my big fat greek christmas

Growing up in the Conklin household, we always had a HUGE spread Christmas Eve.  Friends and family gathered around smoked turkey, various cracker/dip combinations, vegetable and fruit trays, little smokies (with individual toothpicks), and a slew of delicious desserts.  Although I try, I am not nearly as talented in the kitchen as Betty Crocker my mother, Jill.  So in an effort to save myself the humiliation and disappointment of not measuring up to her skills, I decided to go a totally different direction with our Eve festivities.  I made Greek inspired chicken(olives, red onion, pine nuts, red pepper, and feta), kabobs, and an heirloom tomato salad with a balsamic reduction.  I also tried my hand at hummus, which turned out about as I'd expected...not wonderful, but edible(I added too much tahini, which gave it a biting sesame flavor).  Topping it with the marinated red onions and feta helped mask the flavor, and made for a tasty side dish.

We SO enjoyed the company of these two at our house this Christmas Eve:

(note: isn't my mom the cutest thing you've seen in a long time!??)

And I think they liked the excitement and chaos that always follows these cute little ones:

opening jammies on Christmas Eve

And there was lots to do to get ready for Santa's big visit: cookies to bake(Snickerdoodles, they're Santa's favorite you know?!), pick carrots for Rudolph, and get Santa's snack ready. 

Santa??

Soon enough it was time for bed(my favorite time of day) and the children were all nestled snug in their

beds, while visions of sugarplums danced in their heads...

xo,



tracy