Christmas in Mississippi!

I hope your Christmas was as merry as our was! SB explained most of our Christmas Day, but I'll show you some pictures from when she wasn't around. These would have been posted sooner if it wasn't for my parents' computer (it doesn't always function like you want it to).

We spent the morning of Christmas Eve with Nick's side of the family in Madison, MS.

Then we headed to my parents' house in Greenville, MS. We are fortunate that our parents' houses are only 2 hours apart from each other, once we drive 4 or 5 hours over from Alabama.

We spent Christmas Eve night at the Archers' house (my cousins).
My dad entered their house with a face full of shaving cream and his singing Santa hat. Then he gave Molly a "special kiss." It was very entertaining!
She soon got over the fact that shaving cream got in her eye, and she helped Doc get cleaned off. Then on Christmas night, Molly got Doc back by rubbing shaving cream in his face. Then he gave Tator a "special kiss!"
Back to Christmas Eve.
Here are some of our wonderful cooks! We had a great meal of shrimp and grits.

Now more photos of Christmas Day!We spent a lot of time photographing Stephen Small! Nick's coat was one of his favorite gifts!Nick and I made our really good margaritas!Putting on the crowns! Refer to SB's blog for details. And I'll leave your with pictures of our 2009 Christmas Dance Party! Sorry about the quality of the photos, but these were too funny to not post. Happy New Year!

Twelve Days of Christmas

Last Sunday our Sunday School teacher gave us this information about the song The Twelve Days of Christmas. I had never known this information before, and I'm not sure where he found it.

The Origin of the Twelve Days of Christmas

To many, The Twelve Days of Christmas is a delightful and nonsensical rhyme set to beautiful music. Considering its historical origins, the song had a very serious purpose when it was written and meant a great deal more than a simple repetitious melody with pretty phrases and a list of very strange gifts.



In England, during the period of 1558 to 1829, Catholics were prohibited from any practice of their faith (private or public). To avoid persecution and certain death, Catholic leaders created this musical allegory as a teaching tool to instruct young people in the meaning and content of the Christian Faith. The hidden meanings listed below, were understood by those of the Christian Faith.

1 Partridge in a Pear Tree= Jesus Christ, Son of God



2 Turtle Doves = The Old and New Testaments



3 French Hens =Faith, Hope and Charity (the Theological Virtues)



4 Calling Birds=The Four Gospels Which Sing the Song of Salvation



5 Gold Rings = The Five Books of the Old Testament



6 Geese a-Laying = The Six Days of Creation



7 Swans a-Swimming=The Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit



8 Maids a-Milking= The Eight Beatitudes



9 Ladies Dancing=The Nine Fruits of the Holy Spirit



10 Lords a-Leaping=The Ten Commandments



11 Pipers Piping=The Eleven Faithful Apostles



12 Drummers Drumming =The Twelve Points of the Doctrine in the Apostle's Creed

Also, in REAL SIMPLE magazine (my favorite) it showed that the actual gifts in The 12 Days of Christmas would cost $21,080.10.

I hope you have a safe and Merry Christmas!

Luke 2: 8-12

"⁸And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. ¹¹Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ^a]">[a] the Lord. ¹²This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

Julie and Julia

Sunday night I started watching the movie Julie and Julia. I thought it was good! It is all about cooking and blogging (2 things I also enjoy). I also really like Meryl Streep. Anyways, watching the movie was keeping Nick awake, so I turned it off and went to bed. Monday morning, after Nick left for work, I finished the movie while drinking coffee in bed (my Christmas vacation had officially begun)! Like I said before, I really like this movie! It inspired me to cook and blog about what I was cooking. Well, I was already planning on cooking several things (for other people and for a Christmas party). However, almost everything I cooked has already been blogged about.

So here we go. These are all the items I cooked yesterday.


1. Cranberry Tea- recipe on SB's blog

Lately, I have been drinking this tea over ice, but it also really good hot.

2. Black Russian Cake- my friend Dorothy's blog

This cake was very easy to make, and it is very good!
Mixing the cake ingredients. I thought it made a very pretty color.

The final product! I have two pictures of this because I am still working on my photography, and I couldn't decide which picture looks better. What do you think?

3. The Pioneer Woman's Brisket

This was very easy to do, and it is very good!

4. Hash brown Casserole-I couldn't find this on any blog, but it is your basic hash brown casserole: hash browns, butter, cheese, sour cream, onion

5. Brownies-I made 2 different types of brownies. Both Paula Deen recipes.

First type of brownie: Symphony Brownies.

1. Mix your favorite brownie mix (from the box).

2. Pour half of the batter into a greased pan.

3. Put a Chocolate Symphony Bar down and pour the rest of the batter on top.

These are better if you get the Symphony Bar with almonds and toffee.

4. Then bake following the directions on the box.

The picture below is what was left after I transferred these brownies into a Christmas dish. You can see the melted candy bar in the middle. Yum!!

Second type of brownies: Creme De Menthe Brownies

Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

2 cups sugar

4 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 (10 oz) package Creme de Menthe baking chips (recommended: Andes)

Frosting:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

1/3 cup cocoa

2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons milk

Because I was cooking so much today, I was trying to be as neat and organized as possible. I laid all of the ingredients out before I began. This prevented me from running around a messy kitchen searching for the next ingredient. All of you may already be this organized, but sometimes I'll just start cooking and grab things as I go. This sometimes causes me to be slowed down, put something in at the wrong time, or leave out an ingredient. Last time I made these I forgot the mints! The main ingredient! Laying it out before hand is something I must continue to do first.

Using an electric mixer, combine butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl;beat at medium speed until creamy.

Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla, mixing well.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, cocoa, and baking powder.

Gradually stir into butter mixture. Fold in mint chips, but save some to top brownies.

Spoon into greased pan. Bake for 35 minutes in a 350 degree preheated oven.
Allow brownies to cool before frosting.

To make frosting: combing butter, cocoa, confectioners' sugar, vanilla and milk in a large mixing bowl; beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until dry ingredients are moistened. Beat at high speed until spreading consistency. Top with shaved mints.

Here is all the food wrapped up and ready to go to its different locations.
If you haven't watched Julie and Julia, rent it, enjoy, and cook something. Bon appetit!

Tis the Season

It has been a while since my last post because December has been busy! I've spent every afternoon at school grading papers, Christmas shopping, or cooking. There hasn't been a good time to sit down and blog, until now. Finally, the moment I've been waiting for, Christmas break! This past week went by fast, and Friday's school day wasn't as bad as I expected it to be. The only craziness I had to put up with was breaking up a girl fight in the hallway. Anyways, 3:00 came, and every teacher darted out of the building.

Now let me highlight a few things that have been going on since my last post.

First, we put up our Christmas tree! We brought it all the way from Greenville (where we celebrated Thaksgiving).

These angels are my favorite ornaments on our tree. We gave these to the musicians in our wedding, and my mom got me a set as well. They are beautiful (they look better in person).

Second, we went to a wedding.

Our friends Zach and Kate got married last weekend on Pat Dye's farm. Saturday night they had a fun party, and the wedding ceremony was Sunday morning. Even though it was cold and rainy, the wedding was beautiful and the setting was perfect!

Some of Nick's fraternity friends with Zach (the groom in the middle) at the party Saturday night.

Above: Me, Rachel, and Stephanie

Below: Austin, Zach, and Nick The wedding ceremonyThe happy couple! Zach and Kate Kirby!

Third, we hosted our Sunday School Christmas party this past week. We provided drinks and the main dish, and everyone else brought other dishes. My mom was in town this past week, and she helped me out tremendously with many things involving the party. Thanks Lovie!

I only have the before pictures of our party becasue after everyone arrived we had such a good time that I just forgot about pictures.

This was our table set up. The gold reindeer ornaments were the party favors.

This was our drink set up. We had a big variety!

And our main dish, Chicken Florentine Joseph from Southern Sideboards Cookbook.

Ingredients:
10 ounces fresh spinach

7 Table spoons butter, divided

Lemon Juice

Salt and pepper to taste

20 fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 cup dry sherry wine

4 half chiken breasts

Flour

1 egg, beaten with 1 Tablespoon water

2/3 cup fine bread crumbs

2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Oil

Chopped pimiento

Cook spinach in salted water. I actually didn't include the spinach in my dish, but I'm sure it would be really good. Drain chop and season with 1 Tablespoon butter, lemon juice and salt to taste.

Saute mushrooms in sherry for about 10 minutes. Add remaining butter and salt to taste. Set aside. I bought 1 package of sliced mushrooms for every 4 to 5 pieces of chicken. Salt and pepper chicken; then dust with flour and dip in egg. Coat chicken with mixture of bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese. Fry in oil until tender. I put them in a dish, poured olive oil on top, and baked chicken in a 350 degree over for about 45 minutes.

My breading station: flour, egg, bread crumb and cheese mixture Breaded chicken before going into the oven.
To serve, place spinach on plate (again, I skipped this part). Top with chicken and pour mushroom saute on top. Garnish with parsley (I added this) and chopped pimiento. This garnish makes the dish very colorful.

Finally, I saw the movie New Moon! I've been waiting to see the Twilight sequel since Thanksgiving. My sweet husband agreed to go with me last night. I will say this movie was much better than Twilight, and it stayed true to the story. However, the book is still better than the movie.

I hope your December has been a good one. Christmas is almost here!