Christmas Parties

We always have Christmas parties with our extended families.  This year, we had one with my mother's family (descendants of her parents), one with my family (my dad, my brothers and their families), one with Trent's family (his folks, siblings, and their families, and a January party with some of Trent's cousins.

The best party, though, is Trent's family's adult party.  No offense to any of the other parties, or to the idea of partying with my own children.  Love you all.

This party is restricted to Trent's folks, and their children and spouses.  Each of the eight couples writes a story - something from family history, something about childhood in the family, something that happened to our family this year, whatever - and buys a gift to go with the story.  We take turns to pick a random gift, hear the giver read the story, and go home with something fun and copies of all the stories.  Over the years, it has made for an impressive collection of family tidbits.  We laugh so hard, and we all love it.  Here is the picture from this year.

And here is Trent, who almost made it to his seat before the automatic timer went off.  Cute dance, honey.

Too Late

Just how late is too late for teenagers to come home?  And is a murderous glare grounds for Division of Family Services intervention?

I'm fascinated with the blend of near-blinding anger and frightfully strong worry. And too tired to do anything but think of scathing retorts to the arguments I know I'll get.

Must calm down, must sleep, must (not) kill sons.

Eating German

My dad's parents both came to America from Germany.  To this day, I stop when I hear a German accent because it reminds me of my beloved Opa and Oma.  Because we were taking my dad on our Christmas vacation, one of my goals was to make it as much like the German Christmases of his childhood as I could.

A huge part of a German Christmas is the food.  My Oma was an excellent homemaker and cook.  I wish I could learn more from her.  I talked to my dad and read German cookbooks to get the menu ideas I needed.    Here is what we planned (and mostly what we ate):

Day 1
snack: AIR-POPPED POPCORN (to eat, and to let a big bowl of it sit overnight so it would be soft enough to string and put on the tree)  We didn't get there early enough to do this.
dinner: PIZZA (from scratch, like we always make it.  It's not German, but I thought it would be easy to put together as we were arriving.  We were so late... we just got pizza and ate it on the trip.  Dinner fail.)


Day 2
breakfast: SAUSAGE AND GREEN PEPPER OMELETS (with fruit.  Trent is a big breakfast person, so he gets up for the morning cooking.  I think these turned into scrambled eggs without a good omelet pan.)
lunch: CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP & SPAM SANDWICHES (Dad loves fried Spam sandwiches.  Don't know why we didn't do this - maybe this was the day I was most miserable?)
snack: DOUGHNUTS* (*recipe at end.  We still need to make this one, as we didn't get to it.)
dinner: HAM DINNER (with pickled beets, rolls, German Potato Salad*, cooked veggies, and Schaum Torte*.  The cake was heavenly, and definitely a keeper!)


Day 3
breakfast: PANCAKES, EGGS & SAUSAGE (we topped the pancakes with syrup and applesauce)
lunch: PEANUT BUTTER & JAM SANDWICHES (We are so good at this one!)
snack: LEBKUCHEN* (German gingerbread-like cookie.  It isn't Christmas unless I make these!)
dinner: GERMAN MEATLOAF* (with rolls, baked potatoes, sauerkraut, and veggies)


Day 4
breakfast: EGGS AND CHEESY-HAM TOAST* (and fruit)
lunch: TOMATO SOUP AND GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICHES
snack: SOFT PRETZELS*
dinner: CHICKEN SCHNITZEL* with green salad and Spaetzel* and red cabbage (I forgot the chicken in the freezer at home, so I think we had spaghetti instead.  It's yummy, though)


Day 5
breakfast: OATMEAL BAR (with nuts, raisins, coconut, chocolate chips, sprinkles, apple chunks...)
lunch: POTATO SOUP* & HAM SANDWICHES
snack: COOKIES (chocolate chip and almond balls*)
dinner: TACOS (so not German, but Sunday tacos is our family tradition - everyone helps!)


Day 6
breakfast: FRIED EGGS & HASHBROWNS with fruit
lunch: CHRISTMAS EVE TURKEY DINNER (cranberry sauce, stuffing, rolls, mashed potatoes and gravy, buttered carrots, sweet potatoes, and jello salad)
snack: APPLE STREUSEL* with ice cream, of course
dinner: TURKEY SANDWICHES


Day 7
breakfast: CINNAMON ROLLS, EGGS
lunch: LEFTOVER SOUP (one of my favorite post-holiday dinner meals!)

This is why I stayed sick.  I couldn't rest because I had to cook.  But it was worth it.  Dad also loves rouladin, and wanted a fruitcake.  Next time.  We all loved the good food.  And at the end of the trip, and several times during, my dad said his stomach was satisfied.  He said he loved eating good food that was familiar to him.  Mission: accomplished.

RECIPES:

DOUGHNUTS
2 eggs + 2 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
2 T melted butter
2 T cream
1 teaspoon lemon extract
1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoons baking powder

Cream together eggs, sugar, cream, butter, and lemon extract.  Add milk and dry ingredients.  Pat out on floured board and cut into doughnuts.  Fry between 350 and 375 in deep fat until brown.


GERMAN POTATO SALAD
3 pounds small red potatoes, washed well
10 slices bacon (1/2 pound), cut crosswise into 1/4 inch strips
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon sugar
3 T cider vinegar
3/4 cup beef broth
2 T chopped fresh parsley

Cook potatoes in salted boiling water until just tender, about 20 minutes.  Cook bacon strips in large heavy skillet over medium heat, stirring, until browned and crisp.  Drain on paper towels.  Drain potatoes and let cool until you can handle them.  Cut potatoes into eighths, combine with bacon.  Cover mixture and keep warm.

Pour off all but 3 T fat from skillet and saute onion over medium heat until softened, about 3 minutes.  Add sugar, vinegar, and broth.  Simmer 2 minutes.  Add onion mixture to warm potatoes.  Add parsley and toss gently.  Season with salt and pepper.  Serve warm or at room temperature.


SCHAUM TORTE
1 cup cold egg whites
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 cups sugar
1 pint whipping cream
1 T powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
fruit

Beat egg whites, vinegar, and cream of tartar until very stiff.  While mixing on high speed, slowly add sugar.  Drop into 2 well-buttered pyrex pie plates.  Bake at 300 for 10 minutes, then 250 for 30 minutes.  Turn oven off and let cool in oven.

Take out of pie dish and put on  serving platter.  Lift off top crust - it will break - fill with 1/2 of whipped-stiff whipped cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla.  Put fruit(fresh or frozen berries, peaches, cooked sour cherries, etc.) on cream, and put the top back on.  Amazing!


LEBKUCHEN


GERMAN MEATLOAF
2 pounds ground beef
2 pounds ground pork (we used breakfast sausage!)
1 large chopped onion
1 cup bread crumbs
1 cup milk
3 eggs
1 T onion salt
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 T majoram
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon basil
4 strips of bacon

Mix all but the bacon, and pack into 2 loaf pans.  Put 2 strips of bacon on each loaf.  Bake at 300 or 325 for an hour.  Let meatloaf rest 10-15 minutes before serving.

EGGS AND CHEESY-HAM TOAST (an awkward name for Egg McMuffins on toast instead of English muffins)
layer a fried egg, a slice of ham, and some cheese between two slices of bread.  Put sandwiches on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 15 minutes - or fry up individually in a frying pan.


SOFT PRETZELS (My recipe is handwritten, in German.  Love it!)
1 T (small package) yeast
1 1/2 cup milk or water
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter
4 cups flour

Mix.  Roll into snakes and shape.  Bake 15 minutes at 425.


CHICKEN or WIENER SCHNITZEL
2 pounds veal stake or cutlets, or pork tenderloin or chicken sliced
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup flour
1 T salt
1/4 teaspoon majoram
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 cups bread crumbs

Cut meat 1/4 inch thick and then into nice sized portions.  Dip meat in batter of eggs, milk, flour, and seasonings.  Roll in bread crumbs.  Let sit in fridge for an hour or two (helps crumbs stay on better).

Fry in 1/2 inch of melted butter or oil or shortening.  Brown on both sides at 350 to 400 about 10 to 15 minutes.


SPAETZEL
1 cup milk
1 T salt
5 egg yolks
2 1/2 cups flour

Beat well, let rest for 15 minutes.  Bring 5 or 6 quarts water and 2 T salt to a boil in a large kettle.  Put part of dough through spaetzel machine and drop in water (or roll out thin, cut into strips, and drop in water).  Let boil 1 or 2 minutes.  Take out with strainer and put in cold water.  Drain.

To serve, put in bowl and mix in 1/4 cup melted butter.  Put in baking dish or double boiler.  Heat or bake for 20-30 minutes at 300.


POTATO SOUP
3 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut up fine
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
3 cups chopped celery
3 or 4 sprigs parsley
2 quarts water
2 pounds beef bone
1 T salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1/4 rosemary
1/4 teaspoon basil

Cook all together for 1 1/2 hours.  Blend until smooth.


ALMOND BALLS
1/4 pound butter
2 T sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup almonds, chopped fine
1 cup flour

Cream butter, sugar, and vanilla together.  Mix in nuts and flour.  Roll out into small balls and bake at 200-250 degrees for 30-45 minutes.  Cool.  Roll in powdered sugar.


APPLE STREUSEL

FRUCHT BODEN (crust)
1/4 pound butter
1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder

Cream butter and sugar.  Mix in eggs,flour, and baking powder.  Pat out dough to about 1/2 inch thick in a greased pie dish.  Can bake first, then add fruit, or the fruit can be baked with the crust.  (We poured apple pie filling into the unbaked crust, sprinkle with streusel topping, then baked.)

STREUSEL (crumb topping)
1/4 pound butter
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 to 1 cup flour
1 teaspoon almond extract

Crumble together and put on top of fruit.  Bake at 350 to 375 for 35 to 40 minutes.

Getting Ready for a Christmas Trip

I am a list-maker.  Especially when something big is coming up.  Like Christmas.  Or a vacation.  And especially a vacation and Christmas together.  I make lists of things to pack, things to do, things to buy, things to wrap, things to eat...  I might even need to make lists of my lists so I'm not as discombobulated with all my loose paper lists like I was this year.  I'm cleaning out my black bag- my brain when we are out - and I came across all my lists.

Packing for a one-week trip over Christmas:

• 3 sets of clothes (with a washer and dryer, this was plenty of clothing)
• snow gear (didn't really need since we were sick)
• Sunday clothes (worked well to pack this in its own garment bag)
• nativity bag (dress-ups for putting on the nativity - scrapped as I got too crazy)
• bathroom bag (wipes, medicines, bandaids, toothpaste, and all that bathroom stuff)
• activities bag (things for the kids to do)
• Christmas bag (decorations for the tree, stockings, lights, tinsel, wrapping paper)
• presents (boxes and boxes packed tightly with already-wrapped presents)
• kitchen supplies (pizza pans, bread pans, turkey cooker, other things I didn't know if they would have)
• food (lots and lots and lots)

The only category I got totally wrong was the food.  Maybe it was because we were sick, but we took way too much food.  I guess it's better to take too much than too little, but when there is  grocery store within 30 minutes, it might be worth it to not pack just everything.  On the other hand, I'd rather not spend vacation time grocery shopping.  

It makes me crazy to get ready and pack up to go somewhere.  I'm nearly good with getting ready for church, almost.  Anywhere else - get ready for a breakdown or two.  My listing helps me see that I am making progress and that there is really not an unending sea of things to do.

And maybe next time, the first thing on my first list will be this:

CHECK YOUR ATTITUDE.  THIS IS A VACATION, NOT THE END OF THE WORLD.  HAVE FUN!

O Tannenbaum

We have a fake Christmas tree.  It is nice enough and does the job, then folds up and hides under our stairs for the rest of the year.  The kids put lights and ornaments on it and it looks good.  I have given up on the idea of a perfect magazine-looking Christmas tree.  We raise kids around here, not home designers.

But to me, there is the quiet appeal of a real Christmas tree, calling to me.  I've only had a read tree two or three times, but I long for it.  I love the feel of real branches, the chill of picking out one just-right, the gummy excitement of setting it straight in the stand, the delectable smell of crushed pine needles in the vacuum.

This year, I decided, we will get a real tree.  We're going on a holiday vacation anyway, so we'll set up our regular tree for at home, then have a real tree for there.  I thought we'd just stop by a Christmas tree lot on the way out of town, strap it to the top of the tree, and away we go!

I was all prepared.  I had popcorn to pop and needles and string make garlands of popcorn.  I had white paper and scissors to cut real, six-pointed snowflakes.  I hunted down a package of tinsel so we could individually place the silvery strands "just so" like my dad's mother did.  I packed a few strings of the colored lights my boys prefer over the more calming white ones.  I purchased a tree stand and even a tree body bag for when it was time to go home.  All set?  You bet.

Of course, no plan goes exactly right.  At least none of mine do.  We go started too late in the day to stop by a tree stand.  The next day, we had to take a bunch of time to drive to town, inquire after real Christmas trees, and then drive to the next town to find one.  They were more expensive than the ones I saw at home.  And once we actually got the biggest little tree I could bear to pay that much for and lugged it home, we couldn't find the tree stand.  I had intentionally placed it between the front seats in the van so it wouldn't get lost.

After scouring the cabin and both vans (we don't have a van we all fit in so we have to drive tandem), we came to the disheartening conclusion that we had left the tree stand home.  I was too sick to go any further, so Trent went back into town to locate another stand for our poor tree.  He found one at the third place he stopped, and reluctantly paid double for it.  We have a hard time parting with our money, I guess.

As he left the hardware store, he got a flash of inspiration.  Why buy a tree stand when you can make one?  He went dumpster diving, found a bucket, and came home with it and a pile of rocks.  Where he found rocks when everything was covered by a foot of snow is beyond me.  We stuck the tree in the bucket, tried to secure it with rocks, and ended up tying the tree to both sides of the cabinet behind it.  It's a good thing we had green twine!  It had a nice, back-woodsy, Charlie Brown Christmas tree feel.

And we found the tree stand in our driveway when we got back.  Just so you don't worry, we've returned both of them.

Home for the Holidays?

We drove for long time to get to the cabin in the mountains where we spent Christmas this year.  I've been itching to have a family vacation before James leaves on his mission.  It's our last!  The last family vacation with our family as we know it!  After this it's all different.  <mother sigh>  So we left over Christmas.  It was nothing fancy - just a place where we could hunker down and be together.  And we took my dad, for the first Christmas without my mom.

It was different to not celebrate at home.  It was fun to do some different things, and nice to be away from some of our normal daily distractions.  Cooking and laundry, however, we took with us.  A little less home-y, but still fun.  To me, it's more about being together.

Twenty-five years ago, my family went to Disneyland for Christmas.  We (er, my Mom) plotted and planned for an entire year to pull the trip off.  She pulled strings, called in favors, and hunted for good deals.  We were let in on the secret during the summer, and we were all for it.  We were ok with spending our Christmas money (and presents!) on Disneyland.  I have fond memories of that trip, and the fun things we did together with our family.

Seven years ago, Jay died just before Christmas.  The next year, I pulled off a monumental surprise and whisked the boys away for the holidays - to Disneyland.  That way, we didn't have to celebrate at home - with the big hole of him not there.  It was a good trip, made possible by many good folks.  Again, fun memories.

I'm glad we went this year, and made some new memories.  Even if we were all sick.

Blogging Break

I'm back.  We went on a Christmas trip, and I didn't blog.  Part of me was enjoying the break.  Part of me was writing stories in my head and thinking "I need to jot this down so I'll remember it" and itching to write. Part of me was reveling in just enjoying my family and not worrying about anything else.  And part of me was dog-sick with the flu.  We were all sick at one point, and due to it being the flu, most of the time most of us were sick.

All I wanted for Christmas this year:

And I have some funny stories that I must jot down before I forget them.  If I can stop coughing, I will. <hack, sneeze>