One of the unexpected benefits of the early days post holiday celebrations is finding whipping cream in the fridge begging to be used up and finding its way into my morning coffee. As I rationalize the unhealthy treat, other benefits pop up. How many types of cheese now occupy space in my once over-crowded refrigerator? There is the expensive blue cheese that didn’t get unwrapped, the cranberry brie that also went untested. Somehow, I also have unopened packages of pepper jack and mozzarella, one large orange juice, much of a quart of egg nog, half packages of spinach and a container of red sauce. 

While I am responsible for much of the above, some of the goodies remain after I turned over the kitchen and meal prep, on day four, to my son-in-law who gleefully shopped and prepared a feast for the family including two types of pasta, featuring homemade pesto, roasted veggies, hangar steak medium and well, homemade guacamole and a manchego appetizer with olive oil, rosemary and mandarin oranges.

The first edible treats of the holiday visit are traditional—to our family.  Swedish meatballs from the Danish recipe I found during our year-long residency in Denmark in 1980, plum pudding made via a Julia Child recipe clipped from a newspaper in 1985, grasshopper pie (think whipped cream and melted marshmallows with a bit of creme de menthe over an Oreo cooke crust) from a recipe handwritten by a co-worker in the mid-70’s. 

Over the years I have changed up my cookie offerings by dropping the time-consuming spritz from my youth for the ever-tempting winners of the Minnesota Star and Tribune cookie baking contest.  This year, the clear favorites will continue and I will drop the maple chili fig jam cookies from my list—good—they are time-consuming! I no longer make cut-out cookies which are better suited to a household of hands to help with the frosting and decorating and well suited for my daughter and family to make as they usher in school break before Xmas.

The family meals around the table are special for me as my children and grandchildren are not always close by, so we cherish the time together and tell stories of old times and new experiences. Teenagers mixing with adults and seniors over traditional food, cards and other games is a recipe for nostalgia mixed with good cheer. Making memories!

Minnesota weather can be iffy in December but fortunately the roads were good and while we missed the snow, car trips were timely, and the visiting pooch and my senior cat co-existed without incident this visit. As I sit here feeling blessed that we are all healthy and connected, I realize how important these family celebrations are and how time passes so quickly that I can see the future with changing expectations as grandchildren leave the nest and lives change. 

For now, I am leaving my twinkly lights and poinsettias up, enjoying the bloom of my amaryllis and enjoying the after glow of the visit. It is zero degrees Fahrenheit this morning and the coffee and cream is amazing. I have plenty of food in the house and time to consider 2025. Oh, and read a good book, of course!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Maren