Cellar Scribblings

[serious crayons]

Merry Christmas Chuck and all! I'm going to my daughter's around lunchtime. Hope all these presents and food will fit in my car. I couldn't decide between mincemeat and pumpkin pie so I made a pie with mincemeat and pumpkin layers! Also a Waldorf salad, bruschetta with spreads and many relishes.

The pie sounds interesting! I can see how that combination could be good. And I love bruschetta. When I'm in restaurants, I often order bruschetta (bru-SKET-uh) and the server corrects me: You mean the bruschetta (bru-SHETT-uh)? I don't correct them back, but my younger son thinks it's snooty of me to even pronounce it correctly in the first place. Which I think is ridiculous -- it's not like I roll the R and go full Italian accent.

I'm making a Manhattan strip roast -- something my local fancy grocery store sells every holiday season -- and Brussels sprouts, which I'm hoping my son will prepare, and what some people call funeral potatoes. (I call them potatoes a la Beth a la Katy, because I originally got the recipe from Beth, but I modify it with Southwestern Simply Potatoes has browns and shredded pepperjack cheese and, instead of topping it with corn flakes, I use crushed jalapeno & cheese potato chips.)

For dessert, I bought a store-bakery red-velvet bundt cake. Not super confident it will be good, but I didn't have time or inclination to make anything myself and even though the store is kind of upscale, its bakery isn't great.

For appetizers we have shrimp and cocktail sauce via my ex-husband and packaged liver pate with crackers.

[Jeff Wrangler]

Merry Christmas Chuck and all! I'm going to my daughter's around lunchtime. Hope all these presents and food will fit in my car. I couldn't decide between mincemeat and pumpkin pie so I made a pie with mincemeat and pumpkin layers! Also a Waldorf salad, bruschetta with spreads and many relishes.

So how was the pie received?

I don't think I would care for the combination, but it's probably been decades since I had mince pie--and I mean "real" mince pie, with mincemeat in it. You can still get real mincemeat in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

[Front-Ranger]

We never got around to eating the pie. My son's side of the family didn't come, because they were all suffering from flu and/or pinkeye. So after Christmas dinner and present opening, my daughter and I packed all of son's family presents into her car and drove down to his place and delivered them. They didn't look like they were suffering but we could tell they were under the weather. Then, when we returned to daughter's they were all watching the Muppet's Christmas Carol, so we joined in. It was almost dinner time when I left. I was invited to stay for supper but I had to feed my cat and was completely exhausted. Several people remarked, though, that the pie was very pretty with its lattice crust and were amazed that I had actually made it rather than buy from a bakery.

[Front-Ranger]

I've made mincemeat with beef suet before but in recent years, I've just augmented the jarred mincemeat, which is mostly raisins (golden and regular), apples and citrus zest in a chutney-like sauce. I add more chopped apples, diced dried figs and additional seasonings. You can also add slivered almonds and brandy or rum; I don't.

For the pumpkin layer, I use my own pumpkin pie spice. Most others are too heavy on the cinnamon. I add just enough so that you can barely taste it and thus you are able to taste the other spices.