Who doesn’t love tradition over the holidays?
For us the holiday is about traditions that begin with tree trimming. Ours is a simple tree decorated with unique ornaments that we have acquired over 25+ years of travel. The tree becomes the focus of our living room from early December through the 12 days of Christmas. I am not allowed to break down the tree before the Epiphany (Three Kings’ Day).
Holiday music, a roaring fire, a sparkling bevvie and cheese fondue usually accompany our tree trimming. And with any luck there is an episode of the SNL Holiday Special saved on the DVR to watch afterwards.
Classic cheese fondue
The fondue is a tradition that goes back to Christmases of my youth – it wasn’t a proper holiday unless we had at least one cheese fondue as a family. When I went to college, my Mom sent me off with a number of family recipes that were handwritten on index cards, the fondue recipe among them.
Christmas Breakfast
One of my wife’s sisters celebrates her birthday on Christmas, so her family developed a tradition for Christmas morning focused on a birthday brunch of scrambled eggs and smoked salmon over toast, accompanied by Champagne. That is a tradition worth adopting, so we have done the same for decades!
Our eggs are based on a recipe that Gordon Ramsey featured on a holiday special we saw some years ago. The eggs are cracked directly into a saucepan full of butter, stirred until they break and folded until they are softly cooked, then taken off the heat and finished by stirring in heavy cream so they stop cooking and become silky smooth. This dish is unbelievably rich and decadent!
Happy Holidays!