Spritz cookies are the very best!  I miss our press.

I made the spritz cookies for a party tonight.  some were plain butter cookies, but decorative with sugars, etc..., and chocolate ones, some with sugars and some with powdered sugar, and some plain.  I swear, it looked as if no ine had a single one of them when I left.    Oh well.  I think they are a nice, simple cookie.  We like that.  Whatever.

We wound up doing:

cheese ball with cracker assortment
green salad-- dark baby greens with cherry tomatoes, mushroom slices, jicama, bell pepper slices

Classic lasagna

Pumpkin spice spritz cookies, espresso ice cream (home-made) and fresh raspberries.

It was lovely and informal-- very relaxed, which was exactly right.   

DH is making our tamales. We often don't do Christmas dinner on Christmas Day. We finished opening aroud 1:30 (started at 8:00--we just take our own sweet time ) and just didn't get to dinner.  I always make a veggie lasagne for Xmas Eve, and i made extra this year. We had that for lunch around 3:00 and then had popcorn and cookies for dinner while watching Doctor Who. 

I don't think tonight's dinner will be sit down, because it is very difficult for me to sit down, lol, (back muscle spasm). 

Found a marinade for the lamb:  lemon, yogurt, garlic, rosemary, thyme, salt, pepper.  I tossed it all in the Vitamix and marinated overnight.  Smells wondeful.  Still roasting.  Will have roasted sweet potatoes and onion, kids will have regular baked russet potato,  and haricot verts.

Xmas eve is lasagna 

here's the link for the dessert and in it is the link for the caramel sauce...

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/caramel-pear-cheesecake-trifle

Here's the egg-free gingersnaps I made - they rock! (I did them right away, as drop cookies)
http://www.yummly.com/recipe/external/Ginger-Snaps-I-Allrecipes

WOW.   That sounds amazing.

I'd need to make the gingersnaps, I think... but-- do-able. 

Hmmm.

Not sure that it would work with lasagna, though... might not be 'assertive' enough in flavor.  I'm definitely keeping that one for New Year's, though.     THANK YOU!!!

That sounds DIVINE.  But where do I find the caramel sauce??

At first glance that looks elegant and allergen free (my house anyway!)  I think the family would devour that.

We are doing shrimp, cheese and crackers for apps, a whiskey cream sauce for the game hens, brussel sprouts (roasted with bacon and shallots), salad, potaotes, stuffing...
dessert is:

Caramel-Pear-Cheesecake Trifle


4 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 large slightly underripe Bartlett pears—peeled, cored and diced
1 cup Vanilla Bean and Fleur de Sel Caramel Sauce
1 teaspoon unflavored powdered gelatin
16 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
3 cups cold heavy cream
8 ounces gingersnap cookies, plus crushed cookies for garnish
In a large skillet, melt the butter. Add the diced pears. Cover and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until just softened, about 8 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of the caramel sauce, cover and cook over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until the pears are tender, 5 minutes. Scrape the pears onto a plate and refrigerate until cool.
In a small microwave-safe bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over 2 tablespoons of water. Let stand until softened, about 5 minutes. Microwave at high power for 5 seconds, just until the gelatin is melted. Transfer the gelatin mixture to a bowl and add the cream cheese and the remaining 1/2 cup of caramel sauce. Using an electric mixer, beat at medium-high speed until smooth, about 2 minutes.
In another bowl, whip 1 1/2 cups of the cream until firm peaks form. Fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture.
Spoon one-fourth of the mousse into a medium trifle bowl. Top with one-fourth of the gingersnaps and one-fourth of the pears. Repeat the layering, ending with a layer of pears. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
In a bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the remaining 1 1/2 cups of cream until soft peaks form. Dollop the cream over the trifle and garnish with crushed gingersnaps.

Honey ham, potato salad (German potato salad for DS1), baked beans, cucumber salad and broccoli.  Not what I wanted, but whatever.

We are now undecided, lol.  Dh and I will go to Costco and see what looks good.  Lamb or beef. 

Quote from: CMdeux on December 22, 2013, 03:58:10 PM


If I'm feeling REALLY saucy, I might even make a pretzel-coated cheese ball (a hedgehog cheese ball) to go with some crackers while we all wait.

You're making me a cheese ball?   . Thank you!

We'll do a veggie lasagne with a white sauce for Xmas Eve.

LOL.

We're doing Lasagna again, since it was so delicious the first time, and everyone coming over likes the idea, too.  I like that I can prep all the sides and everything ahead of time, then just pull it out of the oven 20 minutes before we eat.  Will do a fancy schmancy green salad and maybe some garlic breadsticks with it.

If I'm feeling REALLY saucy, I might even make a pretzel-coated cheese ball (a hedgehog cheese ball) to go with some crackers while we all wait.

Thinking chocolate mousse or dessert tamales of some kind.

We're just having friends over and they're pretty eager to do low-key, too-- they've been selling Christmas trees for a month.