christmas dinner at joseph leon's

This year, I stayed in SF for Christmas.  I wasn't sure what I was going to do but I was really excited to be invited to Joseph's and Dan's for Christmas dinner.  Well, a good thing too, because Joseph loves great food, but truth be told, cooking is not his thing. 

When I arrived (early, to help) he had a frig full of delicious Whole Foods ingredients and,  like an episode of "Chopped"  all we needed to do was put them together and create a great meal!  A bag of green beans became roasted green beans with Parmesan cheese, baby carrots were candied in brown sugar and butter, potatoes mashed with sour cream and stuffed chicken breasts roasted, sliced and smothered with wild mushroom gravy. Scott started us off with baked brie with roasted garlic and crisp Granny Smith apple slices. All that and the beautiful table scape and great company made for a wonderful and memorable Christmas dinner.

a little christmas cheer

It's a pretty lo-key Christmas this year but there were two things I insisted on doing.  One was to put up my tree (I haven't done that the last couple of years) and to actually have friends over to enjoy it.  Last night Deidre Joyner and Tom Bogue came over for some holiday cheer.  When I do decorate I like a monochromatic theme, and I have in the past decorated in all red, all purple and all pink. (Funny, even though I don't put up decorations every year, I continue to buy them).  So last year at the after holiday sales I bought all teal blue decorations and the color turned out very pretty.  So throw in a little Osha Thai food, champagne and two of my dearest friends and that is great Christmas cheer!

thanksgiving in crescent city, ca.

Well, I had a wonderful visit in Crescent City over Thanksgiving. We did a traditional menu for 13 with turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, stuffing, salad, green beans, cranberry relish and gravy. We had one smoke out when the turkey pan juices hit the bottom of the oven—but that just adds to the fun, right? It was my brother Rick's birthday as well and he had his favorite dessert, pumpkin pie.  The 30 candle?  What's up with that?
Mom and I did a little pre and post Thanksgiving shopping, stopping for lunch at the Chart Room at the Crescent City harbor. The Chart Room is known far and wide for its beer-battered fish and chips, a massive plate with 6 pieces of fish for $9.95, or 3 pieces for $5.95.  The price alone is amazing!

My cousin Keith supplied us with fresh crab and we had a crab feast a couple of nights. Keith's birthday was on the 27th and we went to a lovely dinner party for him at the beautiful home of friends, overlooking the harbor in Brooking's OR. The highlight was Keith's favorite dessert, German chocolate cake, scratch made by his girlfriend Katie. She is an amazing baker. I look forward to our next family adventure—they are always special.