The Christmas Roast Post

On the third day of Christmas, my true love gave to me:

Three French hens, two turtle doves, and a blog post full of love from me.

Merry Christmas from The Cheesecake Addiction! I hope it was very merry!

Far too much in the way of food happened to fully detail it all, so I’ll hit the highlights.

First, on the 23rd, I filled my first huge truffle order! I sold twenty two bags, large and small, and spent much time over the weekend slaving in the kitchen with CDR hand rolling the truffles to chocolatey perfection.

Then on Christmas Eve, CDR and I woke up crazy early so that I could make cheesecake. And I’m telling you guys, this time, it was PERFECT. No cracks at all! Just delicious. I  was mighty proud.

Me, admiring the lack of cracks in my beautiful cake!

Don’t forget the sour cream topping!

While the cheesecake set up in the fridge, CDR and I joined the rest of my cousins for our annual Christmas Eve trip to confession and then to lunch at Navy Pier. Never a dull moment with my Uncle John, let me tell you. Naturally, St. Peter’s was closed until 4pm, so we had to pile back into our cars and go over to St. Mary of the Angels. But not before we discovered Uncle John had the direct line to one of the priest’s, Father Santiago–an envoy from the Vatican. He called ahead to make sure they would be able to accommodate our large group (15 in total, though only 8 confessors). Upon arriving, we were surprised that we were directed to the rectory, and shown into the priests’ private chapel. Father Hillary took confessions, while Father Santiago told us the story of Christmas.

Then burritos at Navy Pier. Then home to help my mom with dinner. Check out the 17 pound rib roast.

This baby was rubbed with dijon, salt, pepper, and mustard seeds and cooked to a luxurious 130 degrees. Yummy.

And then we dug into the cheesecake.

Delicious!

On Christmas afternoon, before driving to Uncle Chris and Aunt Donna’s, we took the left over ribs, and made ourselves a luscious stock.

Left over rib roast

Ribs with parsley, carrots, yellow and red onions, garlic, salt, pepper, and bay leaves.

Add water (10 cups into the crockpot).

 

Simmer on low for up to 24 hours!

And a French 75.

Check out the Weekly Cocktail page tomorrow for the recipe!

Merry Christmas, kids. Just 363 more days to go. What adventures can we cook up this year?

 

So this is Christmas…Again.

One year and one day ago I posted this. A post with the same title and lessons similar to the ones I learned this year. I wrote:
” 1.If you lose yourself, don’t hate yourself. You’ll put the pieces back together.
2. If you feel caged, just jump. Do it. Feeling a weight on your heart isn’t worth it.
3. When you are sad, don’t listen to Melissa Etheridge.
4. If you are bursting at the seams, don’t hold it in. Scream, laugh, cry or do whatever you have to do. As Marilyn said, “If you can’t handle me at my worst, you don’t deserve me at my best.”
5. Sometimes, it’s okay to sleep in. The world can wait.
So this year, I’ve decided is my year of pushing my boundaries. I will take more risks and allow myself to be more vulnerable. I will heal and cleanse my mind and body and nourish them with joy. I will let loose. I do not need to be so tightly wound. I will go to bed late and dammit! I will dance on a table this year.”

So, I have two days to dance on a table. I’ll come back to that in a second…erm, a paragraph. If you read often, you know what a rough ride the past six months have been. And I know. You’re tired of hearing it. But isn’t the new year the time to be pensive and reflective? Of everything mentioned above, I did it all…except the table thing. I took risks, allowed myself to be vulnerable, I healed and cleansed, felt extreme joy, and you know…I did let loose. A year ago, my anxieties would have kept me home rather than going on an awesome (yes, I said awesome) trip to Canada or to Beach State Park when I was aching for clarity. The past month has been easier on the heart and body–stepping away from theater helped a lot. I am less tired and much more capable of handling the ridiculous ” you’re happy now” photos that Facebook throws at me. Bring it on!

Before I tell you about my delicious Christmas roast, please humor me a few more sentences. While I will remember this year for the lessons I learned, I think I’ll remember this year more for the…well…the snapshot memories. If I could choose a lesson that accurately depicts the whole year, I’d say it is: Cherish it. Cherish the pain, the joy, the breaths, the friends, the theater, the laughter, the love. Cherish Chris, Miriam, Wendy, Geoff, Gabby, Emily, Paul, and the countless others that got me through. Cherish the sun tan from that one terrible pier-side day that STILL won’t fade. I’ll remember always Canada, graduation, Rent (oh, I’ll never forget Rent). Some Nights reminds me of excruciating summer nights and Katy Perry reminds me of Paul car dancing.

When all is said and done, have you said everything there is to say? Do the people in your life know exactly how you feel about them? Has everything been made right on your part? I am not sure I can say much in the way of accomplishments this year–but I can answer “yes” to those questions. And that’s good enough for now.

So thanks guys. Now, forChristmas Eve this year, I made another standing rib roast. I coated it with the help of a smokey, peppery brown sugar rub (made by the awesome CDR). Cooked it fat side up, searing at 500 for twenty minutes, and then continued cooking for two hours at 350 until medium rare. The flavor was unbelievable. Incredible BBQ taste. Delicious bark and tender, juicy meat. Soo good.

COAT it with the rub! Mm, mmm, good!

Out of this world!

As an appetizer, I also made Brie en Croute. My standard recipe. Just bake Brie and a honey, rosemary, cranberry mixture in puff pastry until golden brown.

put honey mixture in the center.

wrap pastry around it.

Serve!

And of course I made a cheesecake. And honestly, it was the best one I ever made. Extra creamy, crumbly crust. Outstanding and hats off to myself. Yay.

‘And a Merry Christmas to your family.’