Christmas Rollover...

The holidays always give way to an extremely thinly spread schedule of driving the triangle between New Orleans, Baton Rouge,  and Mandeville and in the past few years that Vincent and I have been together, Alexandria has also be added to that mix! Don't get me wrong - I love visiting everyone, but it's difficult to drive so many places and surprisingly, even harder to eat a meal upon arrival at each one! This Christmas was very warming because there are so many different things going on in my life - such as the opportunity for me to go to PA School in May pending a great interview next week, Vincent's potential job offer in Colorado, and among other things the fact that I have had an increasingly time consuming work schedule lending little time to visit with family since the summer. Needless to say, I was happy to see all of them and vice versa.

So many delicious meals were served in 4 days! It all started with the Feast of the Seven Fishes at my dad's house on Thursday and coffee with Katie the next morning at the Bean Gallery. Friday for lunch, I met with my 4 best friends and our boyfriends for lunch at Zea - an inspired American restaurant. You really can't go wrong with a tabasco pepper jelly spinach salad and a small dish of piping hot roasted corn grits... it's just heaven! That evening after Christmas Eve Church, my mother and her husband had several of their friends over for tapas and drinks. We had an assortments of cheeses and dips - hummus, guacamole, fresh black bean salsa and as a more filling option - a spicy pot of lentils my mom made was simmering away on the stove; yum! Christmas Day was filled with an assortment of delicacies from my Mimi Lambert's house and later that evening the Hamblin Household! Thanks to everyone for understanding how quickly I had to jump around in order to fit everyone in and a special thanks to my love for driving almost all of the weekend because of my back pain (which I hope to get taken care of after an MRI next week!)

Now.... the menu.

Christmas Lunch at Mimi's

Mimi's Beautiful Christmas Table

Christmas at Mimi's is always a fancy affair. There were deviled eggs that were incredibly moist and creamy to go with a spicy bloody mary when we arrived. Next, Katie brought over a bottle of Louis Roederer Champagne that my dad sent (yes, it was from France - not to be confused with Roederer Estate, which is really delicious sparkling wine from California).

For the Meal, we had a traditional turkey, which was brined the night before ( a first for Mimi),  cranberry salad, sweet potato crunch casserole - a pecan topped delight, whole wheat rolls, and the star of the day... Mimi's Oyster Dressing. Okay, stop. If you have an opinion about oysters, dressing, or Oyster Dressing... it's wrong until you have tried this. Sauteed peppers and onions mixed with the freshest oysters that you can get, baked in the oven with buttered breadcrumbs on top. YES! This was perhaps the best thing I've eaten in the last month. Mimi, you're oyster dressing is delicious! To go with the already well planned and executed spread of Mimi & Pa dishes, my mom brought over some mixed vegetables and also a wonderful spinach and artichoke casserole - one dairy free - and one with a little parmesan for fun. 

Of course, growing up in New Orleans - I never had to worry about what was going to happen with the turkey carcass or the leftover meat. Gumbo. Naturally. This process began before we ever even sat down to eat Christmas dinner, thanks to Pa! 

Ever since I can remember, I've been in charge of desert for the holidays. This year, I wanted to do something that wasn't traditional, but I couldn't let Mimi down so I made 2! The first was a traditional bread pudding studded with raisins and topped with a buttered rum sauce. Next, I made a French Apple tart - courtesy of Ina Garten, probably my favorite chef of all time. I did a little Procido editing to the tart recipe in order to make it dairy free for Katie and Jen. Instead of using butter in the pastry, I substituted Earth Balance - a non-hydrogenated, dairy free alternative. The rest of it was just fresh apples and sugar... no problem there!

French Apple Tart

The tart makes for a beautiful presentation and it is so easy to make, there is no reason it shouldn't be on everyones holiday menu! Of course, I was skeptical of the bread pudding only because I knew how full I'd be after a Christmas Feast, but I at a few bites and it was to die for! Yum Yum Yum.

Now, you can only imagine how full we were after this tantilizing display of a feast... but with a cup of coffee and chicory, we were on our way to the Hamblin House for another turkey feast!!!

Mrs. Julie, Vincent's wonderful mom, always goes big when it comes to entertaining. She never complains, or worries, but when you get there - you know she's been working all day long! There was a ham, a roasted turkey, sweet potato amaretto casserole, bourbon and brown sugar baked beans, cornbread dressing, cream cheese topped with pepper jelly, hummus of two varieties, an assortment of home made cookies and candies... just to name a few. I'm sure there were probably 10 other things that I left out but can I tell you that it was all delicious. I really didn't have much trouble finding room for another meal, ha! (well... now you can probably tell, but hey - it's Christmas!)

I have to say, some of the greatest times we all have together are during the holidays - preparing and enjoying meals together and this holiday definitely did not disappoint! Thanks everyone for having us over and keeping our bellies (and my butt) full! Vincent will continue to look good through the next year, I'm sure. Merry Christmas!