Caroline Dines

Ahhhh….the day after Christmas. Time for complete relaxation, playing with your presents and reflecting on the year past. I have been doing all three of these things but before we get to the present moment let’s back up a bit to recap Christmas 2009! Here’s my family on Christmas Eve after Church (yes, my Dad is wearing a Santa Hat).

Darin and I packed up the sleigh car, early Thursday morning for the 3.5 hour ride up to Maine. The backseat was completely packed as was the trunk.

 

Before we got on the highway we made a quick pit stop at Starbucks. I always go into Starbucks (as opposed to waiting in the car) because honestly I don’t always know what I want. Also my drinks are so complicated! Darin told me to wait and that he would take care of my order which was a little scary giving up control! However, he did a darn good job ordering a tall, skinny, peppermint mocha latte with only one pump of each flavor and no whipped cream!

 

He also came back with an early Christmas surprise for me, this CD Starbucks was selling to help fight AIDS in Africa. I love little surprises!

 

Breakfast was a banana that was consumed too fast and too haphazardly to have pictured. A few hours into the trip we both gnawed on a raw carrot and munched on the last of the Chex Mix.

I also perused the first gift of Christmas that I received the night before from Mr. Dee (our volunteer baker at the house). I was so blown away that he picked this out for me, it was dead on! Clean, local, seasonal food? I mean, come on! (said like G.O.B. on Arrested Development)

Soon after we arrived home, it was time for the Christmas Eve church service. This year there was a 4 p.m. service that we decided to go to instead of the 7 p.m.

It was lovely to return home at 5 p.m. and have the whole evening to enjoy. We got down to business preparing a Christmas Eve spread that included spiked egg nog, fondue, crudite, french bread, and sweet and sour meatballs. The fondue was made by my brother and included all local ingredients: butter, raw milk, Maine Gruyere, dried basil and thyme, and Maine sea salt.

 

The only thing missing was a proper fondue pot! No problem though, we ate everything fast enough.

After dinner we settled down for a Christmas Classic, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. Normally we would watch “It’s a wonderful life” but since Darin and I had watched it earlier in the season and we hadn’t seen Christmas Vacation as a family yet, we opted for the later. It was just as funny as always and especially enjoyable since I was on “Christmas Vacation” for the first time in years! My bro, Andrew is home on break from the farm and since my parents both work for the school system they have a nice long vacay as well.

 

Christmas morning was filled with traditions and laughs. My mom had prepared a raspberry loaf that we all enjoyed along with some yogurt and Maine blueberries and a few wedges of Clementine.

I would say that the majority of our stockings contained food items, which isn’t surprising if you know my family. One of the cutest was this Cadbury Truck tin that my Dad gave to my Mom. We of course had to open one of the bags for sampling. The little chocolate covered graham snacks hit my sweet tooth just right at 9 a.m.!

Everyone did a fantastic job with presents this year. We all made an effort to not over buy and instead try to find meaningful and practical gifts for each other. We did have to spoil the cat though with a little surprise: cat nip! Smudge wasn’t sure what it was but I am sure we’ll find it destroyed in a few days.

After our Christmas at home, we packed up the car and drove an 1.5 to my Aunt’s house in Hallowell Maine. I am always impressed with her attention to detail, it takes a lot to pull of a meal for 12 people!

Over the course of the afternoon I had three drinks but started off light with a Mike’s Pomegranate.

The meal was exquisitely done. The highlights for me was of course the sweet potato pie (on the right), the creamy risotto, the horseradish cream sauce on top of the beef tenderloin and the stuffed mushrooms. O.K. I guess that’s everything except for the crescent roll which was delicious as well! No complaints here!

 

My great Aunt brought with her a little dancing hamster that she has had for years and years but still works. We had a great time entertaining ourselves with his little song and dance.

 

At one point you could even here my Aunt, my Mom and myself singing Josh Groban’s “Angels we have heard on high” from the top of our lungs. We had to sequester ourselves on the second floor though so as not to “disturb” the rest of the family.

After we had digested the meal, it was time for what else, dessert! My Mom’s family knows how to do dessert. Along with an apple and pecan pie there were homemade peppermint patties and texas sheet cake cut up with crushed candy canes on top,

Swedish Cardamom Cookies

Classic Sugar Cookies,

and a new treat, Ritz crackers covered with semi-sweet chocolate and sprinkled with crushed candy canes.

 

My plate contained the following: Tiramisu, a frosted sugar cookie and a peppermint patty. Keep in mind I went back for MANY more.

With dessert I sipped a Chambord Champagne Sparkler with real raspberries which could be a new favorite.

 

Our family has the tradition of a Yankee Swap which usually turns out pretty fruitful for all involved. Our limit is 10.00 but I have a feeling some went over! Darin was #2 (poor guy) and started out with a great gift which ended up being snagged. This is a Maine Marinade made with Maple Syrup and Passion Fruit. When he opened it I immediately started thinking about all that I could make with it, that was until it was swapped!

 

The evening wrapped up around 6:30 and once we got back home all of us realized we were hungry again. I whipped together a batch of tuna and we all ate a simple sandwich together. After all those sweets, a savory sandwich tasted unbelievably good.

 

Darin and I had saved our presents for last which is always the way it ends up. I was so excited to open mine and was blown away when I saw what he had picked out for me.  Special jewelry like this always makes the top of my list. I would so much rather have an authentic present like this than have him buy something off a list I had provided him with.

Now I am almost up the present moment, and thought it necessary to share the lunch out that I enjoyed a few hours ago with Darin and his sister Darcy at the Phoenix House and Well located at “the mountain”, Sunday River. They were offering a “Stimulus Package” Special which meant that you could get a beer, wine or other beverage for 1 penny if you ordered something off the “lighter fare” or pizza menu for lunch. I celebrated the beginning of vacation with a 1 cent Chardonnay!

 

Darcy was able to get away for her lunch break and we were happy to meet her at the mountain since the Phoenix is known for having some interesting eats. Darin and Darcy wanted the calamari to start with and I wasn’t about to argue with that! The banana peppers were by far the best part but the actual calamari wasn’t bad either. There were capers and a lot of vinegar in the mix which hit my palate just right.

 

I was in need of some serious vegetables but because I went with the drink special I wasn’t able to get a salad. I instead opted for the veggie panini.

It came with Mozzarella and Provolone but to cut down on calories I opted for no Provolone and asked them to use only a small amount of Mozzarella. The end result was perfect: heavy on the eggplant, zucchini, tomato, peppers and onions and light on the cheese. The pesto spread helped to spice it up a bit too.

My favorite part was the olive/pickle skewer sticking out of the top. I ate them all, even the orange wedge at the bottom!

After lunch, Darin and I spent some time relaxing. We had plans to go see a movie but ended up napping through the show. Nothing better than taking a nap on a Saturday afternoon. I ended up eating dinner at my house which worked out well because my Dad had cooked a turkey earlier in the day. We didn’t do potatoes which worked out fine because we had stuffing and none of us were THAT hungry after all the good eats over the past few days.

 

Dessert was a tiny scoop of Edy’s Egg Nog ice cream (reduced fat) and a square of the Texas sheet cake. Now that I am about to bust, I am off to put on comfy clothes and enjoy a movie with the Fam. I hope that you all had an enjoyable and relaxing holiday filled with good food and good memories.