Christmas Eve Springfield Style!

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The past few years I’ve tried to create a new traditions for our family– having “Springfield Style” Cashew Chicken our Christmas Eve dinner meal. I have to admit I stole this from my childhood neighbors, The Muetzels, but good traditions come from good people. The challenge for me of course is that we can’t just go out and buy Springfield Style– Toto, we’re not in Springfield anymore. So each year we’ve made it ourselves using the most accurate recipe Lyn and I have found. I think we’ve blogged about it before so I won’t go into details of the recipe.

This being my first christmas as an almost vegetarian I also made Springfield Style with crispy fried tofu– still good people, I swear!

Once the crab rangoon and fried goodness were gone, we broke out our only long-term, unique-ish Christmas tradition… The Christmas Game.

 

I can’t even remember when we got The Christmas Game it’s been in our family for so long. I think it came from Skaggs AKA Osco AKA CVS. The game, like Christmas, is all about collecting gifts and ridiculous moments of chance that are very holiday specific and sort of realistic when you think about it. We love it, even dad, though he grouses sometimes about playing.

We have friends who are honorary family members and Jessica (Lynley’s best friend) has been an honorary Farris the longest. As many of you know, she and Lyn have been best friends since they were 3, so Jess basically grew up with The Christmas Game too.

During the game, there are Santa cards that help you out, Scrooge cards that are a humbug because something bad most likely will happen and reindeer cards (which are my favorite) where you have to roll the dice to find out if something good or bad is coming your way.

We had to play in pairs which is not the normal way of playing and I think how people got paired up might not have the best mix for a “friendly” game…but it’s the holidays, a time when anything goes! Let me ask you this, have years of being friends made Lynley and Jess competative…you decide.

And the winners were….

Cheers to Springfield Style and the Christmas Game– long may you be a Farris Family tradition!

 

 

The Dinner before Christmas Eve….Noodles, Old Maids and some Whiskey

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Mom, Dad, and Lynley showed up at our house a couple days before Christmas, which was great because it gave us more time to cook together. Our first official Farris Family cooking experience of holiday 2011 involved mashed potatoes, grandma’s noodles, brussel sprouts with garlic tempeh, carrots and Blueberry Hill chicken. The Blueberry Hill cookbook is becoming on of my personal favorites and even though I don’t eat chicken much anymore, I was excited for dad to cook one of the inn’s most popular recipes.

Mom watching the cooking action.

 

Lynley knitting, observing and suppling the tunes.

 

Grandma's noodles cooking away in veggie broth. I make them huge, more like dumplings, but that's the way I like them and it's my house!

 

Mom cut all the potatoes and carrots. Good job mom!

 

Lightly pan frying the chicken.

 

Dad was in charge of the chicken.

 

My garlic tempeh brussel sprouts with some of dad's left over raw onion.

 

I’m not going to lie to you, but while the chicken baked for 30 or so minutes so drinking happened…

 And then some singing and dancing occurred – to this song in particular….

John came home from a long busy day at work to find us acting crazy in the kitchen, so he had to join in.

The potatoes were mashed and we were ready to eat.

Dinner with Blueberry HIll wine and chicken b with purple gravy!

 

Dinner with brussel sprouts and garlic tempeh

After dinner we played Old Maid– oh yes we did. If you haven’t played Old Maid since you were a kid, give it a try. It’s way more fun than you remember and  you can sort of strategize in really silly ways.

My hand.

Dad and Lynley at the bitter end…the crazy camera work only lasts for a few seconds.

I guess I don’t have to tell you who lost the second round…

Stay tuned for more hearty eaters holiday fun!

lets dress for dinner!

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when did dressing for dinner go out of fashion?  perhaps the family as whole has been watching too many british historical miniseries (aka downtown abbey, you got to freakin watch this show) where ladies of wealth and means change their clothes 8 times a day and always ending in some fabulous beaded gown for dinner and then mean look dashing in a tuxedo.

i don't know about you but wearing a mink at dinner makes everything taste better

dad on new years eve decided to bust out some sunday best for his feast he was creating.  which then triggered mom to put on some sparkle and break-out the good china.  perhaps just perhaps the farrises will bring back “dressing for dinner” in 2012.

lookin his best

 

mama's bling

 

and of course the meal: beef tenderloin, mashed potatos, grilled aspargus, trees & raisins

 

Favorite Meal from Tuesday (1/3): Moonstruck Toad in the Hole!

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My family loves the movie Moonstruck. When we were watching it for the hundredth time over the holidays, it finally dawned on us how to make the perfect toad in the hole. Why would this dawn on us you might be asking? Because Loretta’s mother, Rose, is making them for breakfast early in the movie…

You can actually sort of see one on Cher's plate in this picture.

Dad, Lyn, and I realized that the key to the Toad in the Hole is to toast one side of the bread in the pan first, then flip it over, crack the egg in it and let it cook.Usually, we just put the bread in the pan and crack the egg and try to flip it with out the egg running everywhere, which is impossible, but if you don’t flip it then only one side of the bread get’s toasted.

Armed with this new and slightly obvious revelation (AND a jar of fire roasted red peppers) I made Moonstruck Toad in the Holes for dinner.

The buttered side is toasting...

Toasty! Time for the eggs!

I put the peppers in the corner just like Rose did.

Bella, Bella!

That's amore!

Thank you Rose!

an attempt to eat everything in my freezer

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i’m moving and that means empty out the fridge of all its contents so there is less to move.  the freezer needed to be completely empty. it was a task at some points, i was on the verge of giving up at times, but now i sit here and all that is in my freezer is a jug of whiskey, that my friends is success!

sweet potato hash

 

pasta fagioli

 

spanish rice with veggie buffalo wings

 

pumpkin ale short ribs

 

chicken and stuffing

 

pie crust (in the form of chocolate candy cane mini pies)

 

sssllllluuussshhh

 

chicken noodle soup

 

pork dumplings

Sunday Dinner: December 19, 2011- Tofu Bless Us, Everyone

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John and I took a whirlwind trip to Chicago this weekend (up and back in less than 24 hours!) to see one of our favorite British musician’s (and John’s Doppelganger) Morrissey.

Morrissey is a serious vegetarian, so when we got home on Sunday, I made a tofu dish in his honor. It’s a recipe I use to make with shrimp, but garlic marinated tofu really is just as good ( I know you don’t believe me, but it’s true!)

While the garlic infused tofu was thawing out (I freeze mine to get the texture we like), I let it sit in some zesty Italian salad dressing and do a little extra marinating. When it was ready, I squeezed it a bit, then diced it into chunks. I covered the bottom of my cast iron skillet in olive oil and sautéed it with a heavy sprinkle of oregano and fresh ground pepper.

Next I added a cup of cannelloni beans and 3 cloves of chopped garlic. One of my goals for the new year is to get us eating 3 bean dishes a week. Magical fruit jokes commence.

I have to admit I was avoiding making a salad, why I don’t know, but I just was. So I added 2  1/2 handfuls of spinach and a little extra olive oil to the tofu, white beans, garlic mix. Not only does it add the color green to our plate, it jazzed up the tofu quite a bit! Yes, I just said jazzed.

On the side we had cavatelli pasta in a red sauce made by a company called Middleearth. The pasta sauce is incredible AND it’s also hobbit-y (can’t get much better than that).

...there were bread sticks too.

Right now we’re in serious Christmas TV mode. We own a lot of Holiday TV episodes, specials and movies. I’m not going to lie, the pressure is on to get them watched before the 25th. Dinner on the sofa, anyone?

We watched the Muppet’s Christmas Carol. I’m not going to say which one of us cried and which one of dozed off when during the moving Tiny Tim (aka Robin) death scene…I’m just telling you it happened.

My new baking buddies

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Since Halloween I’ve had 2 little baking buddies dropping by on Saturday and Sunday mornings.  A black cat and her identical kitten. Yes, I’ve taken the fateful step of naming them: Kitty Lickins and Cutie Lickins.

My true love, John, is extremely allergic to my new baking buddies so they must stay outside on the deck. This doesn’t keep them from showing up every time I bake something early in the morning…The Lickins family definitely has a sweet tooth!

Sunday Night Dinner: December 12- hmmm, no wonder my tummy just wanted eggs.

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So I spent last weekend baking things…

Friday I made fudge topped with candy canes. Not only did it involve 2 jars of Fluff, but also 6 bars of german chocolate.

While the fudge set, I had a piece of Sugar Cookie Pie. This is a  new recipe I’ve created and truly, can’t stop thinking about…or eating it.

Then Saturday  I made mom’s butter cookies. Christmas tastes like two things to me- peppermint ice cream and butter cookies (not together, but separate).

Well, I had to sample those to make sure they were ok…and they were.

While I packaged the cookies up for the neighbors, I was kind of hungry, so I had a piece of sugar cookie pie.

Finally on Sunday I checked on the fudge and DRAT- it didn’t set. A fudge failure. Of course I had to eat a few very soft pieces (4) to see if the fudge really wasn’t quality fudge.

Needless to say, my tummy was a little sugarized by dinner time. John suggested Matzo eggs, toast, and sleepy-time tea– good suggestion honey! Just what the tummy ordered!

The Stephanie and Lynley Thanksgiving Talent Show 2011- The Kingston Trio Better Watch Out!

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Three years ago Lynley and I decided our family Thanksgiving needed a little spicing up. The fun had gotten lost somewhere…so we decided to add a pre-dessert talent show to the feast.

The first year– we tap danced (we took around 4 lessons to prepare for our number).

Thanksgiving 2009

The second year– we dueled.

And this year– we ukulele-ed.

Can’t wait until next turkey day!

 

sunday night dinner: december 5, 2011 — cheeseburger and fries

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it takes me 8 hours to make a one way journey from the smoky mountains to the ozark mountains.  i know i’ve been in the car to long when i start applauding to podcasts. and i feel serious pity for the people who encounter my right when i arrive. lets just say 8 hours in the car and listening to 6 hours of npr can make you suddenly want to have endless conversations.  my reward when i hit springfield…..springfield cashew chicken, my reward when i get to knoxville….cheeseburger.

i started contemplating this cheeseburger at about the bootheel of missouri and listening to splendid table podcasts around nashville didn’t help the situation.  hearing about ice cream topped with olive oil and sea salt while in my mind debating waffle fries or seasoned fries really puts a damper on the granola bar you are eating.

le royal with cheese