Hello from Pittsburgh!
Matt and I are here spending Christmas with his family – it was also our first Christmas together as a married couple! 🙂
It’s been a fun full house – both of Matt’s brothers are home, plus my sister-in-law, Jess, and Matt’s aunt, Nancy. Chris and Jess also brought their adorable dog, Maggie, with them!
Maggie = cutest dog EVER. We want to keep her.
On Christmas Day, Matt’s family hosted an awesome Christmas dinner for all of us plus their family friends the Hays (whose kids are our good friends, too).
Preparations for the feast began in the early afternoon. Check out this menu!
We all served as prep cooks – my job was to clean out the acorn squash and put some spiced butter and brown sugar inside before roasting. Yum!
I totally forgot to get pictures of the appetizers because we were all busy chatting and enjoying wine, but before we knew it, it was time for the main event!
First up – charbroiled oysters, inspired by a trip to New Orleans that Matt and his dad took last year! These were amazing – grilled with butter and garlic.
Plus, a salad that was waiting on the table. Baby greens, pear, walnuts, bleu cheese, and pear vinaigrette!
Palate cleanser! Obvi. 🙂 Fresh orange granita!
After the starters, we headed to the kitchen to load up our plates with the main courses.
Grilled acorn squash with maple butter:
Rosemary garlic roasted beef tenderloin – so juicy and flavorful.
Green beans and cherry tomatoes:
My plate! There was also some ham with cranberry sauce and on the left of my plate you’ll see a leek and gruyere cheese bread pudding. Amazing.
After dinner, out came the Peppermint Pig! Have you guys heard of this tradition? You put the pig in a bag and pass it around the table. When you get the pig, you share something good that happened to you this year with the group, then give the pig a little smack to break up the peppermint. When everyone has gone, you all open the bag and share little bites of the peppermint! My good thing was of course getting married to Matt in October! 🙂
Finally – time for dessert. Matt’s dad made this amazing chocolate cake – named La Bete Noir (“The Black Beast”) – it was SO rich and delicious.
Plus a mixed berry tart:
Assorted Christmas cookies:
And a coconut cake made by Matt’s mom! It was really moist – yum.
Matt and I are sticking around Pittsburgh until tomorrow, so we’re off to continue to enjoy our break. It snowed yesterday and we had a blast playing in the snow, sledding, and making a gingerbread house – more on that later! 🙂
Hope you’re all having a merry week!
