Merry Christmas!

It is Christmas Eve and I write as I am snuggled up in my bed in my parents' house; we have just turned in from a night of our family's Christmas traditions. Every Christmas Eve we spend the afternoon resting and cooking, attend a service at 6, come home and eat dinner (we recently annulled a Japanese Steakhouse tradition. Who knows, maybe it will resurface next year)- then drink champagne and open all of our gifts! In the morning- mom's breakfast (this year consisting of Wil-Moore fresh eggs, Caw Caw Creek ground sausage and Adluh speckled grits....and biscuits) and stockings.

My favorite two gifts of the night: Local Breads by Daniel Leader and Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon, inspired by the research of Dr. Weston Price years ago (and it is excitingly quite controversial! I cant wait!). If anyone is out there that might read this blog, you should be equally as excited as I am about these gifts! I have almost made it through Leader's lengthy introduction and it is full of interesting facts and intriguing anecdotes about his development as an artisan baker in the Catskills of New York. Stay tuned!

P.S. I almost forgot: my two books were my second and third favorites. My very favorite gift was given to me in spirit and photograph as it is still in the mail. An All-Clad 14" Stainless Steel Skillet! See below