A Very Some Assembly Required Christmas

Oh my goodness. I hope I haven't lost you all. It's been a shamefully long time since I last wrote. You've probably been imagining me consuming frozen pizza and burritos in a massive post-holiday backslide, unable to right the ship and 'fess up... but no, it's just laziness and lack of will that have kept me from writing. I have been faithful in deed to the project for the most part. We traveled to my homeland (Nebraska) for the Christmas, where my wonderful family gamely participated in a wonderful Some Assembly Required Christmas Eve Dinner and Christmas Day Brunch. (I think the daunting task of getting all of the recipes collected has been part of what has kept me away so long.) It was great fun and very sweet that everyone got on board. It made it seem like a real old-fashioned Christmas. That feeling was largely aided by the Snowpocalypse. A giant blizzard on Christmas Eve that made it impossible to reach my parents house in anything short of a military grade SUV. Our family friends, the Laughlins who always come for a Christmas Eve cocktail party had to abandon their minivan about 3 miles from our house. They shuttled the remaining family back and forth in a Chevy Tahoe, luckily the newborn twins and their five month old cousin were in the first carload. It snowed steadily all night, so everyone was eager to get back to their homes for fear of spending all of Christmas stuck with us. I felt for everyone who had to drive, but since I had no place to go I said "let it snow, let it snow, let it snow."

But the food is what we are here to discuss, not the weather. I am going to try to remember everything we had. My sister KK spearheaded the efforts and deserves most of the credit. For the cocktail hour we had, Babaganoush, Hummus, Artichoke Dip (I made the Mayonnaise and Sour Cream), Bruschetta,
Jumbo Shrimp with Creole Cocktail Sauce (I made this). Cranberry Walnut Bread (Which is the simple bread recipe with cranberries and walnuts added for holiday flair). KK made several loaves of French Bread for the bruschetta, the artichoke dip and to serve with dinner. My cousins Erin and Diane made croissants, a yummy yogurt dip and candied nuts. (Am I forgetting something?)

For dinner we had pork tenderloin, prepared by my dad, master chef and overseer. My cousin Johndor took charge of the mashed potatoes, salad was the domain of my sister Maur Maur, but I think she had to slavishly work some OT in Santa's Workshop, so KK ended up handling it. There were also carrots with raisins, focaccia bread and the afore mentioned French Bread.

My brother Chewy made a wonderful Vegetarian Bean Soup, that ended up getting shuttled to Christmas Day eating because of the abundance of other options for this meal.

For dessert my Aunt Cathie made an apple bake, which is like an apple pie, but on a cookie sheet so it could feed more people.

Anyone who attended, feel free to let me know if I forgot anything... I will be coming back to edit this one as I get the rest of the recipes posted.