Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve is always a magical night -- Ryan and I really try to not have anything else going on, since it's so much fun to cook, play with the kids, listen to music, eat and drink! We started a new tradition this year, making Apfelstrudel. Now, there was a little drama when I introduced this...mostly because its a two-page recipe and a several hour commitment...but we got over it, got into it, and got it done!



The strudel dough was very interesting...you beat it up a ton to stretch the glutens. (Oh we had stretched our own glutens earlier in the day with a walk around the lake...in preparation for the Scalloped Potatoes that have 4 cups of heavy cream.) I have no idea how to bake; this was very apparent early on and Ryan thankfully took over and saved the dessert. Luckily, I did get a glamour shot in...see below:




It turned out beautifully. Ryan also whipped up a vanilla creme sauce (I don't know how he does it...double boiler and everything!) and the whole dessert was delicious!

I was spoiled with a new kitchen gadget...a Mandolin! I was about to handcut four potatoes for the Scalloped Potatoes and he pulled a gift out of the tree...it's beautiful and will make isaac food preparation very easy and fun! I also see Waffle Fries in our future.

Take a gander at our Xmas Eve photos...