Heat 1/4 inch oil in the bottom of a heavy skillet over medium high heat. Drop two or three 1/4 cup mounds into hot oil, and flatten to make 1/2 inch thick pancakes. Fry, turning once, until golden brown. Transfer to paper towel lined plates to drain, and keep warm in low oven until serving time. Repeat until all potato mixture is used.

Serve with sour cream and applesauce for a yummy meal.

***

I hope you'll try these, they really are so easy to make. Don't be intimidated by the frying aspect of the recipe, they are almost fool-proof! I always have tons of potato pancakes when I make this recipe, so this could easily serve as an appetizer or side-dish for a large group of people.

Enjoy!

The Best Laid Plans...

We had great plans for our first Saturday of Christmas Exodus. We were going to head to town as soon as Miss AJ got up from her nap, do some errands and go out to eat at Panera (fancy-schmancy, huh?), then we were going to head to the local botanical gardens to see their holiday light display with some friends.

Sounds fun, right?

Friday I noticed that AJ had developed a little bit of a cough, so I was kind of keeping an eye on it, but not too worried. Well, by the time we had dinner Friday night she was yawning all over the place, so we put her to bed early and figured that she was just fighting a cold of some sort. The extra sleep should help, right?

Well, midnight rolled around and I wake up to the sound of D going into her bedroom, she's screaming and obviously not feeling well. She ended up in our bed with us the rest of the night (if you consider 1-5 to be a full night sleep). At 0500 I took her downstairs to watch tv because she was crying non-stop. We laid on the couch and watched early morning cartoons until I finally decided to giver her a sippy-cup of milk. Almost as soon as she drank it, another coughing fit came on and then it happened.

Puke. All over the couch. All over AJ. All over her beloved blankie. Everywhere.

Oh yeah. I was kind of half asleep when it happened, but as soon as I heard it, I was up so fast, you would have laughed!

I stripped her down, took her jammies and blankie and started a load of laundry. Got the couch cleaned up, baby in new jammies and we settled back in for an uneventful day of bland foods, honey water, extra naps, and lots of snuggling.

Needless to say, we didn't go see the lights, even though AJ was feeling quite a bit better after her second nap of the day. I did convince hubby that I needed Panera after thinking we were going there, so I ran out and picked it up. ;)

I think we're going to try and go see the lights later this week once AJ feels better, since D is off work until 2012 (oh yeah, I'm so happy to finally have him around and available after this entire year of him having homework and being exhausted from work).

Christmas Pictures and Our Card

A few weeks ago we took AJ to have some professional Christmas pictures taken in hopes that we'd find one good enough to use as a Christmas card this year. We came away with some fantastic pictures and I'm really happy with the way they turned out. Here are a few of our favorites, followed by our Christmas card for this year.

My All-Time Favorite Christmas Movies

Anyone who knows me knows that I have an unhealthy obsession with Christmas movies. When I was in high school my best friend and I would have a Christmas movie watching party the weekend of Thanksgiving each year. It was really more like two bums sitting on a couch in the basement watching movies than a party, but I digress.

I like Christmas movies so much that two of them actually rank amongst my top movies of all time list.

I'll be completely honest and let you all in on a little secret though. I don't really like movies. They're just not my thing. It drives my hubby crazy because I never want to watch movies, but my dad is the same way, so I think its genetic.

With that being said, here is my list.

10. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
There isn't really a more iconic Christmas movie than this, is there? I mean, I grew up watching this on tv and I remember writing the date and time on the family calendar so we could make sure we were watching it!

9. Charlie Brown Christmas
I think its actually the music to this movie that gets me. We recorded it on our DVR last night so it was on while I was making Christmas cookies and I was just feeling so very Christmas-y.

8. The Santa Clause
I can't really explain why I love this movie so much, but I really like Christmas movies in which Santa is proven to be real. Just makes me think of the magic of Christmas. I also thought it was pretty cool how his beard could grow back in a few seconds.

7. A Christmas Story
There is just something about the scene where the kid is bundled up within an inch of his life that gets me every time. That and triple-dog daring. Classic.

6. Home Alone
Although this is technically a Christmas movie, I have vivid memories of a beach vacation to Lake Erie with my cousins where we watched this movie no less than 100 times during the week we were there. I think I also felt a connection to this particular movie because I grew up in Chicago, so I think of the scene where they run through O'Hare every time I'm at the airport.

5. How the Grinch Stole Christmas
I've had this playing in the car for AJ lately and I love listening to the dialog and knowing that its another classic that I can pass on to my kid. I don't think I ever saw this movie as a child though. I'm certain, though, that if I did see it, I saw the old version because I'm too old to have seen the Jim Carrey version as a kid. : /

4. Elf
I'm not a Will Farrel fan. At all. In fact, this is the only movie of his (other than Talladega Nights) that I like. Hubby however, lurves him some Will Farrel. He says this is the only WF movie (other than Talladega Nights) that he doesn't like. I think we're on to something, here. Anyways, I just love this movie. It makes me happy.

3. Miracle on 34th Street (old version)
This is another classic that I've been playing for AJ in the car. She really likes the music and kind of dances in her carseat. Its cute. There is some subtle humor and the script is so well written. I like "kids" movies that appeal to adults as well.

2. Christmas Vacation
Obviously not a movie I'm going to pass down to my kids until later on, but this movie is one of my favorite movies of all time. I literally watch it Thanksgiving weekend every year. I love the humor, I love everything about this movie. It is not Christmas to me until I've seen this movie. This is the movie my BFF from high school and I used to watch together every year. To this day, when my cousins and I get together, we practically recite every line from the movie, even in July. I have connections with so many simply from this movie. "Merry Christmas! Shitter's full!"

1. White Christmas
My hands-down favorite movie of all time. Hubby and I danced our first dance at our wedding to one of the songs from this movie. My family used to watch this movie all together during the Christmas season and I just have so many wonderful memories from this movie. The dialog is gold. The choreography is gold. The casting is gold. All around, A+.

What about you, what are your favorite holiday movies?

The Terror!

On Monday our playgroup hosted a Holiday party so I got AJ dressed in her Christmas outfit and we headed out. I knew Santa was going to be there and I didn't want to miss the opportunity to get a classic terrified-baby-with-Santa picture to display until AJ turns 30.

Really unhappy about the situation.

Still traumatized from the incident.

There is our family's first screaming baby with Santa photo! I will treasure it for years!