4:26 PM
Day Eleven…Eat, Drink and Be Merry
Can we take a minute and talk food? And cocktails? And treats? Any day that begins and ends with éclairs must be a holiday, non?
No kidding, éclairs. With custard and chocolate frosting. Long Time Bestie sends them home with us on Christmas Eve. Their 
first appearance is as one of myriad treats passed about her famous Eve dinner. The traditional Italian fare and our family have been commingling for many years. Thank you sweet Baby Jesus.
Bestie sends manicotti home for later enjoyment; a food orgy of sorts. It is that good. Multiple éclairs in a singe day has me spilling secrets. If Bestie were a smart girl, she would quit her job and open a manicotti store. In about a month, she’d be in a higher tax bracket. No lie.
At Perfect Blonde’s party Christmas night, kiss cookies sing a chorus the moment I step through the front door. Each time I pass they taunt me, demanding I eat just one more. They laugh along with my ass as they measure girth expansion and high five. Perfect Blonde has also been steeping cranberries in vodka for days.
We oooh and aaah as Perfect Blonde’s husband appears with one custom made for us. Another gal arrives with little burgers of the White Castle variety and the crowd closes in. A few weeks ago, also at Perfect Blonde’s house, a candy varietal, chocolate and toffee and some sort of swirl confection filled our mouths with such joy, our bodies demanded a seat next to the dish.
Our own Christmas fare features mango nectar mimosas during gift giving. We begin with a toast to The Norwegian and run through egg bake and onto spiral sliced ham, a fave of Baby Chicken and Baby Pea. Our meal also features Hawaiian sweet rolls from our best baker at Buzzberry.
And the cookies, oh my. Is there anything better on the whole wide earth than an iced Christmas cookie? What is it about a simple sugar cookie with frosting and some sprinkles that spells holiday spirit? And why don’t we make them all year?
Last night, in our food hangover, we opt for calming tea so chamomile it is, along with a lemon brew and some Advil.
There is great debate over cheesy potatoes. In our home, they are either loved or despised. How a human being can dislike cheesy potatoes with sour cream is an answer that lies beyond human comprehension but the debate rages each year. Nonetheless, I make it and eat more than my share.
A friend makes holiday tamales and another produces a to die prime rib. Yet another makes a killer cole slaw that people dream of the other 364 days of the year. If she were to remove it from her Christmas Brunch menu, she might find coal in her stocking.
There are so many more important things to be grateful for, to praise, to be truly thankful for but can we, just on one day, be grateful for the food we gorge? All year long we pretend to like kale and other grasses, laud vegetables and eschew red meat. For just one day can we sit upon our tuffets and eat whatever the hell we want?
Besides, resolutions are just around the corner. And what would ringing in the New Year be without a promise to shrink our asses? Have a cookie.
The Duchess Diaries 