December 24, 2024 Breakfast Lax and bagel, Lunch - Tamales, beans and Josie’s red chili sauce. Christmas Eve Open House
I sliced a Costco bagel into three slices and toasted them and spread cream cheese on them. I sliced thin slices of red onion and slices of Gravad Lax, and garnished the bagel slices with lax for Suzette and red onion and Lax for me. I added a few capers to each slice.
Then at 11:00 we drove to Rinconada Canyon and walked the Petroglyph Trail. By the time we returned to the car I had walked 5000 steps and it was 1:00 and still before lunch.
We drove to El Super and Suzette got orange juice.
Luke drove us home. Billy and Elaine brought 6 pork tamales from Padilla’s that Suzette heated in the steamer. Suzette made Josie’s red sauce, combining canola oil, red chili, pureed tomatoes,1 cup of onions minced, 4 cloves of garlic minced, and 1/3 cup of ground red chili. She then opened a can of pinto beans and a can of red kidney beans and added some garlic and tomatoes and Ari added crushed oregano and a little cumin and we heated the beans.
When everything was hot Elaine fetched three Carlsberg beers from the garage and poured us cups of beer. We each filled a pasta bowl with a tamale, red chili, and beans and ate a great almost instant lunch.
After lunch we all took naps. Suzette got me up at 4:00 and we prepped the food for the open house. Ari and Luke joined us at 4:30. Ari and I chopped Fontina, Jarlsberg, and Swiss Gruyere into 1/2 inch squares and Suzette the combined the cheese with wine, lemon juice, cornstarch, nutmeg, white pepper, and a shot of cherry liquor. Luke cut squares of baguettes. I cut broccoli flowerets and pears, and Ari cut balls out of apples.
Ari and I then went to the basement and opened last year’s case of Riesling lovers selection and brought three bottles of Wiemer wines and a bottle of Cherry liquor Up to the kitchen. I the put a squirt of cherry Liquor into the Fondue and squeezed the juice from a lemon that Suzette added cornstarch and stirred into a unified mass of cheese. Ari cut Lebanon Bologna squares and Luke set the table with cups and plates.
At 5:30 Ruth Salmons was our first guest. Soon thereafter Bill and Regina arrived. Then a bunch of Ari’s friends and Willy’s friends arrived, including a Simbana and Alan and his girlfriend and another couple. There was interest in the art collection by several people.
Willy called and we passed the phone around to let him speak to his friends.
Finally we shut off the heat to the fondue at 8:30 and walked to Los Alamos to Barry and Kylene’s house, but it was shut down because Kylene had gotten Covid.
We walked home around 9:30 and when I checked my phone it showed 8200 steps, a new post-operation record.
We went to bed. I collapsed on the bed for several minutes before I could make it to change into my pajamas and brush my teeth.
This was one of the best Christmas Eves ever because we had so many people show up who were old friends of ours or Willy’s and the food was so focused and easy to prepare and serving Riesling was so simple that I could show art or talk without concern about serving or cleaning. It seemed like there were about two dozen, which is about 1/2 of normal.
Also we had no desserts, but Henry brought a tray of Christmas cookies and two or three attendees brought candies, like a large platter of fudge, so there were plenty of choices to satisfy a sweet tooth.
I enjoyed walking outside as always. We like on a lovely block with lovely neighbors. Here is a photo of our end of Park Ave.
Bon Appetit
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