Christmas in New York City

In December 1997 I went to New York City with my sisters Deena, Ronda, Deb and my cousin Kim.  OH MY GOD...it was such a wonderful, memorable trip. I have a picture of us at Rockefeller Plaza sitting on my nightstand.  I see it every single day, and it ALWAYS makes me SMILE...

The tree was magnificent. Since that trip, every year when I watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade -- or the tree-lighting ceremony at Rockefeller Plaza -- I am snapped right back to those magical moments in New York City.. .spent with the women I most love in this world.

The last time I was in New York City during Christmas was in 2009 -- when my sister Deborah took ALL HER GIRLS. I was their unofficial tour guide. And we had a wonderful time. (I was learning how to blog -- so there were LOTS OF PICTURES.)...

As much as I love New York City -- every memory or good time I had was not because of the city -- but, rather, because of the people I was with.

Christmas is like that.  You could have the most elaborate tree in your neighborhood, the most perfect dinner in the history of Christmas dinners -- or the biggest train set in the State -- but if you don't have somebody to share it with -- what does it matter?

I try hard not to get all caught up in the decorating, cooking, shopping, etc.  Two weeks before Christmas, I put out the mugs and rugs.  I have Christmas CD's from Neil Diamond and Alvin and the Chipmunks...And the weekend before Christmas, we put up one white artificial tree with blue lights.  Lilly has been the sole decorator of that tree since she was 3 years old -- and that's fine with me.  The ornaments move a bit higher every year.  Maybe this year, Warren will help.

Of course, Christmas is about religion.  But it's also about making memories with the people you love.  And when it's all said and done -- what people remember...(often FOREVER)...is how you made them feel. 

So that's your mission.  Forget making the perfect Divinity (my Mom spent many hours laboring over that particular confection) or maxing out your credit cards to buy gifts they will not long remember.  Don't worry about cooking the most elaborate, delicious big sit down dinner at exactly 12:00 on the dot...relax.

Talk. 

Better yet -- Listen.

Play board games.

Eat nachos.

BE BRAVE -- START A NEW TRADITION!!

Ban cell phones.  (Good Luck, Ronda)...

Cracker Jacks Caramel Corn

Lilly was delighted with the way her delicious Nancy Zieman fudge turned out. We made one, plain chocolate, and the second batch had milk chocolate and peanut butter chips -- with LOTS OF MIXED NUTS cut up.  Sooo good.

Anyway -- the other element to her "gift tins" is Caramel Corn.  WOW.  This turned out SO GREAT...REALLY AMAZING...

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THIS IS THE BEST CARAMEL CORN I EVER MADE...

3 packages of Microwave Popcorn (be sure to carefully remove ALL the old maid kernels)

2 cups dry roasted peanuts (optional)...or, use salted cashews. DELISH...
2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup dark corn syrup
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Place the popped popcorn into two shallow greased baking pans. You may use roasting pans, jelly roll pans, or disposable roasting pans. Add the peanuts to the popped corn if using. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C).

Combine the brown sugar, corn syrup, butter and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring enough to blend. Once the mixture begins to boil, boil for 5 minutes while stirring constantly. Remove from the heat, and stir in the baking soda and vanilla. The mixture will be light and foamy. Immediately pour over the popcorn in the pans, and stir to coat. Don't worry too much at this point about getting all of the corn coated.

Take the pans out and stir the popcorn every 15 minutes. It takes about an hour for the caramel to harden....then, cool completely before storing in ziplock bags.

Here's Lillian's variation.  The moment you get the hot popcorn out of the oven, you sprinkle it all over with Cheddar Cheese Powder....

Trust me.  The kid is right.  This is absolutely delicious....

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Nancy Zieman Fudge

Years ago -- I got a microwave fudge recipe from Nancy Zieman -- which used a whole stick of butter. Then I saw Rachael Ray on the Oprah show -- she used the same recipe on the can of sweetened condensed milk -- which didn't use any butter at all. So here's what I've come to...



2 bags of chocolate chips (try different flavors -- like peanut butter, milk chocolate, mint...)
1 14-oz can condensed milk
1/4 cup (4 tbsp) butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt

Preparation:
1. Prepare an 8x8 pan by lining it with aluminum foil and spraying the foil with nonstick cooking spray. (or parchment paper)
2. In a large microwave-safe bowl, combine the chocolate chips, condensed milk, and butter. Microwave in one-minute increments until melted, about 2-3 minutes.
3. Stir to ensure all the chocolate is melted, then add the vanilla and salt. Stir until the candy is smooth and well-mixed.Add nuts at this point (I ADD LOTS OF WALNUTS)
4. Pour the fudge into the prepared pan and smooth it into an even layer.
5. Place the fudge in the refrigerator to set for at least 2 hours. Once set, cut into 1-inch squares and serve at room temperature. Store excess fudge in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

I AM SO DELIGHTED to be thinking about microwave fudge. Really. Fudge is one of the biggest benefits of the Christmas season.

In 2006 -- my cousin Jackie and I were fudge-making-fools...and the combo of milk chocolate and peanut butter chips was my favorite.  Lilly loves Candy Canes -- so we might chop some of them up to add to a batch...

Last year, Lilly and I made fudge, wrapped it individually, and packed it in little Christmas tins for her to give as gifts. (her bus driver, teacher, neighbor, babysitter.)

Who wouldn't love getting a gift of fudge from this little girl??

This year, she is adding another goody to her gift tins....(in tomorrow's post)...

Zion Lutheran Church Auction

Every city and town in America has it's annual "traditions". A spring garage sale, a Christmas Festival of Trees, a summer bicycle ride, etc.

In Princeton, Iowa, one of our fall traditions is the Zion Lutheran annual soup supper/auction at the Community Center. The year Lillian was four, she held up my number to place a bid -- the auctioneer AND the crowd thought she was adorable.  And I ended up paying $85 for a basket of doggie treats.  (Hey -- it is their main charity event)...

The room is packed. After the soup supper -- the auction starts...

This year, I was sitting with my niece, Nicole...we kept bidding stuff up, but didn't actually buy much...

The youth group was in charge of clearing the tables, pouring coffee, etc...

My grand-nephew Garrett was one of the young people who offered two hours of his time to be auctioned. Some people bought eight and ten hours of young-people-labor to do their fall yard clean-up, put up Christmas lights, etc.

It's wonderful to see the next two generations....Ross went to school with this little guy's Daddy....

So -- what did I buy?  In a future post, I'll show you the BEST THING AT THE AUCTION...

2015 Velour

This is the first blog post I ever wrote about VELOUR...

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Last year, for his birthday, Ross wanted a velour tracksuit. (Yes, just like the ones they wore on The Sopranos). He is fascinated by all-things-Frank-Sinatra-Rat-Pack -- and, apparently, velour was the latest in high fashion menswear back in the 60's...

Ross put on his new velour duds, and keeps stroking the sleeves, saying, "classy and sophisticated"...

I ordered Ross's velour from Amazon -- and two days later -- found Warren's at a thrift store...

Warren's FAVORITE thing to do is walk outside...

Ross ALWAYS takes him for a walk...and they do all the usual things.Visit the chickens, pick apples off the tree...check the doors on all the cars...

They always end up here....

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So -- a year has gone by, the weather is turning cold...and Ross is ready to whip out his Navy Blue Velour track suit. Warren, of course, has outgrown his from last year. (he went from wearing a size 18 months to a size 4)!!

After visiting six local stores, I was completely willing to order one off the internet.  BUT NOBODY IS MANUFACTURING velour track suits for toddlers.

Of course, it's not a huge problem -- BECAUSE I SEW...

And you won't believe the mash-up....pictures coming soon...

Gingerbread Recipe

Kim had purchased Gingerbread House kits...and to make things more manageable, she decided to put them together with a hot glue gun before the kids arrived.

GENIUS...

But, that means the houses are pretty much inedible (which is almost always true, anyway).  So, I thought it would be fun for the kids to roll out some gingerbread, and make cookies they could frost (and eat).  Also, there would be that wonderful aroma of Gingerbread baking in the oven...

So, the night before the party, I searched the internet and chose this recipe.  Because it doesn't have any baking powder or baking soda -- the cookies are crisp rather than cakey.  Perfect...

Gingerbread Cookie Recipe

6 cups All-purpose Flour
1 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Allspice
1/2 teaspoon Ground Cloves
1/2 teaspoon Ground Ginger
1/2 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
3/4 cups Margarine Or Softened Butter
1-1/2 cup Firmly Packed Dark Brown Sugar
1 cup Molasses
2 whole Eggs


In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, allspice, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Set aside. (I didn't have cloves or allspice)...

In a mixer, beat the margarine (or butter) and brown sugar until fluffy. Drizzle in the molasses, mixing well and scraping the sides of the bowl a couple of times to make sure it's evenly combined.

Add the eggs and and mix. Add the flour mixture in three batches, beating until just combined after each addition. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or more if you have time.
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Note:  The dough was very dry and stiff.  My KitchenAid nearly gave up.  The Pioneer Woman didn't seem to have that problem.   I divided it into two batches and put them in plastic bags, and kneaded it until the flour was incorporated.  It took some time and some elbow grease.  (translation:  Ross did it for me).

At this point, I used my kitchen scale to weigh the dough out into 12 oz. portions.  I wrapped the balls in plastic wrap, then flattened into a circle.  Each child would get a nice cold circle of dough.  Then, it went into the frig overnight.
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When you're ready to bake the cookies, remove the dough from the fridge and preheat the oven to 350 F. When the dough is soft enough to roll but still firm, roll out between 2 sheets of plastic wrap (if you roll it in flour, you'll have white gingerbread...)

Cut out shapes of your choosing and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a baking mat.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, depending on the size of cutters used, until the cookies are baked through but still soft. Remove with a spatula and allow to cool completely.

What I will be doing today...

Every Wednesday, Warren comes to my house to play and then, he spends the night. We all look forward to his once-a-week visits. He has a special relationship with everybody who lives here. Grandpa, me, Uncle Ross and Frankie.

My job is arts and crafts...

And this is how a two year old plays Boggle...

He loves watching the timer run out...

If you live in Iowa -- lots of political phone calls at this time of the year.

Uncle Ross is the official camp photographer...(how did you know I DID NOT take this picture?)

Frankie is the official RUNNING TRAINER...

Grandpa's job is chickens and chores...

Warren loves to help, and we appreciate it, buddy, we really do...

For the life of me, I cannot remember what I used to do on Wednesdays....