A White Christmas and More, Tapas Plate Dinner at Home, Ham & Cranberry Torte

A White Christmas and More-

More snow last night!  

Dave's family bell, may have come from Italy from a family member

Mine!

Italian grapes I bought for Dave years ago

From a parent I worked with at school years ago

  

My thrifted "chicken tree"

Rhode Island Red

Barred Rock

Mr. Rooster keeping an eye on his flock :)

Our little house, so cheery coming home at night 

Christmas morning with 3" more inches

Tapas Plate Dinner at Home, Ham & Cranberry Torte-
I haven't made this for a while so decided it would be fun for dinner. The basic recipe is for a plate of meats, cheese, olives and the FABULOUS Tapas Plate Marinated Chickpeas. Just slice, heat up the bread and it's dinner, or lunch. This salad is so good I always triple the recipe, since it keep well for a week or more. Good for a snack or a rerun of the Tapas diner. Simple ingredients. I even found some parsley under the snow!

I decided to try a different method for a baked ham for last night- you start at 550 degrees for 20 minutes ONLY, then turn down the over to 325 degrees for 2 hours. You get a crispy, smoky skin! I used the recipe I found- 1 cup brown sugar, 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1/2 tsp dry mustard, pepper, mix. Rub onto ham, then preheat. Wonderful! I made butter egg noodles, ham with a sweet mustard, sauteed spinach, served with Lingonberries. A nod to the Swedes:) And the dessert. It was a nice quiet dinner with just the two of us for a change.

For Christmas Eve dessert I made this Cranberry Cornmeal Torte-

No margarine! Use butter and you don't need the whipped cream. Slight crunch to the crust with the cornmeal, keeps well. I'm making a second one today for our family Christmas dinner. I always use more cranberries than they advise, why not?