Celebrating a New Year

New Year's Eve or Old Year's End like we sometimes call it, is spent in cooking, eating and remembering the previous year.

Traditionally, we have eggs Benedict for breakfast, but this year it was the only day Samuel and Lisa could cook for us. I helped out since I had made the recipe before. We served savory crepes with mushrooms and spinach cooked in balsamic, steak and blue cheese butter drizzled with balsamic reduction. It was so good I didn't even take a picture! :-) After breakfast, they gave gifts to everyone, which was super thoughtful and sweet. I really missed living with them, so it was great to catch up!

We cooked a whole bunch of appetizers and finger foods for the evening and while we ate them, we watched all the family videos from the year. It is always interesting to remember what we've done.

New Year's Day is celebrated with gifts and good food... Noticing a trend with the food? Mom and Dad started doing this when we were little or non-existent, I can't remember.... They always sneaked little gift bags on the end of our beds which we could open when we woke up. There were always other gifts given throughout the day. 

The number one rule of gift giving in our family is: NEVER EXPECT ANYTHING. As we've gotten older and started to help Mom and Dad with finding gifts, it has become a bit of a joke. I helped Mom pick out tons of gifts for all the kids, sending her links and prying/stalking my siblings to see what they want/need. It is fun. 

This year, I had a record number of family members ask for help with gift ideas. Samuel asked me for ideas for Lisa. Lisa for Samuel. Allen for everyone, Kayla for Elsa, Allen for Elsa, Dad for Mom, Mom for Dad... It was funny because no one else knew that the others were asking for help. 

I started my morning off with talking to Mom and Dad and toast with leftover cheeseball and tea. It was a quiet, lovely start to 2016.  

I waited until the next person got up to open our gifts together, because it is more fun. I got some awesome stuff including this book written by the same woman who wrote one of my favorite childhood books (Twenty and Ten or the Secret Cave), pepper spray (Yeah, beware...), an awesome necklace that I picked out and a leather wallet from Allen and Kayla which matches my leather satchel perfectly!

Pancakes-Paris by Claire Huchet Bishop

 We made prime rib for dinner with all the fixings. It tasted the best it ever has, but perhaps it was the good company that helped. Dessert was a huge hit! I made a raspberry chocolate torte, which was so incredibly rich that you could either only have a small piece of balance it out with fresh raspberries and coffee. Cool thing is, it was one of the easiest recipes I have ever made!

Sadly, the rest of my day was spent packing and saying goodbye. It was a great New Year's celebration and it makes me love my family even more! Here's to another year, may it be the best yet!