Married Christmas!

H. and I went back home to Portland for the holiday. (We seem to be alernating whose family we spend Xmas with each year.) We had a great time. As usual, I busted a move in the kitchen and cranked out many, many more cookies--perfecting some of the recipes that we (and others) tried out at our DC cookie party: chocolate coconut meringue, ginger shortbread, lavender and pink salt shortbread, coconut snow balls, thumb prints with real cherry halves. Oh! and I found a great recipe for sweet and spicy pecans in the Oregonian Food Day. Seriously, these things were great and went so fast at the Xmas Eve open house that I made more and gave them away as gifts. If I had had this recipe at our wedding these would have been the favors--with hazelnuts for my home state and pecans for H.'s. I also made an excellent butternut squash and roasted chesnut soup, sesame soy kale, and......... helped my sister with an oven-baked shitake mushroom risotto. Dad pitched in an awesome leg of lamb and my mom and step dad smoked a turkey. It was a delicious spread. I almost forgot the smoked steelhead that H. and brother in law offered and the goat cheese cheesecake that I whipped up.

All in all, a delicious week. I didn't get to get out and exercise much over the last week, but the domestic goddess in me really came out and it felt good to have that Kitchenaid lever in the hand again. The wedding gifts are still all in storage, but my sister had hers. I think I will live a little longer without my gadgetry. I will try to post the recipes soon.

H. surprised me once again with some great gifts including 8 weeks of swing-dancing lessons with him. I can't wait for those. Some couples do that before their wedding, but we didn't have time. Plus... we have our whole life to dance together, not just our wedding day.