Christmas Eve 2009

Wow, after over a week pretty much unplugged, I figured I'd better get up a quick post about Christmas before I turn into a pumpkin... or it becomes 2010, whichever comes first ;)


We had Christmas Eve at our place, with one set of grandparents. We had a fabulous meal that began with the traditional Barszcz made by Grandma. That was followed by shrimp, salmon, pierogies (recipe here), and roasted veggies.

roasted veggies, salmon, and pierogis

The roasted veggies included carrots, parsnips, delicata squash and acorn squash, roasted at 450 with cinnamon and curry powder. For the fish of the night, I slightly adapted a recipe from Angela. Once I got out all of the bones, it was easy to put together, cooked in no time, and was enjoyed by everyone--included my mom who doesn't like salmon!

Baked Dijon Pecan Salmon

Baked Dijon Pecan Salmon
adapted slightly from Oh She Glows, who adapted it from allrecipes



1.25-1.5lb wild sockeye salmon fillet (Mine had the skin on, I just lifted the salmon off when serving)
1T butter
1/4c dijon mustard
~1T oil to thin
1-2T honey, optional (I can't actually remembered if I used this)
1/4c panko bread crumbs
1/4c chopped pecans
1/4c chopped fresh parsley
1 lemon, for garnish

Preheat oven to 400deg.

In small bowl, melt butter. Add dijon mustard and mix. Add enough oil/honey until the mixture has thinned enough to be spreadable.

In another small bowl, mix together bread crumbs, pecans and parsley.

Place salmon (skin side down) in a large baking dish. Top with dijon and spread to cover the fillet. Top with crumb mixture and press lightly into dijon.

Bake 12-15min, or until flakes easily with a fork. Serve with lemon wedges.

Apple Pie w/Thyme Crust & Gruyere Crumble

For dessert, I made another apple pie, since my parents didn't get to try it the first time I made it :) It was still delicious and from the moans that came from the other side of the table, I'm guessing everyone liked it!


I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season!! And don't be afraid to give into temptation and have a snowball fight...


I couldn't resist making more of Katie's Chocolate Macaroon Babies and also tried some of Averie's Gingerbread Balls and Sugar Cookie Balls. A good way to ease your way off of the holiday treats (or was that just me??), getting in some more wholesome sweets! Or you could get wild with Katie ;)

See you next year!