Holiday Season
I know it’s been a really long (really really long) time since I updated last. With the Holiday party season fast approaching I figured now was a good time to get back into the swing of things. There should be plenty of opportunity for food and drink related ideas over the next 4-6 weeks.
I have a family potluck to attend on the 4th, so I need to think up something to take, of course starting tomorrow my kitchen is being renovated which will make it interesting. There is a chance I will not have a fully functional kitchen to cook in.
On Dec 11th we are hosting our own Christmas Open House and have invited friends, family and co-workers for a late afternoon/evening gathering of snacks and drinks. So I am really hoping the kitchen reno goes smoothly and on time!
I really enjoy this time of year because the LCBO (liquor control board of Ontario) has all the holiday gift packs in their stores. I have already picked up a couple of Innis and Gunn holiday packages, and I will have a review up soon.
I had planned on hosting a cookie exchange this year, but it looks like I am out of dates to attempt that. I may try and sneak in a very small one if I can get a few people interested. I do still plan on baking cookies with my daughter this year. She really likes helping in the kitchen, and even decorated halloweed cookies with my wife. I will share some family traditional favourites cookies along with some new ones I plan on trying.
Christmas is going to be at our house this year as well. My brother and his family and our mother will be coming over on Christmas Eve and spending a couple of days with us. The last few years we have been going to my brother’s house for the Christmas holidays, so this year it’s our turn to host. I will have lots to do. I’d like to have a somewhat non-traditional Christmas dinner, I think most of our family is ok with not having turkey for Christmas dinner. In fact my sister in law calls turkey insipid! A comment we never let her forget. Last year my brother made an excellent prime rib roast for Christmas dinner, so I am considering having that again. But I am also on the look out for other fancy dinners.
The kitchen renovation is kind of a big deal. I have never had any input to the kitchen design or layout and now I have had a lot of input into what we will be living with. In fact my wife and her parents (they live with us) have largely backed off and let me have my way in most of the decisions. I have made an effort to take their wants/needs into consideration, but I did get my way with the type of cabinets, counter top and cabinet hardware. It helps I guess that we all do have similar tastes in that regard. I will try and get some pictures up of the process.
December promises to be a very busy month, and with all the food related activities I should have lots of material to bring to TGK.
