xmas chow recap

Merry Xmas, everyone! As you might have gathered, Xmas is not my favorite holiday--so I'll just concentrate on the grub...


Omniman's brother, Mark and his lovely wife Karen graciously hosted our Christmas [held on 12.23]. I stuffed these mushrooms with a pecan-onion-'shroom pate, and drizzled them liberally with truffle oil.


For dessert, Coconut Custard Pie from Veganomicon was a no-brainer, especially combined with a store-bought graham cracker crust. Creamy, refreshing, easy. What more could you ask for?

Karen made these lucsious chocolate-dipped strawberries. And that's a vegan blueberry pie in the background, courtesy of Omnimom.

On Xmas Eve, it was just me, Omniman and Bossa Nova. Omni made his delectable pasta arrabiata [I could have eaten the whole pot], served on an ambiant table.

Flash forward to Xmas morning. Bossa Nova had a ball diving in and out of the wrapping paper.



Karen spoiled her with all sorts of goodies, including this catnip-infused mouse.


Christmas dinner included the Chickpea Cutlets from Veganomicon. Here they are, breaded, and frying away.


I dressed them with Masala Sauce and served them with a refreshing green salad.


It was a very alcoholic meal. For dessert, I baked Mark Bittman's Boozy Apple Cake from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian--a wonderful exercise in both frugality and cuisine. Let me explain. A few months back, we bought a small bottle of Italian dessert wine that was supposed to taste just like Vin Santo. It didn't. But used as the base for Bittman's cake soak, this undrinkable dessert wine developed a deep carmel essence that made the cake taste like Sticky Toffee Pudding.

Stay tuned for Xmas Part Deux...my family gathering is next weekend. Happy Holidays, everyone!