Clemens Family Christmas..Never a Dull Moment!

The festivities around our house usually start on Christmas eve morning as the girls and I start making a dish I only make once a year, first because it's time consuming, second because it's soooo tasty and irresistible that if I made it more often I'd soon be a blimp. It's called Struffoli or "honey clusters".  You basically make dough from flour, eggs and a touch of vanilla extract, roll bits into strips, the same width as pencils and then cut them up so they are a little bigger than pencil erasers. I make enough to fill two or three pie tins, so it's a LOT of rolling and cutting of dough. You set it aside in a single layer (taking up lots of space!) to dry out. Then later you cook them in shortening till golden brown. Next you warm up a big jar of honey with a little sugar and stir in a bunch, retrieve with slotted spoon and arrange in a wreath shape on the pie plates. Refrigerate and ENJOY!

Anyway, this year Kim was greatly disappointed that due to a NY State Health Insurance snaffu, I had to scramble to get my youngest accepted in a new health plan before Jan 1, so we had to delay the struffoli and other treat making to make a trip to downtown Rochester. Long story short, I did not have a certain paper and had to go home, get it and drtive back again (almost 40 minutes each way!) The second trip, Kim and Jojo wanted to stay home, so I told them to start decorating cookies and I'd pick up some gingerbread men for them to work on as well. (yeah I didn't bake em from scratch. I know, I cheated!)

When I brought the gingerbread men home, it suddenly became "The Addams Family Christmas"!

Kim decided to make 'morbid' cookies. One of her gingerbread men was decapitaed (on purpose) and red decorating gel applied where the broken areas. She also made a vampire cookie, one she named "caveman Bob" complete with unibrow and some other very odd characters. To think just a few years ago she made such delightful cookies like a santa and reindeer (the deer was made by turning a gingerbread man on it's side) Oh well, it was twisted but very very funny to see what odd characters she was coming up with.

I did manage to get the struffoli done, but because I didn't give them time to dry, the bits came out fluffy and not as crunchy as I usually like, but by midnight, I was done!

Hubby did the wrapping while I collapsed into bed.

Christmas morning I heard a scuffling  and then...scratching on the door! I opened the door to see the orange cat, Ahnyo had taken Kim's stocking (we have no fireplace so they get propped up by the tree) and dragged it to our door without dropping a single stocking stuffer! He stood there looking at me like, "C'mon! wake up! It's Christmas!!"

I guess he knew that when the girls get their gifts, the catnip I mentioned in the last blog, would be his at last and so he was trying to hurry things along.

All in all the day was a blast. Everyone enjoyed their gifts. Kim spent lots of time drawing with her new art kit, complete with posing mannequin, charcoal pencils, colored pencils, smudge sticks etc. Jojo played with her new princess dolls the most, I got a 3 disc collectors set of Warlords (which I stayed up til 3am watching!) and Sean was most pleased with a book called Radio Silence a pictorial on the American hardcore punk scene from the 80s up. (Oh and he also loved getting Mario Kart, which the whole family had a blast playing until it was time for bed)

Dinner was spectacular (especially since I hardly had to cook!) Sean took over the kitchen and  made the best prime rib I have ever eaten. It never knew meat could melt in your mouth! It was perfect! We don't buy expensive meats like that at any other time, but for Christmas, we make an exception. And wow was it worth every penny!

All in all, a great holiday