Christmas 2010

Christmas Eve is often a work day here in England, so I went into work for a couple hours, but about noon, everyone headed off to the pub to have a couple beers. It was a nice way to wrap up the year at work before everyone headed off to where they were going for Christmas.





All public transportation shuts down for Christmas, so wherever you are when Christmas begins is where you will be staying for the next day.

Tony and I went for dinner on Christmas Eve at a little French restaurant by our flat. We made reservations weeks earlier, which is the best way to assure that you can get a table if you want to eat out around Christmas. It's hard to find a restaurant if you want to just show up as most things close around 5pm on Christmas Eve.

It's hard to believe that this is our second Christmas here in London. We got up on a cold Christmas morning, and I made us our traditional Panetone French Toast, or as they would call it here in England, "Eggy Bread".









A little sprinkle of powdered sugar made it very festive and delicious.

When we were in America, we picked up a few gifts for the dogs. No, they are not spoiled. Okay, maybe just a little bit.

Bentley and Pepper loved their new chewies, and they made quick work of pulling out the stuffing. It wasn't long before there was carnage everywhere.

We made a traditional British Christmas this year with a 3 Bird Roast (Turkey, Goose, and Chicken) stuffed with sage dressing. I made Orange Cranberry relish and Goose fat Roasted Potatos, which were amazing, to go with it.






Tony made Maple Glazed Carrot and Parsnips and the British classic, Brussel Sprouts with Chestnuts.







For dessert, I made a Mince Pie using a jar of filling I bought when we were up in York. It came out delcious, though I'm still learning how to properly use my British oven, and the bottom crust didn't cook perfectly. Next time will be perfect.





We had our friends Jeff and Damian over for dinner. They were supposed to be going to South Africa for a safari for Christmas. Unfortunately, their flight was cancelled due to the snowstorm (and Englands ill-preparedness to deal with any amount of snow). They were in good spirits despite their travel woes, and we had a nice evening of traditional British food accompanied by the classic American film, "A Christmas Story".