I hope you all had wonderful holidays! I thought the new year would be a perfect time to catch you up on all we’ve been doing this holiday season. It’s been quite the whirlwind!
The season started in New Jersey where we spent Thanksgiving with Jason’s family. My in-laws are great cooks so all the food was amazing!
I think it was great for Jason to get to spend the holiday back home with his family. Just look at that face!
When we got back I started preparing for my most favorite time of year! We decked out the house (including a real live Christmas tree for the first time in my life!) and I decided to host Christmas Eve dinner at our place. Jason’s family usually does a seafood dinner that night, so I decided it would be fun to do the full feast of seven fishes. It’s a traditional Italian/Italian-American meal and it’s a really special way to celebrate the holiday. The feast takes quite a bit of preparation and so it was nice to have some snacks beforehand when all our guests (my family) were at our house and hungry! Almonds to the rescue!
These almonds go great with cheese and olives as an appetizer! They aren’t as salted as other varieties so they’re perfect with sharp cheeses like aged cheddar or aged provolone. After our appetizer course we were ready to continue the feast! Jason made linguine and clams for the pasta course:
And then after a little breather we continued on with dishes like filet of sole, fried shrimp, broccoli rabe, roasted cauliflower, potato croquettes, and even oysters!
It was quite a lovely evening with my family. There’s nothing better (really, can’t think of anything) than sharing a meal with people you love.
We’ve been back in Atlanta for a couple years now, but it’s still so crazy to me that we can just call up my family and they’re only minutes away!
But the holiday fun did not end there! No no! My beautiful friend Katherine came to town to celebrate New Year’s Eve and just generally have an awesome time. We ate a ton, talked a ton, laughed a ton, and danced a ton. Just how it should be!
Cheers to a fabulous 2016 full of more delicious food and merriment.
Thanks for reading!
-Lauren
This post is sponsored by Blue Diamond Almonds. All opinions are my own. Check out Blue Diamond on their website or on Facebook!