Friends:

This past Christmas was wonderful! It was spent surrounded by family and friends. My nieces, Camrynn, Ashlynn, and Jasmynn spent 2 nights with us: December 22 and December 23. On December 23, we took Eliana and her cousins to Miracle on Fulton Street in New Orleans.

There, they got to play in the “snow” (tiny masses of bubbles), see Santa, and mail letters to Good Ole St. Nick from the Rudolph mailbox provided. So cute!

On December 24, Christmas Eve, we prepared for Santa’s visit. First, we delivered gifts to our wonderful neighbors. This is what we saw in the sky!

After spending some time at my mom’s exchanging gifts, drinking hot cocoa, and eating cookies, we headed home. Santa was coming and we had to prepare! Eliana left a card for Papa Noel, cookies, and milk.

Then Eliana went off to bed. In the morning… surprise! Santa had visited!

Eliana read her letter from Santa. It was a nice, long letter. He said he was a big fan of Eliana Cooks!

He left cool presents for Eliana. Soleil received her fair share too!

Soleil received a wireless all-in-one printer, copier, scanner & fax machine, a lighted makeup mirror, and Harajuku Lovers perfume “G” by Gwen Stefani. Eliana got a new recipe binder, an apron and chef hat set, a teddy bear, and what she asked for from Santa: an iPod touch. It even came loaded with the “Cooking Mama” game!

Then, it was time for all of us to open our presents. There were piles everywhere! We all had great Christmas presents. Antonio got a new flat screen TV for the bedroom and all kinds of new clothes. My big gift was a Flip HD video camcorder. Soleil got all kinds of new clothes and shoes. Eliana received cookbooks including Julia Child’s The Art of French Cooking and Memories from a Cuban Kitchen.

Then Abuela (my husband’s mom, Jennie) came over to give us her gifts. Abuela gave Eliana a new 19 inch flat screen TV for her bedroom!

Then it was off to my mom’s house. First, Eliana and Soleil had find out what Santa left for them at Nana’s house. Eliana received a Nintendo DSi and Soleil got a new 160gb iPod Classic. Both girls were ecstatic!

After that, it was time for posed family pictures. We do this every year in front of my mom’s Christmas tree. It’s become a family tradition. Here I am with my husband, Antonio.

Here is a picture of Soleil and Eliana.

Finally, there is the grand family photo!

After that, the kids were dying to open all their Christmas presents. It was mad chaos. We were opening presents while guests came to the door. My mom was hosting a Christmas party too.

Mom prepared a feast! There was a turducken (duck inside a chicken inside a turkey layered with sausage stuffing), brisket, roast beef, macaroni and cheese, green bean artichoke casserole, cornbread stuff, gumbo, pineapple meatballs, lumpia, stuffed mushrooms, bacon greenbeans, and more! Then you should have seen the dessert table!!

My best friend, Lisa, and her fiancee, Lonnie came over to visit. I don’t get to see Lisa often and I always look forward to the holidays when I can reconnect with her.

She just got engaged over the holidays and the ring is absolutely breathtaking. They had it made and my mom had to examine it!

We had a ton of fun. We ate, drank, sang Karaoke, and even played games like Catchphrase. In our family, Christmas is all about being together. It was a fabulous day full of love.

So from our family to yours, Happy Holidays! May 2010 bring you much happiness and together time!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

Friends:

Thanksgiving was wonderful! We had a great turnout of about 50 people altogether for our Thanksgiving Feast. It has always been our tradition to host military singles and young military families to our family gathering and this year was no exception. Eliana and my nieces (Camrynn, Ashlynn & Jasmynn) began cooking on Tuesday. We started with all the desserts that could be refrigerated – Pineapple Pumpkin Pie, Sweet Potato Eggnog Pie, Pumpkin Butterscotch Bundt Cake, and Sopapilla Cheesecake Bites.

The desserts turned out delicious. Here is a picture of the Pumpkin Butterscotch Bundt Cake with Cream Cheese Drizzle. Yum! So moist!

The girls worked tirelessly, cooking and keeping the kitchen clean. They were like Santa’s Elves!

When guests came in, they wrote their blessings on a leaf for the “Giving Thanks Tree.” Before we ate, we said grace and read the blessings out loud. It was a wonderful beginning to a perfect party.

Then they ate and drank to their heart’s content. We had five tables set up with food and one for drinks. The menu included thirty items! The cooking was done by me and the girls, my mom, my 19 year old daughter, Soleil, my mother-in-law, and some of our party guests also brought dishes. The main course included 2 Fried Turkeys, 2 Smoked Turkeys, a Honey Ham, and Mojo Roasted Pork. Appetizers included Lumpia (Filipino egg rolls), Asiago Parmesan Mushroom Purses, Mini Crab Cakes & Remoulade, Ornamental Turkey with Ham, and Cheese & Fruit Skewers. The sides were Cornbread, Bacon Cheddar Cornbread, Cornbread Stuffing, Cranberry Dressing, Roasted Garlic Gouda Smashed Potatoes, Green Bean & Artichoke Casserole, Homemade Macaroni & Cheese, Rice & Broccoli, Roasted Cauliflower, Carrots & Mushrooms, Sweet Potato Casserole, Smothered Greens, Black Beans, Shepherd’s Pie, Stuffed Mushrooms and Steamed Rice. We had 2 soups: Crawfish & Corn Bisque and Chicken & Sausage Gumbo. To complete the feast, we ended with these fabulous desserts: Sopapilla Cheesecake Bites, Pumpkin Bundt Cake w Cream Cheese Drizzle, Sweet Potato Eggnog Pie, Pineapple Pumpkin Pie, Leche Flan & Casava Flan. It was a spread to remember!

Look at our beautiful drink fountain!

We had a full house and it was wonderful seeing so many happy faces.

The girls put on a show for us, we danced, and played games. Most of all, we had a blast!

Happy Thanksgiving and thank you to all of our family and friends for making it a special day!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

Friends:

The moon was full and we are in New Orleans! That, right there, is a recipe for a special Halloween brew! As a family, we decided to depict Heroes and Villains. My husband Antonio was Batman, my nine year old daughter Eliana was Wonder Woman, I was Cat Woman, my nineteen year old daughter Soleil was Harley Quinn (Joker’s girlfriend and partner in crime), and Soleil’s boyfriend Tomas was The Joker.

Soleil and Tomas headed for Voodoo Fest, a huge music festival in New Orleans City Park. Antonio, Eliana and I went to our church’s Trick-O-Trunk, an annual Halloween celebration where parishioners park their cars in the church parking lot and decorate their trunks. There is music, games, a haunted house, and food. It’s like a big festival and the kids only have to walk from trunk to trunk to go trick-or-treating. So much fun!

They participated in a Mummy Wrap contest with toilet paper. Eliana, Camrymm, Ashlynn & Sienna won 2nd place for their bow-tastic work! LOL

I had a bit of a brawl with Bat Man. Everyone wanted a picture with him. How dare he still my spotlight when I am on the prowl!

My brother, Gary, was a Star Wars Sith. His daughter, Camrynn, was Princess Leia.

My mom, Josie, is adorable. She intermittently wore a mask but here she is in all her cuteness.

Here is Eliana next to the coolest Jack-O-Lantern we saw all night!

We had a blast at Trick-O-Trunk and I loved being with my family again. That was MY biggest treat!!!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne