Christmas in San Francisco

This was our first California Christmas, and I have to admit that I didn't miss the chilling winds or the snow--I can still think about a Chicago winter and and get that cold shivery feeling, so it doesn't feel all that far away yet. And with the scenes that they create in Union Square, in downtown San Francisco (pictured above) you would think you were in a winter wonderland!

This is a scene from one of the Tiffany's windows on Union Square. They were the best windows of all of the stores, however the wreaths in the windows of the Macy's building (above) were spectacular!


Here is our little tree on Christmas morning. I received lots of fun culinary tools and books that I am sure will lead to many new adventures in the kitchen! I am especially excited about the ice cream maker!

I thought we were doing Christmas dinner the easy way, with a Honeybaked Ham, but then built a menu full of sides to cook, but it was fun! Since we were doing ham I put a southern twist on the menu. The ham leftovers were wonderful for the week following, which we used in numerous sandwiches, omeletes and Terry made us HLT's (ham, lettuce, tomato), which were out of this world!

Our Christmas Dinner Menu:

Honeybaked Ham
Scalloped Potatoes
Macaroni and Cheese
Baby Brussels Sprouts with Buttered Pecans
Oven Roasted Carrots
Sweet Potato Biscuits

Dessert:

Saffron Eggnog
Apple-Raison Bread Pudding with Cinnamon and Pear Caramel Sauce

The brussels sprouts were my attempt to re-try a vegetable that I didn't like as a kid. I have seen so many great sounding sprout recipes lately that I was convinced I was missing out on something good. This dish did it for me! I am a convert! I first boiled the sprouts for a few minutes and just before everything else came out of the oven I popped them into the skillet with some butter and diced garlic until they where browned on the outside. Lastly, I tossed them with the toasted, buttered and salted pecans--yummo!

Of course I had to mention the bread pudding! It was really good and custard-y and the sauce (which I bought) was a really good match! I made them in 8oz ramekins, which ended up being too much for one person after a big Christmas dinner, but we enjoyed sharing in the name of the Christmas spirit!