Some Happy Scribbles: On Family Recipes & Rituals
Some Happy Scribbles: On Family Recipes & Rituals
and frazzled ladies!
Hello! How was your week? Winter arrived here, with some beautiful snow…
…and a seasonal illness that kept Teddy (12) home from school for three days. He’s much better, but I’m now feeling a touch slower than usual which could be a sign that I’m getting sick - or it might just be a hangover from all the excitement over Sunday’s White Lotus finale! “Who’s going to die?!” was the hot topic at the very fun dinner party we went to last Saturday, which included late-night dancing, and resulted in an actual hangover! Now that it’s over, what will we talk about?!
It’s snowing again as I write this early in the morning, on the first official day of my kids’ two-week winter break, which I’ve been anticipating with glee. An unusual feeling, and one I very much appreciate, because not so long ago, when my children were small, the words no school sent me into a state of panicked dread.
Back then, their days “off” meant getting up long before the sun, providing a steady stream of snacks and indoor activities, and the endless jobs of toy tidying and kitchen clean-up. Now that they’re 12 and 16, the house is peaceful and quiet in the mornings while they sleep in; we can watch TV together (no more Peppa Pig or Blues Clues!); there’s no homework or cramming for tests to stress about, and best of all: the kids help with their laundry and the dishwasher (strictly unloading, but still!).
To make the most of the next ten days at home, before we go away on a warm weather trip, Jim and I put our heads together to allot time for our favorite pre-Christmas activities.
My holiday ritual is to take the kids to our local bookstore to pick out books to take on our trip. I’m currently reading Signal Fires by Dani Shapiro, and am really enjoying it, but will also need something new to take with me.
More exciting: Jim loves to bake and decorate cookies with the kids, while Sadie and Teddy can’t wait for their favorite activity: The Annual Eggnog Making Ritual.
We use a recipe passed down from Jim’s great-grandfather, and it tastes like liquid ice cream. “Fluffy!” “Delicious!” “Is there any more?” are the words the kids use to describe it. I thought it would be nice to include the recipe here, but Jim was nervous about having it “leave the family” so we asked permission from his father, Bud. Bud gave his blessing and also reported that during Prohibition, Dr. Hooper (who lived by the sea in North Carolina) and his pals would go out on their boats to meet Canadian rum runners to procure the essential ingredients - booze - for the Nog!
Here’s the recipe - try it and see what you think. Some notes: we use an electric mixer for all the beating. Serve in small amounts! This batch will provide about 15-20 adults with small cups. We usually split one batch in two - with half spiked and half unspiked. Keep in the fridge! A sprinkle of nutmeg on top of each serving is nice.
Grandfather Hooper's Egg Nog
2 dozen eggs
1.5 cups sugar
2 quarts whipping cream
2 quarts whiskey
1.5 cups rum
Cream yellows of eggs til very light. Add sugar very gradually to yellows and mix completely. Beat egg whites til dry and fold into yolk mixture. Beat cream lightly - til frothy on top…...then fold in. Add whiskey and rum. (Dad doesn't add all that whiskey and rum).1
While we’re talking cooking, I love it when the “best recipes of the year” round-ups come out. The Top 20 NY Times list is always an excellent source of inspiration (here’s a gift link for you!) and this Aussie list of 50 popular recipes also looks amazing (I learned of this via Sophie Hansen’s fabulous newsletter).
I want to make this chicken dish sometime over the holidays and have my eye on this Slow Cooker Salsa Verde Chicken for a snowy day. I also bought 50 frozen soup dumplings from this place that looked good (at least on Instagram) and the kids are excited to try them tonight!
We haven’t yet decided what we’re serving on Christmas Day, aside from Sadie’s request for pavlova for dessert, but this Brussels Sprouts Wreath looks appropriately festive and easy and would go nicely with beef tenderloin and crispy roasted potatoes, which is what we often make.
I am very pleased to report that I finally got around to doing some festive decorating while listening to this cozy playlist. We have wreaths on the doors, our Christmas tree is trimmed, and there’s a pink-and-white tree situation happening on the dining table!
In the past, I’ve added garland, paperwhites, and poinsettias everywhere, but this year I decided less fuss is better! My energy is precious, given that I feel exactly like these drowsy chickens by 8 pm every winter night…
Speaking of worn-out, have you heard about the “Frazzled English Woman Aesthetic” that’s gone viral on TikTok? I’m not sure about the fashion aspects of this trend, but reading about it reminded me that Bridget Jones’ Diary is a great holiday movie; as is The Holiday. I’ve tried for years to convince Sadie to watch these with me, and she has resisted, so I’ll now “play the TikTok card” to persuade her that these films are hip and on-trend and not just favorites of her middle-aged mother. We’ll see how it goes. Related: this gift guide made me laugh and seems about right for any Frazzled Woman who doesn’t take herself too seriously (bad language advisory!).
On the topic of holiday movies and frazzled single women, this piece, SMALL-TOWN MAYOR IS DONE WITH VISITORS LOOKING FOR LOVE AT CHRISTMAS TIME made me laugh out loud:
Every year we get so overrun by burnt-out single women looking for love during the holidays that it becomes like SantaCon but for white privileged Insta girlies….Every store, bar, and restaurant is out of white wine.
While we’re laughing, here’s some vintage Aussie Christmas (or Chrissy, as we call it!) humor for you.
Do you have fun parties to go to this weekend? We’re looking forward to drinks and dinner with friends, the beginning of the ski season at our local mountain, and an annual holiday party that includes a reading of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, which is always old-school and lovely.
That’s it for me this week - thank you all so much for reading and sending me comments and observations! I hope you have a wonderful weekend, whether you’re sweating by a barbie in Australia or skiing in the northern hemisphere.
And, if you have time, try the Egg Nog and let me know what you think!
xoxo
Amelia
Actual note on the recipe we use, made by Jim’s Mom, Susie, referring to his Dad, Bud. I always smile when I see it - it’s these little comments that make family recipes feel so special!