the hungry bambino: Have yourself a merry little Christmas

Have yourself a merry little Christmas

By Sarah Wednesday, December 18, 2013

let it snow, snow, snow!

As my dear Pickle reminds me daily, Christmas is fast approaching! As of today, we’re T-minus seven days and counting till we celebrate Jesus’s big day and Santa Claus’s magical visit.

As the grocery stores get busier and busier with each passing day, I like to menu plan for the days preceding December 25, so I don’t have to battle the crowds and I can enjoy my holiday with my three boys to the fullest.

We want lots of memory-building moments that – of course, with me – involve sharing food together. Pizza dinners while watching holiday movies, hot chocolate with marshmallows after a snow-walk, comforting dinners to end a busy day with lots of homemade cookies in between the big meals.

As someone who wants to eat as healthfully and wholly as possible during these decadent days, I have the fridge and pantry filled with health snacks:

Locally grown popcorn and extra virgin coconut oil for the best movie-watching snack
Pumpkin puree for whole-wheat muffins and baked pumpkin-spiced steel-cut oats
Dried fruit and toasted and caramelized nuts for impromptu trail mix
Clementines and Satsuma tangerines for a refreshing snack
Smoothie-making ingredients: almond milk, kefir, frozen OJ, frozen mango, blueberries and banana

Here's my favorite Christmas song to get you in the holiday spirit (if you're not there already).

p.s. Here’s what we’re eating from December 20^th on to the big day …
Friday, the 20^th: winter pizza margarita with apple-celery slaw
Saturday, the 21^st: A Family Christmas Party
Sunday, the 22^nd: Swedish meatballs with sautéed cabbage and apple-cranberry sauce
Monday the 23^rd: Slow-cooker chicken in milk with mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli
Tuesday, the 24^th: Christmas Eve dinner after church — braised beef ragù with cavatelli, citrus salad with pickled red onions; cookies for dessert
Wednesday, the 25^th: Happy Christmas! Breakfast of Panetonne strata, roasted bacon and sausage, fresh-squeeze OJ … and lots of coffee for our early morning gift opening!

p.p.s. Here’s some of the cookies I made this year:
Buckeyes: sans rice krispies – the only way, in my opinion, to make them!
Classic gingerbread (a Bay Bakery classic from Milwaukee)
Cardamom-scented Mexican wedding cakes
Aunt Bill’s Brown Candy
Chewy ginger cookies

p.p.p.s. And, finally, to get you through the holidays, some VERY seasonal cocktails:

Can a cold cocktail be comforting? Here's one I think fits the bill ... milk punch:

Puerto Rican eggnog, anyone? Um, yes! The Coquito

The Midwestern classic: The Tom & Jerry

Anything with grapefruit this time of year, just tastes so, so good: the 522 North Pinckney Cocktail

Wishing you the merriest of Christmases!
Happy holidays, -s.

About the Author

Sarah Klein

Author, cook, entertainer and world-class eater of delicious food, Sarah Klein began The Hungry Bambino as a way to capture her evolution as a mother and cook. Sarah's greatest passion is to cook for those she loves; so if you're invited to dinner, you know you're special. When Sarah's not cooking up a storm, she's managing a successful career, playing with her due bambini, rearranging the furniture in her house, or tackling a challenging trail run. She does this all with her partner in crime and best friend and favorite person to cook for: her husband, Chris, or Mr. Klein, as referred to on this blog.