Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! In my family, we traditionally begin the celebration of Christmas on the 24th. My mom and I began preparing all the ingredients for tamales on Saturday, so that on Monday we just put everything together to cook and eat. We made tamales, and they turned out delicious! My brother and his wife came over and we enjoyed tamales and I even made chocolate chip bread pudding for dessert. It was a fun time! I also opened up some special wine bottles and we all had delicious wine while making gingerbread houses. I ended up spending the night at my parents’ house, and the next morning we had breakfast at IHOP.

Chris has been in the forefront of my mind as Christmas was his favorite holiday. One of his favorite wine varietals was tannat. He had begun collecting tannat from a winery called Tablas Creek in Paso Robles. It was one of the first wineries we went to on our first trip together to Paso. He wanted to one day open up all the tannats and have a vertical tasting with friends, and enjoy a great meal. Sadly, we never had the opportunity to do that as he became more sick toward the end of his life last year. This year, I went to Paso with my good friend Gerry and we went to Tablas Creek to buy another bottle of tannat for Chris. Soon I plan to host a dinner to open up all the tannat which spans about 8 years. Chris’s picture will be prominently displayed and we will toast to him!

I am a bit sad that the holiday season is coming to and end. I very much enjoyed having my first Christmas tree in my new home and this gorgeous Santa my parents bought for me while we were in Cambria. It made my house feel more like home. I enjoyed entertaining some friends, old and new, and look forward to more memories in my new home.