*points* See Hank over there? He's piddling with his party favor and smiling. And Lee's over at the snack bar with my muse, Em, trying to figure out the secret herb I put in my dip *winks across the room*. Here comes Havan. Yess! *air pumps* She has some limes. She picks out the best limes.
Well, now that everybody's here, let's have a...
Story Orgy Christmas!
1. What is your favorite type of Christmas giftwrap design?
Hank: Snowmen! Love snowmen.
Lee: I like the ones with the lines on the back so I can cut it straight. I don't like the ones with cartoons on them. Especially when I've never heard of the cartoon in question. I like solid colors, or simple traditional prints.
Havan: Okay – I asked this question because giftwrap is one of my prompts for the Christmas antho – and it got me to thinking that I am really freaking picky about what type I will use – so picky that I've been known to cut off my nose to spite my face and just use plain brown wrap if I don't like the reindeer and sleighs on the wrapping paper *heads desk giggling*…so my fave type of giftwrap is the non-traditional ones…I don't know how else to explain it lol…if the wrapping paper doesn't make me do a double take then it ain't wrapping around my stuff…and it has to be good and thick—the thin type just feels so darn fragile, like I'll rip it in half or something—and I use lots of that extra sticky tape you can buy just for shits and giggles…never a bad thing watching people yank at Santa while he is stuck to the snowman! hehe
Em: Snowmen…preferably blue…with snowflakes. *grin*
JR: My absolute favorite Christmas giftwrap design is the tissue paper. All kinds of it too! Lots and lots of tissue paper and bunches of tape- Voila!
2. How do you spend Christmas Eve?
Hank: Christmas Eve dinner at my Mom's house and opening gifts with my family, then home to have Christmas with my partner with the Christmas lights on and the cats chasing the gift wrap.
Lee: After baking pies and cookies for the next day, we usually spend Christmas Eve watching old movies and drinking cocoa. We'll turn off the lights and light up the tree and crank up some Harry Connick Jr. and call everyone we aren't going to see the next day.
Havan: Christmas Eve is spent with the extended family at my mama's house. Now, mama evidently stole Christmas Eve from sis – so sis stole Thanksgiving and Halloween (which is by far an important holiday for my kiddos who are the youngest in the family and still dress up! lmao)…and that story is always recited each year with new details and colorful expletives just to get us all in the mood! roflmao
Em: With my family, just hanging out and getting loud. That was one thing hubby had to get used to…the volume on every conversation goes up when my family gets together. LOL. Of course, the one tradition that has formed out of this is that the adults do shots of Lemon Drops (Vodka, Sugar, Lemons…mmmm…) and the kiddies do shots of water. It’s a good time for all.
JR: I spend Christmas Eve at my parents' house, eating lots of tasty homemade goodness, visiting, and exchanging gifts. Yeah, I can be a soft...WAIT! I'm stopping right there.
3. What's your favorite holiday treat? Share the recipe?
Hank: Love the shortbread cookies with powdered sugar icing. Old family recipe, illegal to share. :)
Lee: Okay, this is going to be odd...but I love mincemeat pie. My grandma used to make it every Christmas, and I loved it. No one seems to make it any more. Here's the recipe:
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups diced cooked beef
4 cups chopped apples
1 1/2 cups raisins
1/4 cup sweet pickle juice
1/4 cup pineapple juice
1 large orange, peeled, sectioned, and cut into bite-size
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup sorghum
1 cup beef broth
Directions: Combine the cooked beef, apples, raisins, sweet pickle vinegar, pineapple, orange, salt, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar, sorghum and 1 cup beef broth. Store in the refrigerator or freeze until ready to use. (Makes 2 nine inch pies)
Havan: Come October and all through the three holiday months my daughter's insist on chocolate pumpkin muffins. These are the bomb diggity…and with the pumpkin in them there is no way for them to dry out – moist and yummy and the kiddos have been known to claw and gouge to get the last one…lol…oh and simple enough for even me – a kitchen ditz – to make! *winks*
Ingredients:
1 box choc cake mis
1 can pumpkin (15oz and not the pie mix)
1/2 cup water
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350*
Mix together all ingredients
Pour 1/2 way up each muffin cup
Bake according to cake mix instructions – make sure toothpick comes out clean
Notes: You can mix in nuts – pepitas are really good – or use a spice cake mix instead.
Em: Kaleidoscope Cookies… (recipe found at: http://www.cakespy.com/blog/2010/7/12/taste-the-rainbow-kaleidoscope-cookies-recipe.html)
Makes Lots!!
Ingredients:
1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 pound 6 ounces (about 4-½ cups) all-purpose flour
Various colors of food coloring paste or gel
1 cup or so sprinkles or colored decorating sugar
Directions:
1. In an electric stand mixer, beat the butter with a paddle attachment until it is creamy. Add the confectioners' sugar and salt and beat for several minutes, until all of the ingredients are well incorporated and no lumps of powdered sugar remain. Beat in the vanilla extract, then add the flour and beat until a soft dough forms.
2. Divide the dough into 3 parts. Incorporate the food coloring or gel of your choosing into each color--be sure to make the colors quite vibrant, as they will slightly fade in the oven (not much, but a little), and knead until the color is evenly distributed. I left one part white, used a little red food coloring for a pink section, then more red for a red section for mine.
3. Roll each tinted segment into a log about a foot long. Then squish the three logs into one long log and roll until they form one roll (I got a nice wavy design when I did this).
4. Gently roll and squish the finished log until it’s about a foot long. Then cut it in half to form two logs and roll each one of those until you have a number of logs that are 1-1/2 to 2 inches in diameter--it will be quite a few. If desired, place the sprinkles or decorating sugar on a large, shallow plate and roll each log to coat. Wrap the logs in wax or parchment paper and chill overnight or freeze up to a month.
5. Remove the dough from chilling--if it was in the freezer, let it warm up just until you can handle it, but not until it is soft Preheat oven to 375 F.
6. Unwrap the logs and, with a sharp knife, slice them into coins about 1/3-inch thick. Place on ungreased cookie sheets (the cookies will not spread much as they bake).
7. Bake two sheets at a time for about 7-9 minutes, rotating halfway through baking, until the cookies have firmed up but are not browned. Remove the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.
JR: My favorite holiday treat? Yeah, no. Uh-uh. Can't do it. I don't have a favorite. There are so many! I love all my momma's cookin'...and bakin'...annnnd no. I don't share Momma's recipes, but I'll share all the goodies with you though.
4. What's your favorite Christmas decoration and why?
Hank: A big light up wreath we hang on the wall behind our TV. We use it has our Christmas tree because we have two cats and a tree wouldn't last in our house. LOL!
Lee: Um... mistletoe. Mistletoe played a significant part in forging a relationship with the love of my love. J.
Havan: Every year while in grade school (or still in for my youngest kiddo) – my girls made a special ornament with their school picture in the center…these are my fave ornaments for the tree – and even the 16yo still loves them *huge smiles* Now, if you are talking decoration other than tree ornaments—well, I have these three snowmen, and they do the hear/see/speak no evil gestures, and darn if they aren't cute…and truthful! roflmao Oh and on a side note—pine tree scented candles and pumpkin scented candles are all over the place…love those scents—makes me feel at home! <3
Hank: Snowmen! Love snowmen.
Lee: I like the ones with the lines on the back so I can cut it straight. I don't like the ones with cartoons on them. Especially when I've never heard of the cartoon in question. I like solid colors, or simple traditional prints.
Havan: Okay – I asked this question because giftwrap is one of my prompts for the Christmas antho – and it got me to thinking that I am really freaking picky about what type I will use – so picky that I've been known to cut off my nose to spite my face and just use plain brown wrap if I don't like the reindeer and sleighs on the wrapping paper *heads desk giggling*…so my fave type of giftwrap is the non-traditional ones…I don't know how else to explain it lol…if the wrapping paper doesn't make me do a double take then it ain't wrapping around my stuff…and it has to be good and thick—the thin type just feels so darn fragile, like I'll rip it in half or something—and I use lots of that extra sticky tape you can buy just for shits and giggles…never a bad thing watching people yank at Santa while he is stuck to the snowman! hehe
Em: Snowmen…preferably blue…with snowflakes. *grin*
JR: My absolute favorite Christmas giftwrap design is the tissue paper. All kinds of it too! Lots and lots of tissue paper and bunches of tape- Voila!
2. How do you spend Christmas Eve?
Hank: Christmas Eve dinner at my Mom's house and opening gifts with my family, then home to have Christmas with my partner with the Christmas lights on and the cats chasing the gift wrap.
Lee: After baking pies and cookies for the next day, we usually spend Christmas Eve watching old movies and drinking cocoa. We'll turn off the lights and light up the tree and crank up some Harry Connick Jr. and call everyone we aren't going to see the next day.
Havan: Christmas Eve is spent with the extended family at my mama's house. Now, mama evidently stole Christmas Eve from sis – so sis stole Thanksgiving and Halloween (which is by far an important holiday for my kiddos who are the youngest in the family and still dress up! lmao)…and that story is always recited each year with new details and colorful expletives just to get us all in the mood! roflmao
Em: With my family, just hanging out and getting loud. That was one thing hubby had to get used to…the volume on every conversation goes up when my family gets together. LOL. Of course, the one tradition that has formed out of this is that the adults do shots of Lemon Drops (Vodka, Sugar, Lemons…mmmm…) and the kiddies do shots of water. It’s a good time for all.
JR: I spend Christmas Eve at my parents' house, eating lots of tasty homemade goodness, visiting, and exchanging gifts. Yeah, I can be a soft...WAIT! I'm stopping right there.
3. What's your favorite holiday treat? Share the recipe?
Hank: Love the shortbread cookies with powdered sugar icing. Old family recipe, illegal to share. :)
Lee: Okay, this is going to be odd...but I love mincemeat pie. My grandma used to make it every Christmas, and I loved it. No one seems to make it any more. Here's the recipe:
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups diced cooked beef
4 cups chopped apples
1 1/2 cups raisins
1/4 cup sweet pickle juice
1/4 cup pineapple juice
1 large orange, peeled, sectioned, and cut into bite-size
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup sorghum
1 cup beef broth
Directions: Combine the cooked beef, apples, raisins, sweet pickle vinegar, pineapple, orange, salt, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar, sorghum and 1 cup beef broth. Store in the refrigerator or freeze until ready to use. (Makes 2 nine inch pies)
Havan: Come October and all through the three holiday months my daughter's insist on chocolate pumpkin muffins. These are the bomb diggity…and with the pumpkin in them there is no way for them to dry out – moist and yummy and the kiddos have been known to claw and gouge to get the last one…lol…oh and simple enough for even me – a kitchen ditz – to make! *winks*
Ingredients:
1 box choc cake mis
1 can pumpkin (15oz and not the pie mix)
1/2 cup water
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350*
Mix together all ingredients
Pour 1/2 way up each muffin cup
Bake according to cake mix instructions – make sure toothpick comes out clean
Notes: You can mix in nuts – pepitas are really good – or use a spice cake mix instead.
Em: Kaleidoscope Cookies… (recipe found at: http://www.cakespy.com/blog/2010/7/12/taste-the-rainbow-kaleidoscope-cookies-recipe.html)
Makes Lots!!
Ingredients:
1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 pound 6 ounces (about 4-½ cups) all-purpose flour
Various colors of food coloring paste or gel
1 cup or so sprinkles or colored decorating sugar
Directions:
1. In an electric stand mixer, beat the butter with a paddle attachment until it is creamy. Add the confectioners' sugar and salt and beat for several minutes, until all of the ingredients are well incorporated and no lumps of powdered sugar remain. Beat in the vanilla extract, then add the flour and beat until a soft dough forms.
2. Divide the dough into 3 parts. Incorporate the food coloring or gel of your choosing into each color--be sure to make the colors quite vibrant, as they will slightly fade in the oven (not much, but a little), and knead until the color is evenly distributed. I left one part white, used a little red food coloring for a pink section, then more red for a red section for mine.
3. Roll each tinted segment into a log about a foot long. Then squish the three logs into one long log and roll until they form one roll (I got a nice wavy design when I did this).
4. Gently roll and squish the finished log until it’s about a foot long. Then cut it in half to form two logs and roll each one of those until you have a number of logs that are 1-1/2 to 2 inches in diameter--it will be quite a few. If desired, place the sprinkles or decorating sugar on a large, shallow plate and roll each log to coat. Wrap the logs in wax or parchment paper and chill overnight or freeze up to a month.
5. Remove the dough from chilling--if it was in the freezer, let it warm up just until you can handle it, but not until it is soft Preheat oven to 375 F.
6. Unwrap the logs and, with a sharp knife, slice them into coins about 1/3-inch thick. Place on ungreased cookie sheets (the cookies will not spread much as they bake).
7. Bake two sheets at a time for about 7-9 minutes, rotating halfway through baking, until the cookies have firmed up but are not browned. Remove the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.
JR: My favorite holiday treat? Yeah, no. Uh-uh. Can't do it. I don't have a favorite. There are so many! I love all my momma's cookin'...and bakin'...annnnd no. I don't share Momma's recipes, but I'll share all the goodies with you though.
4. What's your favorite Christmas decoration and why?
Hank: A big light up wreath we hang on the wall behind our TV. We use it has our Christmas tree because we have two cats and a tree wouldn't last in our house. LOL!
Lee: Um... mistletoe. Mistletoe played a significant part in forging a relationship with the love of my love. J.
Havan: Every year while in grade school (or still in for my youngest kiddo) – my girls made a special ornament with their school picture in the center…these are my fave ornaments for the tree – and even the 16yo still loves them *huge smiles* Now, if you are talking decoration other than tree ornaments—well, I have these three snowmen, and they do the hear/see/speak no evil gestures, and darn if they aren't cute…and truthful! roflmao Oh and on a side note—pine tree scented candles and pumpkin scented candles are all over the place…love those scents—makes me feel at home! <3
Em: I have one that is a wreath with a picture of my hubby and I at our wedding. It gets top priority on the tree and goes high enough the kids can’t snag it.
JR: My favorite Christmas decorations would be any of them. They all have a special place in my heart. *Holds up finger, raises brow* But! Don't mess with my frogs *grin*.
5. Is there anything you absolutely have to do every Christmas?
Hank: Hang the wreath, listen to Johnny Mathis and Barbra Streisand Christmas albums as well as Gary Hoey's three Christmas albums, make shortbread cookies with powdered sugar icing. Mmmmm.
Lee: Yes. I have to watch It's a Wonderful Life. Sometimes, more than once. J
Havan: I assume you mean besides stressing over Christmas in general? *heads desk giggling* Nope – I'm a home body, so my body normally stays at home…now home is where the heart is—so where my kiddos are you will find me. Oh…and at least once a year I brave the—gulp—malls to get me a large Santa's White Christmas coffee from Barneys…don't know why but it has to be during Christmas and it has to be in the mall…I think I started that 'tradition' with myself way back when and don't even realize I do it. lol
Em: Be completely lazy. I do nothing for like three days. *cracks up laughing* Okay, that’s a lie. Anyone who knows me, knows that’s just not possible. Seriously? I don’t have anything that I have to do. I pretty much go with the flow as long as everything gets done.
JR: W00t! Wow! This is another easy Christmas question. I go back to Momma and Daddy's house for Christmas ham and to see what Santa Claus brought dropped off overnight. I'm so excited...I almost peed my pants just typing it!
***
Alrighty then! That was a hoot and a holler, huh?! Five weeks of pure Story Orgy goodness. I don't know about you, but I've learned a lot of interesting things about my SO family *chuckles*.
We may have just completed an interview; but, there are so many more things brewing in the SO world that you will not want to miss.
Happy holidays!
