Holiday Flurry

I intended to write a heart felt, or funny, or poignant, or profound post for the holidays.  But the fact is, I got caught up in the flurry that is part of the season.  Hanukkah is over, a a blur much like the candles in the window and the never still children.  I needed two shots just to get the faces of both my little angels.  That's Boaz, sitting on his mummy and Dov, speeding everywhere.

No one stands still long enough to get ONE great shot for posterity, so two will have to do.

Nor was there time to actually take photos of the table, the food.... I ended up making only two kinds of latkes rather than the four or five I intended.   I had made some Potato Beet Latkes that were tasty for a pretend Hanukkah dinner when my younger daughter, Sharron was in town.

No photos of the roast beef (studded with garlic, roasted on a bed of thinly sliced onions & thyme, rubbed with powdered mushrooms) or a variation on a Caesar Salad.

Or the broccoli trees - (my attempt to get little boys to eat some greens.  Dov, the little one played along for a while, biting off the "leaves" and giving me the stems for my winter forest.... trees that lost their leaves - I later found remnantsof the leaves under a plate!

Prep for dinner was easy,  with enough time to whip up a new favorite - Chewy No Bake Chocolate Macaroons, best eaten right out of the freezer before they get a chance to melt.

And since there is still some time left before 2012 shows up... a great White Bean, Mint & Parmesan Dip. that's perfect for a pre-holiday appetizer for a crowd, or a kick-off-your-shoes, hang-out-chill-on-the-couch kind of day.  I should have put it in my pretty red bowl, but, frankly, the dip was finished before I thought about it.   My advice, make a double batch!

Rather than make a bunch of resolutions for 2012, I thought I'd at least, try to catch up with some of the latest (and new favorite) recipes and cookbooks.   I'm still a little behind with both.    That said, I wish you all a joyous, prosperous and healthy 2012.  May it bring you all you wish for and then some.