Jolly Old Saint Nick

Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas! Once upon a time, as part of the Feast of Saint Nicholas, we had an early Christmas Celebration. That way ChristMas – His birth – was all about Him.

All of my life I have felt the magic that is Christmas. My parents were far from rich, but we never knew that because growing up we felt blessed. Christmas morning wasn’t as much about the gifts under the tree but more about the love we felt in our hearts.

I truly feel for this generation of Black Friday Deals and Cyber Monday Insanity. Hurry up and get the latest craze. All the Right Stuff. We didn’t know about labels, nor did we care. There were a few kids in the neighborhood (typically only children) who got the big, big ticket items. We thought that’s cool, but not once did we feel deprived. I think somehow we knew that we had something priceless – and that was family. Big, loud, crazy families.

When Kiddo was young, he was an only child. I wanted him to know the type of Christmas I grew up with – that faith and family came first. So we had two celebrations. On December 6, the Feast of Saint Nicholas, we hosted a big Saint Nicholas gathering. Santa came, with a bag of toys. We invited all our friends with children. Some were only children like Kiddo. Some came from families so large they could form their own baseball team. The point was to make it loud and fun and magical.

Now that there are no little ones in our home anymore, I do miss the magic of a child’s heart at this special time of the year. We have found other ways to keep the magic alive. It’s part of being a good Christian, and paying our blessings forward. That’s a story for another day.

Just remember it isn’t about the gifts under the tree, but the love surrounding the tree. Hold one another and cherish every moment God has given you.

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Christmas Time Eggnog French Toast
1 cup Strawberries
1 Orange
1 Egg White
6 slices Texas Toast
1 Egg
1/2 cup Eggnog
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Splash Brandy
6 tablespoons Powdered Sugar

Clean, hull and slice strawberries. Slice orange into thin rounds. Set fruit aside until ready to garnish the plates.

Separate egg white from yolk. Reserve or discard yolk, whisk white until foamy, set aside.

Heat a griddle to 325-degrees. Light grease the griddle with butter.

In a bowl, beat an egg until it is pale and smooth. Add eggnog, whisk to blend. Add cinnamon, and nutmeg, whisk into the egg mixture. Add vanilla and brandy. Fold foamy egg white into the eggnog batter. Pour mixture into a shallow dish or pie pan and set aside.

Slice bread to create 12 triangles. While whisking to keep the seasonings blended, dip each piece of bread into the batter. Lightly coat both sides without allowing bread to become soggy.

Place bread triangles on the warmed griddle and cook until golden and toasted, about 3 minutes. Turn bread to brown the other side. Dollop each triangle with a pat of butter, allowing butter to melt into the French toast.

Messy Brown Sugar Glazed Bacon
6 slices Bacon
1/4 cup Brown Sugar, packed

Lay bacon out on a flat work area. Sprinkle with brown sugar, press to adhere (some will fall off, that’s okay if you line work area with butcher paper first. You can shake any brown sugar left on the paper into the pan as it fries).

Heat skillet over medium heat. Lay bacon in skillet, brown sugar side up, and fry until the grease as been rendered. Turn bacon over, add more brown sugar to the bacon drippings for really sticky bacon. Keep warm until ready to serve.

Arrange triangles on a warm plate. Garnish with berries and oranges. Dust with powdered sugar and serve with glazed bacon.

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Behold, our Lord shall come with power;
He will enlighten the eyes of his servants.