Christmas II: Electric Boogaloo

Monday, of course, was Christmas Eve. Christmas Eve, for the last few years anyway, has meant cocktails, hors d'oeuvres and maybe dessert if people feel like it. Pete had some shopping to attend to, so Lou and I headed out to the state liquor store and the supermarket. People kind of look at you funny when you're holding your small child's hand with one hand and a basket full of bottles with another. If I weren't in the get-in-get-out mode of shopping, I might have cared. Or not.

It was a switch this year: usually I handle the last-minute cleaning and the gathering of holiday dishes etc while Pete cooks, but this year I did the food since I had decided on the menu. I made butternut squash/apple cider bisque (my mom's recipe), Michael Chiarello's spuma di tonno, and a wasabi mayonnaise for blanched asparagus. Then I cheated and used jarred pesto to do tortellini/tomato/mozzarella skewers with pesto. I had a whole wheat baguette to have with the soup. Phil and Sri were bringing a black bean dip and chips and Phil's cheddar straws (yum!), as well as beer and wine.

I love the quiet, low-key Christmas Eve as much as I love the chaos of a noisy, happy Christmas Day with a houseful of people. We tried out new cocktails recipes, ate pretty much all the food, and tried to entertain an overtired Lou. Phil and I drank two bottles of red wine (I think we may have given Sri one glass) and we all stayed up way, way too late. We were missing the NoBer Nasons, especially Lou, but they will be back from Charleston on the 28th!

Here's Lou with her aperitif: eggnog and a swizzle stick