Christmas Dinner

We're a couple weeks past the holidays now and I just wanted to take a moment to share some shots of our Christmas dinner. Because, you know - if you didn't post it then it didn't really happen. This was the first Christmas in many, many years that my husband was off work for both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. And I'm not lying when I say this may have even been the first time it's happened in his 16 year career as a full-time firefighter.  He works 24 hours on and then 48 off and most years he ends up working one or the other. 

We spent Christmas Eve at my sister's house with my side of the family. And rather than do the usual - ham and/or turkey with lots of trimmings, she decided to go a little more low-key and casual and she prepared a taco bar accompanied by lots of appetizers and desserts. It was quite a feast.

On Christmas day it was a quiet family day with just me, hubby and our 5 sons. And I was so glad that all the kids were there. Last year my oldest son had moved to Florida and was missing from our holiday celebrations and I missed him terribly.

So, I also went a bit easier than in previous years. We did have a steady stream of snacks and appetizers as we worked up to dinner time. We actually had one extra person with us since one of my sons had a friend join us.

Hubby offered to cook prime rib. He's gotten really good at it and makes it for a lot of special occasions. He usually makes it on the outdoor grill and gets it perfectly done with the help of his iGrill - a Weber product that has a prong and digital thermometer that sync to his phone so that he can monitor the temperature. It's such an awesome tool. It enables him to sit inside in the warm house while the prime rib eases up to the proper temperature and just check his phone rather than heading outside in the cold every few minutes to peek at it.

Along with the prime rib, we had a few sides. I missed some of the traditional ones, like green bean casserole and the corn soufflé I usually prepare, but since the kids often skip them and there's so much leftover, I just kept it pretty basic - homemade mashed potatoes (hubby made those, too, in the Kitchen Aid mixer he bought not long ago - used off of a garage sale site on Facebook), asparagus, corn and a Prince Edward Medley along with dinner rolls and a salad. I totally could have omitted the salad. I was the only one who ate it.

My son and his friend made gingerbread cookies for dessert that day and they were adorable and delicious. I had a French Silk pie from Baker's Square and a sea salt caramel pie from Aldi along with some really good chocolate molten lava cakes. I need to make a trip back over there to see if they still have them - and if so I am stocking up!

Hope everyone had a happy holiday and had wonderful food with loved ones. Next up - Super Bowl Sunday. What's on your menu for the big day?