A Little Post-Christmas Cheer...

 Yesterday was everything Christmas is supposed to be...

friendship, love and good food.

This lovely plate was a gift to me years ago by a friend, Beverly.

Her mother painted ceramics and created this serving piece just for me.

I've treasured it and used it every year since receiving it. Oftentimes, it show-

cases cookies or other sweets, but I used it to serve our main course this year.

Our Christmas breakfast included sausage rolls and Florida orange juice.

I chose a favorite snack before dinner. This is my own version of a treat

we used to purchase from one of our favorite delis when we lived in Wisconsin.

Over the years, I've tweaked it until I ended up with something that might even

be just a "tich" better than what I remembered. I'd love to share my recipe with

you and perhaps you'll want to try it for New Year's Eve.

Stuffed Sourdough Appetizer

D. Liljegren, Brynwood Needleworks

350º oven - 30 minutes (approx.)

Ingredients:

1 round sourdough bread loaf, unsliced

1 package of baby portabella mushrooms, sliced

1-8 ounce package of shredded mozzarella cheese

2 T. poppy seeds

1 stick real butter

1 T. minced garlic

Slice the bread taking care not to slice all the way through.

Turn loaf a 1/4 turn and slice again so that you it looks like my photo.

(It will remind you of what a bloomin' onion looks like.)

Place the bread on a wide sheet of aluminum foil so you can

wrap it after you've finished preparing it to bake. I actually use two

sheets, one lengthwise and then another under the load, widthwise.

Next, take the sliced mushrooms and cheese and stuff it into all

the crevices in the bread. It will push out a bit, but that's ok.

Melt butter in a small saucepan and then add poppy seeds and garlic. Mix well 

and then pour into all the crevices, covering the mushrooms and cheese.

Wrap the loaf in the foil and place on a cookie sheet. 

Bake until the cheese is melted and the bread is a little crusty.

You can pull or cut it apart.

Serve with your favorite white wine (reg. or n/a) and enjoy!

 This is our main course of prime rib and roast potatoes was served on the

poinsettia platter. (It was a four rib roast, but Handsome sliced off some 

of it in the kitchen and we served it sliced at the table. We do have leftovers!) 

I had originally planned to add sauteed carrots and Italian rolls, but we all agreed that 

we got our bread and veg serving allotment in the stuffed bread appetizer. I like 

that we can make changes on the fly and no one is offended. Nothing like 

being flexible over the holidays! We don't allow party stress in our home, ever.

 After a sufficient wait (spent clearing the table and loading the dishwasher),

it was time for our dessert. This year it as a raspberry walnut bread

 (which is more like cake than bread), topped with whipped cream.

The rest of the evening was spent visiting and resting. A perfect day!

Whether you live where there is snow, or warm sand, I hope your 

Christmas was filled with all the wonder and joy your hearts could handle.