I love it when Hanukkah and Christmas are not right on top of one another, so we can savor the holidays separately. This is what we did this year, in between sicknesses and every child friendly activity we could get crammed onto the calendar.
To begin with, we enjoyed Hanukkah with our family and have some sweet memories. Our son grew to know the lighting of the menorah and receiving a gift each night. We celebrated with a family dinner at Grandma Pressman's. I was only too happy to not host this time as we were still recovering from Thanksgiving. There is nothing like homemade latkes or potato pancakes for those that keep it simple. And what to go with that but a great brisket of course and homemade applesauce. I brought the all important applesauce, which is a great partner to the latkes. I tried this recipe of Ina Garten's after watching an epsidoe of her show and wanting to jump into her kitchen when she began the tasting - http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/homemade-applesauce-recipe/index.html
This year we went without my traditional sufganiyot (donuts). That was fine in my book since I had given up refined sugar for 6 mo. The photos of our lil man are a testament to the tasty parts of Hanukkah.
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| gingerbread train - yes, for the train fans |
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| Grandma P & A worked hard on this one |
Did I mention all the activities there are to do with a toddler under the guise of the holidays. Well you name it, we probably did it, all in the span of just a few weeks (the norm you say for the crazy busy family that we are?). Here were a few.... Sleepy Hallow Christmas lights, breakfast with Santa, Christmas tree lighting, pictures with Santa. Here were a few creations that we did together as well. Of course Mommy had a chance to enjoy some festive times as well and managed to do some cooking and eating along the way too. There was the surprise b'day party for my dear friend Hilary that I made some apple cranberry dessert bars. A holiday tea at Trump's - which I recommend not ony for the tea, but the view is amazing on a clear day. My monthly book club, turned cookie exchange this month - so some chocolate bark & a family cookie were enjoyed. It is more fun having your lil boy help you cook and bake - to see his zeal for helping is just amazing.
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| Dark choc sated pretzel bark 2 c. dark choc melted - pour out on lined cookie sheet, add 1 c pretzels, melted caramel & 1 tsp sea salt |
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| Grandma Pulsinelli's Snow Balls |
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