Home At Last! with Patty Gironda

When asked by Santa this year what I wanted for Christmas, I was at a complete loss. What I truly wanted; one more Christmas with my friend Char, I knew I would never receive. I found myself feeling sorry for myself for a few days. . . missing her FRIENDSHIP! her SENSE OF HUMOR and her CHILDLIKE WONDER at this special time of the year. Finally out of my funk, I told my hubbie, I KNEW WHAT I WANTED. We decided to go shopping together and made a night of it. We drove along . . .reminiscing about our favorite Christmases with family and friends and finally making plans for the next two days of celebration. We planned our Christmas dinner -one that we would cook together. We found a few pounds of chestnuts to roast in honor of Ron's family tradition of chestnuts at the holidays. I pulled out a small, pretty little fake tree and a some favorite decorations; including one from Char and suddenly I was filled with the Christmas spirit. We enjoyed a Christmas Eve breakfas...

Southern traditions are the backbone of my holiday experience. I must have a piece of Pecan Pie around Thanksgiving to jumpstart my Christmas celebration. O.K., a piece of Pecan Pie and a generous helping of Cornbread Dressing and a dollop of fresh cranberry sauce . . .if I am being truthful! With that said, there are so many other traditions that I have adopted as my own. Pleasant childhood memories and traditions shared by others while growing up in Germany are as much a part of who I am and how I celebrate! Friendly German families eager to share their customs and traditions with me have provided a lifetime of Christmas memories. At the beginning of December I head to the International Farmers Market in search of Pfeffernusse, Stollen and chocolates from Germany. In the pictures (above) I have the first four steps in creating chocolate covered cherries soaked in German Kirchwasser. A tradition I first experienced as a young teen in Germany. Another favorite memory sha...

This and a few reindeer plates can totally evoke the Christmas Spirit in me! The colors and the theme are so cheerful and fill me with a sense of anticipation for the days leading up to Christmas Day. I sat down with my Mystery Chef Cookbooks today-as well as my Southern Living, mentioned in the previous post! I have narrowed my holiday baking to a family favorite . . .a rich chocolate layer cake with raspberry drizzled deep into the layers, plumped by layers of fresh whipped cream blended with creamy marscapone. This luscious creation is then draped in a shiny chocolate ganache and served up to delighted guests! Another Christmas favorite comes from a Woman's Day Cookie Edition from the early 90's. A vanilla sandwich cookie filled with jam and decorated to resemble holly! Easy but festive. Ron and I have discussed it and think it might be time to pump up the volume on these holiday tasties by dipping them in white chocolate! What's your favorite cookie recipe...

Happy New Year! Whew! I don't know about the rest of you, but I am unusually thankful to see 2009 arrive! It has been such a hard year for many of us. I'm sure we all want to move on to a more positive time in our lives. 2008 brought many blessings into my life but they were all somewhat bittersweet with the absence of my friend and sister, Char' Fontane. Like so many other precious women, Char' succumbed to breast cancer in 2007. I made it through my second Christmas without Char'. It wasn't as bad as the first year after her passing-but I can only hope that the years will get easier as time passes. Sadly, there were no new Christmas antlers added to my extensive collection, there was no excited "girl" chatter about the perfect gift for someone on our Christmas lists, there were no mystery boxes on my doorstep, each filled with gifts carefully chosen for me and there was no candled-filled evenings in celebration of family and friendship! I loved to...

After five performances and countless edits it's time to call it a wrap on The Georgia Youth Ballet's thirteenth year of the Nutcracker Ballet! Truly, this was one of the easier and more pleasant "gigs" that we have worked in recent years. Each performance delivered holiday magic with stunning costumes, charming actors and talented young performers. A special thanks to Cay Ellis, mother of Co-Director, Randi Lancaster, for the original suggestion to co-ordinate episodes of Home At Last! with the rich history and foods traditionally associated to the dances of the Nutcracker. Some of the recipes developed for the show will seem familiar and simple, but I have also developed a few recipes to challenge your perception of what can be easily accomplished with a little planning and a few quality ingredients. The most enjoyable surprise of the season was my homemade Honeybell Orange Brandy created to enhance my Strawberries Romanoff episode. One of my all-time favorite tea ...

"The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there!" On a cold dark night in early December, 1965, there was an unexpected knock on the door of my family's apartment at our base housing in Phorzheim, Germany. A dark, mysterious white-bearded man draped in a flowing red cape swept into our living room, his head covered with a tall polka-dotted red hat. Across his back was a long sheath filled with branches and twigs. In one hand he carried a tall miter leaving his other hand free to point and inquire, "Have you been a good little girl?" As St. Nicholas leaned in close to my sister she let out an awful scream. No amount of fruit and nuts was going to save that night. St. Nick was quietly escorted from the apartment grateful that tradition demanded short visits with each child. Christmas in Germany was a wonderful experience for our...