hospitaliano

Ever since I found out we are hosting Christmas Eve, I have been wondering what our plan is going to be. I love my mom, but she is not really keen on having visitors over. It is always a huge ordeal the weeks, days, hours, prior and then for the duration of the visit, wondering when they will leave. I'm hoping for it to be different this time, especially if my sister and I help out a lot. Let's not even get into how wonderful it is to not have to go out to the high desert at all this year. That is a celebration unto itself. Being fortunate enough to have most of my family within 15 minutes of each other on Christmas Eve is even more amazing, but the cherry on top is I can sneak off to bed whenever I am ready.

We usually eat tamales or ham or some other traditional stuff, but I was secretly hoping that as hosts we wouldn't have to do the majority of the cooking- so that I could actually have some holiday kitchen time. Yesterday we talked about doing a bbq if the weather was nice enough (usually is!), but ribs, steaks, etc instead of burgers and hot dogs, fancier bbq if you will. As of tonight it is going to be Italian, or more like what passes for Italian in America. I have not been to Italy but I am pretty sure it does not taste anything like the Olive Garden. However I am going to keep my critique to myself because if the omnivores order out, that means I can make spinach lasagne and some roasted veggies and this totally gross-good looking pizza dip I saw in family circle. I'm also thinking of doing a soup since I am sure we will also have salads. Of course there will be desserts and a door prize too. It's a good thing I was already planning on going wine shopping this week, now I won't look so bad buying a case since it is "for the party".

Now I have to decide what to wear- torn between dressing super nice and being a classy hostess or staying comfy and casual since it's just family and I am going to be home after all. It really will depend on how long I take with cooking I guess-the more do-ahead recipes I can find, the better my outfit will be.