*warning: picture-heavy blog*
Now that christmas is coming to an end (we celebrate 2 days of christmas, 25th and 26th), it's time for an update. On the 25th, my mom, dad, and brother + girlfriend came over for christmas brunch and gifts. I think I was up since 7-7:30ish to get everything ready. Cleaning, decorating, making rolls and croissants, juicing, some last minute wrapping, the whole she-bang.
Here's the breakfast table:
What I had on repeat the whole morning:
Oh, and look at how big Oz has gotten! He's 8 months old now:
After brunch, it was time for gifts:
I got a couple of dvd's, nice warm leather gloves, a leather Fossil watch band, a cd and a gift certificate. I was happy
.
I tried to take a picture of Oz with a santa hat on, but he wasn't too thrilled about it
. He kept shaking his head to get it off. This was the best I could do:
Today the family came over for christmas dinner, and I spent most of the day getting everything ready. Since it's been a while since I did a food blog, I decided to take pictures of everything
.
Starter:
Vegetable soup:
SPOILERS! (Click to view)Ingredients:
- water
- vegetables (celery, leeks, carrot, parsley, etc)
- stock cube
- ground beef
- salt and pepper to taste
Preparation:
Make some meat balls and toss everythig together.
Main course:
Stuffed turkey breast:
SPOILERS! (Click to view)Ingredients:
- large turkey breast
- ham
- cheese (in this case a very mature gouda)
- salt and pepper
- knob of butter
Butterfly the meat, making one large thin slice.
Sprinkle on some salt and pepper, then cover the meat with slices of ham and cheese.
Roll everything up, while sprinkling with a little more salt and pepper, then secure it with toothpicks or kitchen string.
Put a pan on high heat and add some butter. When the butter starts to brown, put the meat into the pan, and brown on all sides.
Turn the heat down, and cover with a lid to keep in the moisture (I used an upside-down wok as a lid). Turn from time to time. The meat is done after about 30 minutes depending on it's size, check the temperature with a meat thermometer to see if it's done.
Let it rest a few minutes before carving.
Ham:
SPOILERS! (Click to view)Ingredients:
- a ham
- knob of butter
Put a pan on high heat and add some butter. When the butter starts to brown, put the meat into the pan, and brown on all sides. Turn the heat down, and cover with a lid to keep in the moisture. Turn from time to time. The meat is done after 30-45 minutes depending on it's size, check the temperature with a meat thermometer to see if it's done. Let it rest a few minutes before carving.
Green beans and asparagus:
SPOILERS! (Click to view)Ingredients:
- green beans (haricots verts)
- asparagus tips (or use small whole asparagus, cut or break off the stalky ends)
- serrano ham (you could also use prosciutto)
Cut the ends off the green beans. Break the stalky ends off the asparagus if you're using whole ones.
Steam the beans and asparagus (or boil them if you don't have a steamer).
Once they're cooked, wrap them in the serrano ham.
Put in a hot oven for a few minutes to crisp up the ham.
I also made some mashed potatoes and home-made steak fries out of the oven, but I think there are enough pictures already .
dessert:
Ice cream:
I also folded some napkins, while Oz was trying his best to unfold them again when I wasn't looking . He's looking innocent here, but about 5 seconds after this picture he undid all 3 napkins in this picture 
.
Click this spoiler if you don't know how to make these.
SPOILERS! (Click to view)
Fold the napkin in half, and start folding the short side in a zig zag (1/2 inch-1inch depending on the size of the napkin).
Stop a couple of inches before the end, and fold in half (zig zag on the outside).
Fold the remaining part of the napkin diagonally, tucking it in underneath the zig zag.
Put it on it's side, and your napkin is done
.
Then it was time to set the table.
As a family tradition, we always have small candles next to everyone's plate. These were the ones I got this year. Aren't they cute?
My very own apron . Yes, I need it, I an be pretty messy in the kitchen . Too bad the A is coming off 
.
I think that's it for now. I'll go through the million pictures I took today again, to see if I missed anything interesting.
How were all your christmases???
i could never pull off that table setting, let alone the meal.
i love it sweetie.