I'm dreaming of a wet Christmas (oh... no I'm not)

Needless to say, I slept in until 9:00 AM on Christmas Day. Between midnight mass and early morning blogging, I was beat! Checking through the windows on the weather, I don't know if we got the freezing rain during the night, but it was raining like a bitch out there when I woke up.

I put on a pot of coffee (on the advice of both my brother Carl and my son Jeremy, I only make four cups these days. That translates to a couple of mugs each morning) and then I cleaned up from last night's wild birthday bash (two saucepans, the griddle pan and a plate. Crazy, man! What was I thinking?)

I started a load of laundry (yes, even on Christmas, duty calls). I had WNIC on (all Christmas music, all day with NO commercial interruptions) and, despite the stupid weather, I was trying to get into the Christmas spirit.

But, I must admit, repeated assaults of the same Christmas music seems to have the opposite effect. The fourth or fifth time they played "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas" I snarled and said, "Look outside *ssholes! It looks like an early Spring day and a depressing one at that!"

Jake called around 11:00 AM to wish me a merry Christmas. Then Lu called just after noon and wished me the same.

After that, I started on my Christmas dinner. I had thawed out the other turkey breast I roasted a while back and put that in a skillet with a cup of chicken stock to slowly warm up. I clamped a lid on it and prayed to the kitchen gods it would warm up without drying out.

Next I peeled a pound of Yukon Gold potatoes, cubed them and got them cooking. Then I also peeled a rutabaga, cubed it and cooked it in some salted water as well.

Sidebar: I think rutabagas and parsnips are currently the most under-utilized vegetables. I don't know why. They both have a distinctive, fantastic taste. But, that happens. I can remember for a period of at least 10 years when NOBODY used cauliflower. But, now its back (witness my cauliflower and goat cheese gratin) so maybe there will be a resurgence soon for rutabagas and parsnips.

Anyway, I put a jar of turkey gravy in a saucepan for my potatoes. Then I opened a can of jellied cranberry sauce and threw that in another saucepan (I am running out of cooking vessels, here.) While that melted, I threw in a big handful of dried cranberries. Now, I can't duplicate Carla's cranberry and strawberry relish. But, I think I can come close!

So, I finally plated everything. I cut the turkey breast across the grain and topped it with the warm cranberry sauce. I spooned on the potatoes and added a deep well of gravy. The rutabagas were added, topped with butter and salt.

I found another channel showing Bing Crosby's White Christmas (I love Vera Evans, but you know that). Christmas dinner was fantastic!

When the movie was done, I went out and cleaned up the kitchen. My friend B___ called around 7:00 PM to wish me a merry Christmas. His kids were all scattered, so they spent the day just making Christmas cookies.

Hey, despite the diabetic in me, I understand and can relate to that. In some of my most memorable holiday seasons, I think my recent favorite times were when my friend Tracy and her little dog Samson came over and we baked cookies together. That was fun! Now, the damn cookies are just another chore.

Anyway, with everything done and all the little ones snuggled in bed with visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads (okay, its just Caley and Scruffy and they are probably dreaming of tuna fish, not anything sugared) I bid farewell to Christmas 2009 and wish you a merry and prosperous New Year. I love you all, but you know that already (I hope). God Bless!