Christmas Round Up and a New Year’s Eve Tradition

Hi friends, and happy Thursday!

It’s hard to believe that Christmas has come and gone already! It felt even faster than usual this year.

My last minute hot water bottle covers got finished (on Christmas Eve, I might add!) and gifted to happy recipients:

The one on the right went to my grandmother, and the one on the left was a surprise present for Mr. N.  For both, I used the Bee Cozy pattern and Quince and Co.’s Osprey yarn.  For Mr. N’s, I swapped out the cables, just for variety’s sake, and took the leftovers from my cover and my grandmother’s to add something special to the back:

A lot of our holiday family traditions revolve around special meals.  Christma Eve night, we usually have a big dinner.  I didn’t manage to get any pictures, but we had a really delicious spread: a slow cooked ham, this delicious vegetarian/vegan/gluten free loaf, our favorite roast mushrooms, mashed potatos, brussel sprouts, and an apple crisp for dessert!

After opening presents Christmas morning, we always have a big Christmas brunch, and I managed to snap a few pictures before we all tucked in!

Spinach and cheese strata, a Christmas morning tradition for many years now (made with bread from the local gluten-free bakery), just about to come out of the oven:

Gluten-free cinammon roll muffins.  These were a new addition this year and super tasty!

Cherry scones (another family favorite), gluten free as well!

All rounded out wiht fruit salad, bacon for some of us, and mimosas!

Our other big family tradition revolves around New Year’s Eve — quickly approaching!  We always have a little shindig at home and make lots and lots of tasty hors d’oeuvres! I’m really excited that I’m home this year for our family party.

Like our Christmas brunch, we try out some new recipes but always have certain “classics” year after year.  One of my favorites is our crab dip — a recipe that’s handwritten on an index card in my mom’s recipe box and comes out every New Year’s Eve.  It’s everything you might want from a dish for celebrating — delicious and decadent, it comes out of the oven warm and creamy, with the most delicious slightly browned bits on top.  But it’s also simple to make! I thought I’d share it here in case you’d like to try it for your own New Year’s celebration!

New Year’s Eve Crab Dip

• 2 8-oz packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 TBSP lemon juice
• 1 tsp Lowry’s Seasoned Salt
• Few drops Tabasco
• 7.5 oz backfin crabmeat (do not drain!)

Preheat oven to 350° F. Mix all ingredients except the crabmeat with a stand or hand mixer until a cookie batter consistency.  Stir in crabmeat and juices by hand.  Put mixture into 1.5 quart baking dish and bake twenty minutes.  Finish with a few minutes under the broiler to lightly brown the dip.

We always serve this dip with bugles, which is a delicious combintion. But you could also of course serve with any cracker or bread that you like or fresh veggies for dipping.  Enjoy!

Do you have any special New Year’s traditions?  I’d love to hear about them in the comments!