It's Boxing Day, Which Means ...

Christmas Dinner!

No, I'm not crazy - I have paperwork to prove it.

Traditionally in my family, I cook Christmas dinner for the family on December 24th and we open the presents I have for them. On the 25th, I go over to my brother's house for another dinner and more presents. Neat, eh?

Well, this year we've had to make a few minor changes because I had to work on the 24th.

I took all the presents over to my brother's house yesterday (the living room floor was half-obscured by boxes and bags) and settled down for a midday feed that featured smoked turkey breast, ham and little nibbles. My brother and his wife believe in grazing on Christmas Day.

Which makes today my day to strut my foodie cred, so here's the menu:

Prime rib, rubbed with a dry rub of dried mushrooms, salt and pepper
Mushroom gravy
Mashed potatoes
Green beans with herbed butter
Spiced Carrots
Rum raisin apple pie
Lemon fruitcake

And in keeping with a tradition started last year we're going to sprawl out on the living room carpet to eat. It's a lot less formal and everyone seemed to have a great time, so we're doing it again.

Going to have to eat light the next couple of weeks, though.