Lawson Family Christmas

We celebrated Christmas with the B's family yesterday. His brother and his family were in from South Boston, and his aunt was here from New Jersey. We got to his parents' in time to visit with Gramp - I was especially glad, as my cold had kept me from visiting him for a few weeks.

The day got off to a rough start when we temporarily "misplaced" Sambucca. We had let him out shortly after we arrived and about a half hour later, B asked if someone could let him in. His dad came into the living room a short time later and mouthed to me, "Bucca is missing." I didn't give it much thought, as Sambucca NEVER wanders...we went out and called him. Nothing. With my heart in my throat I walked up to the main street, afraid but not really believing he had ventured that far and had been hit. Nothing. B went out in his car, his sister-in-law took her dog in another direction, and I was walking up and down the street calling for him.

I was starting to think someone must have taken him, because - as anyone who knows him knows - Bucca's herding instinct and attachment to B would prohibit him from just walking off.  Then, just as his dad was heading out in his car and as he passed B coming back in his, I thought again "Poker would NEVER wander away. He HAS to be here." I turned back to the house and spotted the garage...sure enough, there he was, right inside the door! Someone must have gone in and closed the door without realizing Bucca was in there.

You have never seen happier people than we were. Buc was nervous and thought he was in trouble, since we all had been shouting his name (with increasing panic and urgency) for about 5 minutes - the longest 5 minutes. The poor pup!!  That would have taken Christmas in a whole new direction...

I starting drinking wine right after that!

Thankfully, my appetite wasn't terribly affected by the dog-hunting drama. B & I were in charge of appetizers and decided to make two new ones. I made this crab dip from Allrecipes.com, one of my favorite places to search for recipes. I love that most of the recipes are posted by home cooks like me, with normal ingredients, and I love to read the reviews. People are really specific about what changes they made, how it worked out, etc. So, never one to make a recipe exactly as written, I pieced together some info from the reviews and used a little more mayo, added sour cream, sauteed the onion w/ some garlic, and added some Cholula hot sauce and finely shredded Monterey Jack cheese, and served with toasted baguette slices. Everyone else loved it, but I wasn't crazy about the texture...I will definitely continue to saute the onion and garlic, but next time I think I'll use less cream cheese and mayo, more Cholula, and will skip the sour cream and cheese. Might add a little cheese and some Panko to the top.

B picked a Swedish meatball recipe from Penzeys Spice. His dad proclaimed they were the best meatballs he's ever had! They were delicious - definitely a keeper!

Christmas Eve Swedish Meatballs

Meatballs:
1 lb. ground beef
1 lb. ground pork
1 lb. ground veal
1 C minced onion (1 large)
1 1/2 C bread crumbs
2 T minced fresh parsley
2 - 3 t salt
1/4 t ground black pepper
2 t Worcestershire sauce
2 eggs
2/3 C milk
1/2 C vegetable oil

Gravy:
1/2 C all purpose flour
2 t smoked Spanish paprika
1 t salt
1/4 t ground black pepper
4 C boiling water
1 1/2 C sour cream
2 whole bay leaves

1. In a large bowl, combine all of the meatball ingredients except the vegetable oil and mix thoroughly.
2. Shape into walnut-sized balls.
3. Heat the oil to medium-high in a wide, deep pan.
4. Brown the meatballs in batches so they aren't overcrowded.  Use tongs to flip them. Figure about 6 minutes per batch, flipping them after 3 minutes.
5. Remove each batch from the oil after browning and set aside. (B drained them on paper towel.)
6. When all the meatballs are browned and removed from the pan, make the gravy.
7. Add the flour, paprika, salt and pepper to the drippings in the skillet. Stir and scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
8. Whisk in the boiling water. Whisk well, reduce heat to low, then whisk in sour cream. Add bay leaves.
9. Return the meatballs to the grave and simmer for at least 20 minutes.
10. To keep warm for serving, place the meatballs and the gravy in a slow cooker on low setting.

B followed the recipe almost to the letter with a few exceptions: He used regular paprika (since we didn't have smoke Spanish) and left out the bay leaves (again, none in the house) - would try to use both next time just to see what difference it makes.  Also, since we were in  a rush to get to his parents', we never simmered the meatballs and gravy on the stove top - we transferred both finished products directly to the crock pot and let them warm for about two hours before we served them.  They got better and better as they warmed!!

Hope your holiday season is going well. Next weekend we celebrate with the Martins...always fodder for a good story!