Merry Christmas to All!!

First, I want to wish all my Bandita friends and families a joyous Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

And now … I thought I'd share some random thoughts and photos taken from my own family’s Christmas celebration.

We're a cozy group this year, just eight of us. Two of my brothers and their wives, my nephew, the DH and I, and mom. We're staying together at my mother’s big house in Palm Desert, California. Our first night together, we ate chicken tacos and watched that heartwarming, traditional Christmas film, Die Hard.

Here's a photo of Satina the reindeer. I think my mom's had this little creature since before I was born. Anyway, maybe it was the full moon, or maybe the desert heat made her thirsty, but Satina couldn’t stop staring at my brother’s martini (vodka, extra dry, shaken of course).

And now, revealed to the world at last, my mother’s super secret chocolate chip cookie recipe. I think you can all imagine the sense of betrayal I felt when I saw this. It took six cookies and half a bottle of champagne to overcome it.

One of the danger signs that you’ve passed over the threshold into middle age is when you get together with the family at Christmas and the first thing you do is compare surgery scars. Let me assure you this is not a family member but merely a demonstration of what you might expect to see at a Christmas celebration sometime in the future. I'm just sayin'...

Here's something a little bit cuter...or not. You be the judge. It's the jolly snowman on mom's coffee table.

On Christmas Eve we ate a lovely beef tenderloin (with apologies to our tofurkey fans, we named it Igor) and then watched one of my favorite Christmas movies, Love Actually.

And what about presents? Books, of course. Here are two mysteries I can't wait to read -- Tasha Alexander’s And Only To Deceive and Cara Black’s Murder in Montmartre.

An Ipod for Kate. Sweaters for everyone. Lots of gift cards for mom because she always returns regular gifts.

And a merry time was had by all!!

And finally, here’s the family recipe for Spicy Mixed Nuts. Be careful – they’re addictive! They’re perfect for a party and only take 5 minutes to make, plus 20 minutes baking time.

¼ cup butter
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp each: seasoned salt, celery salt and garlic powder
½ tsp ground cumin
¼ tsp. each cayenne pepper and pepper
1 c. shelled walnuts
1 cup pecan halves
1 cup whole almonds, lightly toasted

Preheat oven to 325 F. Melt butter in a small saucepan. Add Worcestershire sauce and seasonings. Simmer over low heat for several minutes for flavors to blend. Stir in nuts and transfer to a shallow baking pan. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Makes 3 cups. (Great with cocktails. And they can also be tossed on salads.)

Cheers!

Any random thoughts out there? What’s going on at your house this Christmas? KJ wrote from Africa yesterday. I’m celebrating in the Southern California desert today. Where else are our Banditas, friends and families spending the holidays? I'm giving away a $25 Amazon.com gift certificate to one lucky person, just for taking the time to come by and comment on Christmas Day!