Home At Last! with Patty Gironda

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...