Christmas in Texas, 2007

Christmas in Texas, 2007

I celebrated Christmas in Texas again this year--only the second time in over 20 years. But this time was a bit different from last year. I made the effort to make it a real Christmas. I took out all my decorations for the first time in years. I was surprised to find ones I had forgotten, including several that Arne had given me over the years. I also put up a tree for the first time in years. I lost a few of my decorations when Arne's half-brothers inherited everything when he died. Fortunately, however, I had kept my most important ones here in Texas and did not lose them. Related to the tree, I had to make an important decision. I've always had a live tree in the past. I love the smell of them and the tradition. But when I went to look for trees, it wasn't easy to find one I liked. There are fewer live trees available these days. And the one I liked the most had such a huge trunk on it that I would have never been able to find a tree stand that would let me set it in water and keep it fresh through the season. Therefore, I gave in and bought an artificial tree. Fortunately, I found a very good one, and everyone has to approach it and feel of it to see if it is artificial or real. I like that aspect.

Christmas has had three main parts for me. First, there was a BIG baking day when i made Danish butter cookies the way I have in Copenhagen for years. I made two kinds that day--klejner, the butter cookie with cardamon which is twisted and deep-fried and reminds people a bit of a doughnut, and Finskbrød, the butter cookie that is just butter, sugar, and flour with a topping of chopped nuts and pearl sugar. Actually, however, I renamed the one I made this year as Texanskbrød, since I used chopped pecans (the Texas state nut) instead of the traditional chopped almonds that are used on Finskbrød. A few days later, I tried to make kokoskranse, a wreath-shaped butter cookie with coconut added. Unfortunately, it flopped in terms of what it should have been, but I ended up with some very tasty flat cookies that are much like coconut macaroons which are another favorite of mine.

Dec. 24 is the day I have traditionally celebrated Christmas for years, since that is when the Danes celebrate it. This year, I decided to make a Christmas dinner. It was my first time ever to do such a thing. All my Christmas dinners in the past have been made either by my mother or by Arne's sister and members of her family. I choose a menu based on Texas tradition and kept it simple--baked turkey, cornmeal dressing, gravy, cranberry sauce, and mashed potatoes. It was quite delicious if I do say so myself. I had it with wine. For dessert, I had the Danish butter cookies with a glass of eggnog. UMMMM!

Arne and I had a tradition of having a big breakfast and opening our presents to each other on Christmas Day, Dec. 25, and I am trying to carry that tradition forward. In the late hours of the morning, I made two small open-faced sandwiches with smoked salmon topped with dill and ground pepper. Then I ate from a platter of four kinds of cold cuts (Canadian baken, thinly sliced dried ham, salami, and another salami-like cold cut from Italy), two kinds of cheeses, crusty bread, butter, sliced onions, sliced tomatoes, butter, cranberry sauce, etc. I had snaps (Brøndums)and a beer.

After the breakfast, I opened my gifts for the year. I got a movie gift card from my friend Merryl which allows me to my local theater which shows foreign and independent films and a variety of gifts from my sister Sue--a jar of Harry and David Pepper and Onion Relish, a box of Belgian Chocolate Cups, and two red pillows to go on my new gray sofa which is expected to arrive in the next 3-4 weeks.

Following that, I finished my Christmas celebrations by having coffee with desserts--Danish cookies, chocolate truffles, and a slice of cinnamon coffee cake. Tripple UMMM!

I have uploaded photos from Christmas 2007 onto a new flickr.com account. You may go there to see my decorations, my baking, my Christmas meals, etc. The address is: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rdrum

Merry Christmas to everyone and I hope we all have a great 2008!