Had bagels and lox with the ex, his wife, and our kids on Christmas morn. Spent Christmas evening in a warm, friendly bar with 180 proof whiskey and nary a sprig of mistletoe in sight. Sweetest Christmas ever.

Here's wishing you al the best in 2011, Laura Lee (Richard, too, and everyone on this blog, except the spammers).

Our core family had dinner last night at Woodberry Kitchen. The guys shared oysters and a selection of charcuterie for starters, while I tried the Marvesta shrimp (served heads on!) Two had the venison steak, which was tender and cooked to a perfectly pink point, one had the pork loin and I had the venison in the form of chili. We had dessert at home in the form of our own house recipe eggnog, which has been perfected over the years. I'm not sure what Woodberry has done, but the space used to be freezing on a cold night, and last night it felt cozy and warm to us. Great destination in all seasons!

Holiday Greetings to Richard and all his fans. Thursday night dinner at Razorback's in Towson. A rack of Kentucky Bourbon Ribs accompanied by a couple of pints of Warsteiner. Christmas Eve afternoon at Red Brick Station on The Avenue at White Marsh for the traditional oysters on the half shell. Sampled a couple dozen Choptank and Virginia specials and a half dozen great Raspberry Points from Prince Edward Island. (If you ever get on the Island you'll love the pubs there. We did!) Don't miss this year's version of the Winter Solstice seasonal at Red Brick.

Christmas Eve - Picked my niece up at her friends house before going to church and had a bowl of chili from the crockpot.
Christmas - We host every year and the menu is usually the same with a bit of variation every year. A crockpot filled with spicy italian sausage and homemade meatballs in tomato sauce, shrimp salad, oyster stew, tossed salad, chips, cheese and crackers, cookies and trifle. Everyone was happy!
Today - We are going to visit cousins from North Carolina with a luncheon at my aunt and uncle's house in Arbutus. Probably a lunch meat tray and cookies.

Being Jewish (by birth, if not inclanation) I decided to take the sterotype and run with it this year, so it was Christmas Eve Cantonese and Comedy at Magooby's. The Cantonese buffet was short, oily, and blah; the comedy only occassionaly funny.

X-mas day my DH made a Carribian chili recipie with Captain Morgan. WINNER!

Sunday was bar food as I watched the fight for the AFC North once again go to the wire between the Ravens and Steelers.

I made a whole bunch of aloo parathas with the wife and in-laws. They're spiced potatoes rolled into dough and fried. Really delicious. Have a safe, fun trip Richard!

Christmas Eve was the family celebration with ham, mac and cheese, and scallopped corn.

Saturday evening two friends and I went to Cafe Spice in Towson for some excellent Indian food. Shared the Malai Kofta, Lamb Malabari and the Saag Paneer. Everything was delicious. We can't wait to go back.

Sunday night was snacks and drinks at the bar at Petit Louis in the midst of our blizzard (ha!). Eggplant Napoleon and mesclun salad, finished with selections from the cheese cart.

Overall, a very good weekend of dining/eating.

I had my traditional "I'm ignoring Christmas because I'm not Christian" fifth of Ben & Jerry's. And cleaned house.

Works for me.

I had my traditional "I'm ignoring Christmas because I'm not Christian" fifth of Ben & Jerry's. And cleaned house.

Works for me.

I neglected to mention above that on Christmas I tried a new recipe for tenderloin of beef with rosemary, garlic and pancetta. Score! It was served with a horseradish cream sauce and simple oven-roasted potato wedges and steamed tiny green beans. It was just four of us this year, so we skipped the big deal dessert and just had a variety of Christmas cookies (and brownies) with our house-made eggnog.

Six of us visited Alchemy on 12/23, lured there by past excellent meals at Fusion Grille. We were not disappointed. The service was attentive, the meal too slowly paced, but we were not in a hurry.

It took several minutes for us all to decide on dinner, but the waiter was patient and the owner came out to talk about the menu and answer questions. We asked what she thought were the best entress, and she responded with the catfish and the red snapper. So our entree order included those, the chicken and dumplings, and the crab cakes. Appetizers included crab bisque, the beets and a spinach salad. Plus ala carte sides of the sauteed spinach, brussel sprouts, and risotto.

All of the food was excellent, and the hot food was HOT when it came to the table. Simple sides were wonderful - the sprouts bathed in a light cream and butter sauce with bacon bits...the spinach sauteed with garlic and onion, but with a slight citrusy bite that I could not put my finger on. We all loved our entrees. The red snapper was perfectly prepared and seasoned. While there was no salt and pepper on the table, we did not need it. The crab cakes were lump, 6 oz each, and broiled to a golden brown. The chicken and dumplings were in a broth, not an overly rich sauce. And the catfish was a hit too.

I cooked on Christmas Day.

Roast duck with sour cherry compote, brussels sprout hash with caramelized shallots and bacon, mashed potatoes topped with caramelized mushrooms and onions.

Chef-Boy-Ardee Beefaroni right out of the can and a four loko.

I hope that 4 Loko was right out of the can, too, RayRay, or you were doing it wrong.

Beer Bongs are also acceptable, Lissa.

Good point, Stagger Lee. Sounds like more setup time than RayRay was going for with that meal, though.

Well, both could be fed through the funnel.

Jon P., next time let us know when we should arrive!