December the 25th

Best version of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol... "Scrooge", 1970 starring Albert Finney!

We had Christmas dinner at our house. This year it was just 5 of us but of course there was enough food for 10! We start of with cocktails and appetizers. I ordered a small antipasto tray from Bradley and Wall along with their Fried Goat Cheese Balls. We probably could have done without the goat cheese but I love them.

Next is my favorite dish. Cupalets. I am sure I am misspelling it, if anyone knows the correct spelling please let me know. My sister, Lenore and her husband make these every year with the left over Thanksgiving turkey. The pasta is homemade and she makes this wonderful chicken broth. My Aunt Nora use to make me a large bag of cupalets for my birthday. I loved getting that bag of frozen pasta!

Next was the Roast Beast. So I told the butcher I needed a roast for 5 possibly 6 people. 10 pounds is a lot for 5 people. Roast beef will be the main ingredient for many nights to come.

It is easy to prepare. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Rub the roast with salt and pepper. Place the roast, bone side down, in a roasting pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 3 hours, or until meat thermometer registers 130 degrees. Let it rest about 10 minutes before serving.

Served Ginger Glazed Carrots and Domino Potatoes as side dishes. Also had Thyme Popovers from Cooking Light.

Carrots with Ginger Honey Glaze
Ingredients-
2 1/2 pounds baby carrots
3 tbsp honey
2 tbsp butter (1/4 stick)
1 tbsp finely chopped peeled fresh ginger
1/4 tsp ground ginger

Cook carrots in large saucepan of boiling salted water until tender, about 8 minutes. Drain. Stir honey butter, fresh ginger and ground ginger in large skillet over low heat until blended. Mix in carrots. Cook carrots over medium-high heat until glaze thickens enough to coat, tossing occasionally. about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

We had a nice selection of wines. For the soup we had Lacryma Christi Del Vesuvio 2004 which is a Neapolitan wine produced on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius in Campania, Italy. Both of my parent's families came from the region of Campania. We also tasted a white wine that my dad made in 1993. He made it from the white grapes that were in the backyard. It smelled like the yard when the grapes were on the vines and the taste was exactly what the grapes tasted like. For the meat course we had Francis Coppola Director's Cut Cabernet Sauvignon 2006.
Dessert... what else - cookies!

It was a very nice day with family and cats. Archie helped out by watching over all the coats.

Merry Christmas!