I know the posting date is 12/27, but I did write this shortly after Christmas Eve. Just didn't click the publish button. I wanted to make sure I didn't leave anything out.
The preface for the post should also state that I have an incredible girlfriend and the lengths she went to this holiday are amazing. I may be the luckiest guy out there, but at least I know how lucky I am.
The preparations for the Christmas eve festivities began a few weeks in advance, but Sunday the 23rd is where things really got crazy. Due to my not observing GF's instructions to 'NOT BUY ANYTHING FOR MYSELF', I had done just that. And I had inadvertently purchased one of the things she was going to give me on Christmas morning. While I offered to return the item, she refused and because of that her Christmas shopping was suddenly incomplete just two days before the holiday. Not too big a deal I would say if she did not have plans to spend the whole day in the kitchen preparing what I like to refer to as the "Christmas Eve Feast of 2007 (Sans Meat)".
GF took off bright and early in the morning to finish up her shopping... (my fault she had to do that. Sorry GF.) I also had an errand or two to run. You know... I am a guy. If I am not buying gifts at the last minute I think I have to turn in my man card. On my way back home I hit the grocery store for some last minute items. Little did I know that this would not be my only trip to the grocery mart this fine wintry day. As I walked out of the mad house that is known as Albertson's on the Sunday before Christmas, I remember laughing at the people walking in completely unaware of the mess they were about to find themselves in. "Should have done your shopping earlier!" I thought to myself. On my merry way home I went.
GF had made it home and was into full-on cooking mode. Because we both had to work on Monday, 99% of the food prep and cooking would be done on Sunday. As I walked into the house, everything was already smelling such that my stomach was sending up messages for samples. I put away my groceries and just as I started to investigate what smelled so good, I was given a short list of items that needed to be picked up real quick from the grocery store. With my jacket barely into the closet I pulled it back out and was on my way to spend some time with all the folks I was just making fun of at the grocery store. In order to save myself from funny looks, this time I went to Smith's. Didn't matter. Still packed. Still took forever for just a few items. It would turn out that two more trips were needed before the day winded to a close.
Somewhere around 9pm, GF announced that she was done cooking for the day. I am not positive what time she started, but I think it was around 1pm. 8 hours in the kitchen??? That is dedication I must say. After all that work, then she headed up stairs to start wrapping gifts. I didn't see her again until almost 11. After that I am pretty sure she was already asleep before her head hit the pillow. All the work she put in is just amazing.
Unfortunately for me, Christmas eve began at the weeeee hour of 5am. While I would have Christmas day off, I was one of the few who were going to actually go into work... and stay the whole day. Around three in the afternoon I would not have been surprised to see a tumble weed blow down the hall. I think in our building that holds hundreds of people we had about 15 in the office. I arrived home in time to take a quick shower and change out of my work clothes and into something nicer. When I walked into the house, the aromas of the coming feast (sans meat) were already wafting about the house. I was hungry.
The flurry of activity in the kitchen prior to the meal is just a blur to me, but suffice it to say that GF was cooking like crazy and the best thing I could do was stand out of the way and await marching orders when they were given to me. When it was all said and done and we sat down to eat, there was a bit of an odd silence due to the shock we all had for the incredible dinner GF had prepared. In our family, Christmas Eve dinner is normally an "eat out at a restaurant" affair so this was new to us... at least in recent memory. We were introduced to what I think is going to be a new tradition and it was a wonderful experience I won't forget.
Now I am going to attempt to give you a list of the dishes GF prepared. I know I won't get them all correct so feel free to check back here for when I get updated info from her. I will even probably get the real Polish names for the dishes. :-)
GF worked like crazy for the meal and it was incredible. See? I told you I am a lucky guy. This is only one of the many reasons I can site as evidence.
--C
The preface for the post should also state that I have an incredible girlfriend and the lengths she went to this holiday are amazing. I may be the luckiest guy out there, but at least I know how lucky I am.
The preparations for the Christmas eve festivities began a few weeks in advance, but Sunday the 23rd is where things really got crazy. Due to my not observing GF's instructions to 'NOT BUY ANYTHING FOR MYSELF', I had done just that. And I had inadvertently purchased one of the things she was going to give me on Christmas morning. While I offered to return the item, she refused and because of that her Christmas shopping was suddenly incomplete just two days before the holiday. Not too big a deal I would say if she did not have plans to spend the whole day in the kitchen preparing what I like to refer to as the "Christmas Eve Feast of 2007 (Sans Meat)".
GF took off bright and early in the morning to finish up her shopping... (my fault she had to do that. Sorry GF.) I also had an errand or two to run. You know... I am a guy. If I am not buying gifts at the last minute I think I have to turn in my man card. On my way back home I hit the grocery store for some last minute items. Little did I know that this would not be my only trip to the grocery mart this fine wintry day. As I walked out of the mad house that is known as Albertson's on the Sunday before Christmas, I remember laughing at the people walking in completely unaware of the mess they were about to find themselves in. "Should have done your shopping earlier!" I thought to myself. On my merry way home I went.
GF had made it home and was into full-on cooking mode. Because we both had to work on Monday, 99% of the food prep and cooking would be done on Sunday. As I walked into the house, everything was already smelling such that my stomach was sending up messages for samples. I put away my groceries and just as I started to investigate what smelled so good, I was given a short list of items that needed to be picked up real quick from the grocery store. With my jacket barely into the closet I pulled it back out and was on my way to spend some time with all the folks I was just making fun of at the grocery store. In order to save myself from funny looks, this time I went to Smith's. Didn't matter. Still packed. Still took forever for just a few items. It would turn out that two more trips were needed before the day winded to a close.
Somewhere around 9pm, GF announced that she was done cooking for the day. I am not positive what time she started, but I think it was around 1pm. 8 hours in the kitchen??? That is dedication I must say. After all that work, then she headed up stairs to start wrapping gifts. I didn't see her again until almost 11. After that I am pretty sure she was already asleep before her head hit the pillow. All the work she put in is just amazing.
Unfortunately for me, Christmas eve began at the weeeee hour of 5am. While I would have Christmas day off, I was one of the few who were going to actually go into work... and stay the whole day. Around three in the afternoon I would not have been surprised to see a tumble weed blow down the hall. I think in our building that holds hundreds of people we had about 15 in the office. I arrived home in time to take a quick shower and change out of my work clothes and into something nicer. When I walked into the house, the aromas of the coming feast (sans meat) were already wafting about the house. I was hungry.
The flurry of activity in the kitchen prior to the meal is just a blur to me, but suffice it to say that GF was cooking like crazy and the best thing I could do was stand out of the way and await marching orders when they were given to me. When it was all said and done and we sat down to eat, there was a bit of an odd silence due to the shock we all had for the incredible dinner GF had prepared. In our family, Christmas Eve dinner is normally an "eat out at a restaurant" affair so this was new to us... at least in recent memory. We were introduced to what I think is going to be a new tradition and it was a wonderful experience I won't forget.
Now I am going to attempt to give you a list of the dishes GF prepared. I know I won't get them all correct so feel free to check back here for when I get updated info from her. I will even probably get the real Polish names for the dishes. :-)
- Borscht with dumplings
- Herrings in a sort of vinegar/wine sauce (I am SURE this one is going to be corrected)
- Herrings in a sort of egg/yogurt salad
- White fish with shaved carrots and tomatoes
- Cod
- Perogies
- A cabbage dish with a brown sauce and mushrooms (one of my favorites)
- Crepes with a mushroom filling
- Desserts were two things... A kind of cheesecake with a hard shell and chocolate covering and then an AWESOME cake with a cream filling.
GF worked like crazy for the meal and it was incredible. See? I told you I am a lucky guy. This is only one of the many reasons I can site as evidence.
--C
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-LV_Husker