Christmas is Coming!

Hard to believe it's just two days away!

What kinds of things will you enjoy this holiday season? Here's a rundown of what I expect we'll partake of this Christmas and New Year's:

1 ) Some form of sugar cake. You may recall I've waxed poetic on the Moravian sugar cake I grew up enjoying as a child of the N.C. Piedmont area. Winkler's Bakery in Old Salem is the place to get the sugar cake - it's like a coffee cake-style deal - cinnamon and sugar and all those good things. I have the recipe, but will I really work with rising yeast and stuff early on Christmas morn? That, my friend, is TBD. This little elf may want to sleep in. Mother Dear says she has a simple recipe for something similar, so we shall see.

2) Seafood! Mom's promising her amazing Carolina Rice & Shrimp dish, and we're headed for Charleston, S.C. to ring in the New Year. Shrimp, I am coming for YOU.

3) A pig roast! Scott's aunt and uncle have held a traditional New Year's pig roast for several years down in Mount Pleasant, S.C. and this year, they're bringing a big fat hog from Tennessee. In years past, a certain comedian/talk show host by the name of Colbert, a Lowcountry boy, has attended.

4) Gingerbread. What can I say? I'm stuffing my own stocking this year with an Amish-made Gingerbread Man from the Dutch County Market. He was too cute to pass up.

5) Beef & Potatoes - it's what's for dinner. Mom's promised to make some tasty London Broil to pair with the Potato Gratin and Rosemary Crust from this month's Southern Living. I chose that as our food to make together. I can't wait to cook in my mom's big spacious kitchen. This teensy apt. cooking is for the birds.

I hope that whatever you eat this holiday season, you enjoy it with wonderful friends, family, and those you love. Travel safe, and stay warm and cozy wherever you are!