Have you voted in the photo contest?
Four of our trip pictures have been entered in a photo contest run by the good folks at easycar.com. Oh happy day - all four photos are currently in the top 10 out of 370 photos. You can vote for each by clicking here, (remember 10 is a good vote! *smile*) here, here, and here.
Yes, you CAN vote for all four photos.
You can only vote once from any given IP address - this means you can vote once for EACH pic from both at home and at work! If you have two computers networked at home, you can only vote on one of them, however. If you have a Blackberry though, that is a third vote. If you send these links to friends, relatives, or people who bug you with unwanted e-mails - just think of the of votes! It boggles the mind.
Heck, do what I do - vote at every hotel, conference centre, and friend's house in which you find a PC attached to the internet. Don't be shy at all. :-)
Yesterday was a busy day here at casa Jerry, Paul, Victor, and Beckett too!
It started quietly - just me and the cats enjoying breakfast (the cats) and loads of coffee (me) while awaiting the entrance of sleeping beauty (Paul). Finally, at 9, he made his long awaited appearance!
We started off by opening stockings in the family room.
The cats got stoned on catnip treats.
Victor 'suggested' that I cease with the pictures and hurry up with the unwrapping of his gifts!
Finally the stockings were done and the cats wondered 'if this it?"
Then we moved into the living room where we opened the gifts under the tree. Santa was VERY good to us this year!
After the presents were opened it was time for breakfast. We enjoyed champagne and pomegranate juice, eggs benedict on savoury waffles, hashed brown casserole, and peameal bacon (what we Canadians call Canadian bacon - not that nasty stuff sold in the US as Canadian Bacon).
After breakfast it was time to get ready for the arrival of our guests. I had a baking crisis - we were low on cookies! Oh, the inhumanity! I took some logs of dough I had made out of the freezer and in an hour this was done.
Paul cleaned, tidied, and set the table. We were serving dinner for 8. Our dining room table was stretched almost to its full length - really, we need a larger house for such events!
We went with a predominate red and white theme this year.
Mom arrived (late, of course) and we enjoyed some white chocolate mint martinis.
It was time to take a break from cooking and open some more gifts. Woo hoo!
Mom had more catnip toys for the cats and they became quite crazed. At one point Beckett tried to eat his cat mat.
Paul's mom and step-dad arrived and it was time to open more gifts. Hmmmmm I can really get used to this!
Once all our guests had arrived we enjoyed a simple assortment of snacks - olives, cheese, and sausage rolls, while I finished dinner.
The first course was the delicious pumpkin soup with thyme and two cheeses selected for the Sunday Slow Soupers by Nancy. Everyone RAVED about this soup.
The main course consisted of Standing Rib Roast with Porcini and Bacon Sauce, Creamy Horseradish Sauce, Green Onion Popovers, Mashed Potatoes, and Green Beans with Pancetta and Shallots. I served Palma's famous cippoline onions at the table - these were a HUGE hit!
We took a wee break before dessert. We served some of our baking . . .
. . . our fruitcake . . .
. . . and because it would NOT be Christmas without mincemeat . . . mincemeat tarts!
Now, these weren't dessert, merely the accompaniment! For dessert we had a small wedge of Gina de Palma's incredible Cranberry Tarte. This turned put perfect - much better than when I first made it. Happily, I discovered that my oven runs 10 degrees cool. Baking has been much more successful since then (thank you Sunday Slow Bakers!).
Everyone left by about 9:30. By 10:15 we had finished cleaning up and were relaxing in the living room amidst the glow of the tree and the happy thoughts of the day. The best word to describe the day is full. Full of delicious food, wonderful gifts, laughter, wonderful company, good times, and festive cheer.
It was indulgent, but it happens but once a year . . .
I hope that y'all had a full day too!
Great photos, Jerry -- it looks like a wonderful Christmas! (Especially for Victor and Beckett -- I wonder what effect catnip would have on humans!)
And that cranberry tarte looks fantastic, I was drooling over it yesterday in Gina's book. I had had friends over for Christmas dinner and one insisted on bringing dessert -- gelato. I should have tried the tarte instead....
Posted by: sandrac | December 26, 2008 at 05:54 PM
Jerry-Glad you all had such a wonderful Christmas. As usual, your food looked wonderful. One of these days I've got to make Gina's cranberry tart. I did make the breadsticks, and we ate every one.
Posted by: Cindy Ruth | December 27, 2008 at 01:15 AM
Okay, that's IT...next year I am coming to YOUR HOUSE for Christmas...LOL! You are like the perfect host...your guests must feel well cared for, loved, and very special with all that you do and create. Love the flowers...I am going off now to search peameal bacon as I have no idea what that is and I thought that Canadian Bacon was the bacon of Canada...sometimes one can get to be this darn old and still be this ~~ Kayte
Posted by: Kathryn Gerth | December 27, 2008 at 07:34 AM
Sandra - note to self - make tarte, gelato is nice ont eh side. Dids you serve some of those great lemon semolina cookies with the gelato?
Cindy - I was going to make the breadsticks but ran out of time, I don't think that anyone missed them.
Kayte - I think that we had enough food for you and the family! *smile*
The cats loved the flowers too and insisted upon climbing up on the table and chewing the greenery - which they promptly brought up all over the carpet. I spent most of yesterday spot cleaning. ARGH
Posted by: JDeQ | December 28, 2008 at 11:22 AM