Our Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve Day Mr X and I headed up to Winter Park Resort for some snowboarding. The snow stayed fresh all day because it snowed constantly - it was great! By the afternoon most of the crowd left as well, presumably to prepare for whatever Christmas Eve festivities they had planned. It was fantastic. We stayed until the they stopped operating the lifts. We had a dinner planned that evening at the lodge on the top of the mountain so we were staying late anyway but because it was snowing so much we decided to get a hotel room across the street from the resort so we wouldn't have to drive home late at night in the wintry conditions. So after we finished snowboarding we went to our hotel and got cleaned up and then headed back to the resort. They had carolers out singing, a bonfire raging and everybody was preparing for the torchlight parade down the mountain. Loads of skiers hold a red torch in each hand and then ski down the mountain in a very organized pattern so that the viewers are greeted with this:

Of course all of this happens during a spectacular fireworks display accompanied by holiday music. I loved every minute of it.

After the show was over, Mr X and I hopped onto a gondola and rode up to the top of the mountain for our Christmas Eve dinner. We had great food, great service and then we rode back down and went back to our hotel where we hit the sauna for a good long while and then got ready for bed and read the Christmas story from the Bible together.

Hot Sulphur Springs

After cross-country skiing last week, Mr X and I drove a short distance to Hot Sulphur Springs to soak or tired muscles. It was 3 degrees when we got there. We've been to these springs before in the summer. Most of the pools were too hot for me back then but this time, due to the incredibly cold temperatures, I could soak in even the hottest pools. While we soaked in a pool our flip flops would literally freeze where they sat next to the pool. Our wet hair froze in mere seconds on contact with the cold air so we kept having to periodically get our hair wet so it wasn't a block of ice on our heads. Anybody that walked from pool to pool was engulfed in a billowing cloud of steam en route to their next hot pool of choice. It was rather amusing to watch. We soaked in various pools for nearly an hour and a half before we decided to head home. It was a great end to our day. (And just for the record, it was -1 when we left the hot springs.) 

Pre-Holiday Excursion

On the Friday before Christmas, Mr X and I decided to head out for some cross country skiing. Our area had just gotten some great snow and the sun was out and shining. It was perfect. I think we managed about 7 or 8 miles total. We did half and then had a lunch break for some homemade chili and then we did the other half. We plan to go again a couple more times before our holiday break is over. Here are some of our photos:

Holiday Lights

Thursday was both Mr X's and my last day of work for the year. We celebrate by heading out to see some festive lights at the botanical gardens with some friends:

Homemade Holiday Treats

Most people reading this blog already know this, but every year I like to make some homemade holiday treats to put in pretty little boxes with the purpose of delivering to neighbors and friends. Here's this year's cast of characters:

Dark Chocolate Walnut Fudge

Penuche Fudge

Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

Dark Chocolate Florentiners*

Milk Chocolate Florentiners*

*A note about my Florentine cookies: They've morphed over the years - the bastardized result is more like a Florentiner and some Almond English Toffee had a baby. I happen to love it.

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas

The weather here has indeed been frightful - but only in the sense that it's been bone dry and winter weather has been severely lacking, much to my disappointment. I really have no use for cold weather unless it comes with snow - I love the snow. One of my all-time favorite things is a White Christmas. Right now it feels as if we may have a Brown Christmas. But there are still a few days left and I continue to be hopeful.

Christmas Decorations

The past 3 or 4 weeks have been a whirlwind. We traveled for Thanksgiving, which was followed by a frantic dash to do all of the typical holiday preparations: Write and mail cards, finish up the holiday shopping and mail everything out, decorate for the holidays, bake holiday treats for gifts, etc. I also had a large share in organizing a holiday party for about 30 women and then a week later I was in charge of decorating for our church Christmas party. In between all of these I had a week long work trip. So yes, it's been hectic and that's why I've neglected my blogging. I'm optimistic that the remainder of the month will be slightly less demanding - and so I've managed to put a blog post together.

Snapshots of our home's festive surroundings:

Curly-Locks

Most of you know that I've been chemically (read: permanently) straightening my hair for close to 10 years. I hated my curly hair growing up because it was just a big frizzy mess and I had no idea how to properly care for it. I loved my straight hair - so easy and simple. But I have a rule that I can only do one chemical treatment on my mane at a time so I knew that there would inevitably come a time I had to swap straightening for coloring. So about a year and a half ago I decided that I had way too many gray hairs making their presence known, so I began the frustrating process of growing my curls back. It's especially frustrating because my hair grows so slowly.

Incidentally, upon moving to Colorado, I met some wonderful curly-haired ladies here who took the time to explain to me everything I was doing wrong to my curly locks in my youth. (See this for more info regarding that subject.) Thanks to their tutelage and encouragement (and my wonderful spouse's support as well) I'm happy to report that I managed to get to a point where I could chop off pretty much all of the old straight hair. I think the total inches cut off was 7ish or so.

I'm sure I'll still wear my hair straight on occasion, but I'm going to try to wear it natural the majority of the time. Now I just need to grow it out...give me two or three years. (Not kidding - super  S L O W  growing hair!)

A Delicious Onion Tart

I like to go to the local library and check out scores of cook books. I keep them on my nightstand and I peruse them before bed, noting the recipes I'd like to try. I've been doing this for years. I'm starting to feel like our library is running out of cook books for me. Anyway, this last trip I flipped through some random book and stumbled upon this photo:

Intrigued, I glanced at the recipe to discover that it was an onion tart. Such unusual recipes are right up my alley so I marched right over and checked out the book. (If you're interested, it's Relaxed Cooking with Curtis Stone.) The recipe calls for Taleggio cheese, of which I had none, so I substituted French Brie as it seemed similar. Mr X and I were both rather skeptical of the recipe, fearing that it could potentially end up being a disaster, but it turned out okay and so we dug in - and discovered that it was fantastic! We both loved it and I plan to make it again whenever we have brie or the like on hand. If you're interested, here's the recipe:

Onion Tarts with Taleggio Cheese

Makes 4 servings.

8 tablespoons (120 mL) unsalted butter, room temperature
12 tablespoons (180 mL) sugar
1 very large onion, peeled
1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
1/2 cup (125 mL) balsamic vinegar
4 ounces (100 g) Taleggio cheese, cut into 4 pieces

Spread 2 tablespoons of the butter over the bottom of each of 4 small heavy ovenproof saute pans. Sprinkle 3 tablespoons of the sugar over the butter in each small pan. Cut the onion crosswise into four 1-inch-thick slices, keeping the rings intact. Place 1 onion slice atop the sugar and butter in each small pan. Refrigerate while you prepare the pastry. Unfold the puff pastry sheet and roll it on a lightly floured surface to form a 12-inch square. Cut out for 5-inch rounds from the puff pastry sheet. Drape 1 round over each onion slice and tuck the edges down to cover the onion. Pierce the tops of the pastry rounds with a sharp knife and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375 F (180 C). Simmer the balsamic vinegar in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat for 10 minutes or until it is reduced by half and coats the back of a spoon. Set it aside to cool. The balsamic reduction will continue to thicken and become syrupy as it cools.

Place the saute pans over medium heat and cook for 5 minutes or until the sugar melts and forms a very pale golden caramel sauce around the tart. Transfer the pans to the oven and bake for about 15 minutes or until the puff pastry is golden brown and the sauce has darkened.
Let the tarts stand for 2 minutes or until the sauce stops bubbling. Swirl the tarts gently to help loosen the onions from the bottom of the pans. Invert each tart onto a plate, using a metal spatula if necessary. Immediately place 1 slice of cheese atop each tart. Drizzle the balsamic reduction around the tarts and serve.

My Latest Experiment in the Kitchen

About once every month or so I attend a group get together with a bunch of ladies who like to cook. Each time a different person hosts and selects the theme of their choice. Last week the host selected a very fall-appropriate theme of pumpkin. Anything we wanted made out of pumpkin. So I decided to attempt to make pumpkin truffles. I did two different kinds. One was a pumpkin ganache-type center coated with milk chocolate and dipped in crushed graham crackers. The other was a dark chocolate and pumpkin ganache center coated in dark chocolate. The dark ones were then either left plain or dipped in cocoa powder.

Mr X isn't a fan of pumpkin or winter squash in general but he humored me by agreeing to taste these anyhow. We both thought he would hate them, but he actually said they were good. Not overly pumpkin flavored and rather quite pleasant. I liked them, but that's not really a surprise. They were so rich, however, that after trying one of each I didn't feel particularly good. Below are the results, if you're interested. And yes, I'm aware they are all a bit wonky shaped. I know I need to work on my presentation.

Milk Chocolate Pumpkin Truffles

Milk Chocolate Pumpkin Truffles

Milk Chocolate Pumpkin Truffles

Dark Chocolate covered Dark Chocolate-Pumpkin Truffles

Dark Chocolate covered Dark Chocolate-Pumpkin Truffles - some I kept naked and some I covered in cocoa powder.

Friendly Visitor

Mr X and I had to "winterize" a couple of weeks ago, before the snow storm. In doing so, we decided to strategically put all of our plants on our downstairs patio within easy reach of any hungry passers-by. The plants will die anyway in the cold so why not make a meal out of them for somebody first? Mr X was down in his office when he looked up and saw this brave little guy enjoying our offerings so he snapped a few photos with his phone.