Happy Holidays!

Christmas was in Vermont this year and we had all the trimmings... some fluffy new snow, a huge tree loaded with presents, christmas cookies for Santa, and of course, a seafood feast. Add to that one very excited 3-year old and you can imagine what it was like. 90% of the gifts under the tree were for Aiden, so I'd say he made out like a bandit. We are still wondering where we're going to fit all the toys he received when his closet and toy boxes are already brimming at home. Time for a little New Year's cleanse, probably...

On Christmas Eve we had a wood-fired pizza party with the Pottmeyers... the big boys braved the chill to cook pies in the outdoor oven while the rest of us chatted inside and Gerritt and Aiden watched retro Tom & Jerry cartoons and 3 Stooges re-runs.

Micah and Becky brought a cooler full of lobster, scallops, huge shrimp, and tuna steaks up north so our Christmas dinner the next day was absolutely delicious, though it may seem non-traditional to some. It's becoming a tradition for us to have seafood-fest at every holiday that involves M&B... it's nice to have relatives in the fishing capital of the northeast! Our lone contribution was our harvest of oyster mushrooms, but those went over really well too. We ended up dipping them in egg and herbed bread crumbs, and then pan frying them in butter & lemon juice. We're currently waiting for the next "flush" of shrooms to mature so we can try another recipe.

Before we all went our separate ways (us to NH, M&B to MA, and my parents down to the FL) we had to make it into Burlington to stroll under the holiday lights on Church Street and eat at A Single Pebble. After a little Mock Eel, Double Garlic Broccoli and Bejing Street Noodles, we all felt fat and happy. And a special Boxing Day surprise- my cousins Sarah & Joe had their baby girl Francesca just a few miles away at Fletcher Allen Hospital!