Christmas 2013

Deck the halls and pass the wine; we're ready to eat 'cuz it's HOLIDAY TIME! 
With the help of MetroNorth and multiple cars, we were able to spend time with multiple families in the span of 48 hours.

We had a lovely Christmas Eve in Connecticut with the Haile-Mariam crew.  We enjoyed an Ethiopian feast of epic proportions!

Afterward, we settled in for gift opening... and the opening of a bottle of Bulleit Rye for the guys to toast the season.

On Christmas Day, we headed back to NYC in time to host the Bernardin crew for lunch.  Elim brought a fabulous shrimp and vegetable dish, and we made slow cooker pot roast (using a recipe that we had tried years ago and forgotten about!) along with a mashed potatoes and parsnips dish suggested in our Meatless cookbook.  The parsnips added such a great kick, we may never go back to regular mashed potatoes!  

 

(Basic recipe: cut up 6 potatoes and 6 parsnips; brown the parsnips for 5 minutes; add the potatoes, add water until about an inch over the veggies, and boil together until soft; while draining veggies, brown fresh thyme and any other fresh seasoning you like in the pot; add the veggies back in, mash together, and season with salt and pepper for yummy goodness!  Please note: we also added butter and warm milk for a little creaminess.)

Then we all packed into cars and headed over to the Harrises to celebrate with them, the Bradshaws (including MaryEllen and Jonathan this year!), and the Rabineses (including Luis's mom this year!).  We sang carols, had a rousing gift swap, and enjoyed everyone's company as we indulged on a decadent dessert spread and "Mixed Ladies" (DJ's new concoction of Brown Ladies, Egg Nog, and ample amounts of liquor).  

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, 

and to all a bottle of Pepto Bismol.