Happy holidays! While we’ve prepared for the holidays for weeks now, I’m still not quite ready. Fortunately the shopping is done. Now we just have cooking/baking, cleaning up and wrapping to do. No worries though, it will all get done. It always does. For as long as the to do lists get this time of year, it never seems to stress me. I love the holidays. I love the traditions, the memory making, the family celebrations, the laughter and the love. And we’re already off to a good start. 
Last night was the first of our four celebrations, our traditional Christmas at my mom and dad’s. Would you be surprised that there was enough food to feed the whole neighborhood? It makes it hard to believe I have to cook more food! I’m having a hard time even thinking about it, I’m still so full. Here’s a few of the gems that adorned yesterday’s holiday table:
Cranberry Bruschetta
An Uzbek treat that seems to have become a regular at the holidays now, Sugar-Coated Almonds.
And of course Christmas isn’t complete without mom’s Oatmeal Cookies.
As for tomorrow night, it’s our special Christmas Eve dinner. Mike, Mr. N, Miss A and I will all sit down for an intimate dinner, we’ll open some presents (the kids usually exchange with each other on Christmas Eve), we’ll put on our new Christmas jammies, grab some cookies and milk and pile into the car for a Christmas lights drive before tucking the kids into their warm beds to await Santa’s arrival. It’s my favorite night of the season. 
On tomorrow evening’s menu is a special family recipe, but not one of our own. We’re making the Bartolini Lasagna. You can’t go wrong with a dish from Chicago John and his clan. In fact last year, Chicago John’s Spaghetti alla Carbonara was the star of Christmas Eve dinner. If I didn’t know better, I’d say the Bartolini recipes are becoming a Christmas tradition of their own.
Then it’s Christmas Day and the children will be up bright and early (At least not as early as my sister and I used to arise – sorry mom and dad!). We’ll spend the morning opening the goodies from Santa, lounging about in our jammies and listening to Christmas music. We’ve got hot cocoa and mimosas lined up to go and we’ll be serving them along with a batch of one of our most popular recipes from the past several years, the Maple Bacon Biscuits
The family will pop in after 1 p.m. and we’ll serve hot breakfast dishes all day long. The kids will likely still be in their jammies, unless we head out to sled, and we’ll have a slow, lazy day with our loved ones. 
But wait, there’s one more! This treat from Egypt has also become a staple at our holiday meals and we’ll be making this for the big day as well. Next to the oatmeal cookies, it’s one of Mike’s favorite desserts, the Egyptian Baklawa. I can smell the orange blossom water already. Mmmm!
Needless to say, we’ll be good and full come Wednesday night.
We wish you all a wonderful holiday, a Merry Christmas and an amazing New Year. Thank you all for following us here at Eat, Play, Love. We’ll be sharing a warming, healthy soup for the New Year and then launch back into cooking around the world. Until then, may you all enjoy peace, love, happiness and health throughout the season and the New Year. Happy holidays! Mike, Kristy, Mr. N and Miss A
Eat, Play, Love 