Twas the day after Christmas and all through the kitchen...

I thought I’d share the menu from our Christmas night dinner. Our leisurely day afforded me the chance to do some more specialized cooking – especially where dessert is concerned. I enjoy making extra special meals for the holidays. It’s important to me that the people I love feel catered-to on Christmas. I try to make them feel so through the gifts I give, the way I present them, the food I serve….even the way I decorate the house is intended to make my family feel at home and comfortable. I want everything they encounter to be lovely and special. I’m sure my family considers these expectations that I place on myself to be way too high – but that’s just who I am. I have learned to be more flexible over the years. I guess age tempers some of the obsession, but that Norman Rockwell image still lurks in the back of my mind.

Anyway, I digress. Dave and I had the following for dinner:

Salad
greens, bacon, avocado, caramelized pecans and gorgonzola cheese tossed in a honey lemon vinaigrette
(I dressed the salad and stacked it on top of the plate using a small can with both ends cut off. It’s a neat way to present a salad because when you carefully remove the can the salad remains stacked in a cylinder….if you’re lucky!)

Filet Mignon
wrapped in bacon and broiled in the oven
(The BBQ grill picked tonight to ran out of gas – so we had to use my freshly-cleaned oven.)

Scalloped Gorgonzola Potatoes
Individual casseroles of sliced Yukon Gold potatoes in a creamy gorgonzola cheese sauce
(Well, it was supposed to be a gorgonzola cheese sauce but the gorgonzola I purchased was SO salty and strong that I decided not to use very much of it. Instead, I topped the casseroles with grated parmesan cheese. Still good, but not what I was going for.)

Haricots Verts
steamed and tossed in a Dijon vinaigrette
(Yay Whole Foods for having real French green beans! These thin beauties cannot be bested by their American counterparts. The vinaigrette gave them a little added kick.)

Chocolate Mousse in Tuiles
on a bed of crème anglaise with fresh berries
(Here’s a picture. After some false starts making the chocolate mousse and a problem trying to pipe it into the cookie cup with a pastry bag I ended up just using a small ice cream scoop. I also had a heckuva time with the tuiles. Been a while since I've made them. I had forgotten how hard they are to get off the pan - even with a Silpat. I love these rectangular plates. They have so many possibilities and make for such a different presentation from the usual round plates.)

So, consider going all out for that special holiday dinner. New Years Eve is coming up. If you’re planning to stay in, put on the dog! Pull out all the stops! Insert whatever other cliché you can think of here! Show that special someone(s) that they are special to you!

p.s. While I believe he enjoys my cook-fests...or at least the product thereof, Dave dreads them because it means he has a kitchen-full of dishes to wash. He is always a trooper though. He understands, is tolerant of, and even supports my culinary and holiday perfection afflictions. Bless him for that! By the way - thank you honey for the Chocolate Tempering Thermometer!! I love it!