Christmas Dinner

Fried Turkey
Hickory Smoked Ham
Oyster Dressing
Mashed Potatoes
Gravy
Grandma’s Christmas Jello Salad
Green Bean Casserole
Pumpkin Pie
Candy Cane Cheesecake

I discovered a new treat yesterday while cooking. I had the ham in the smoker and had just put the turkey in the fryer. I dumped what my kids had taken to calling the “icky innards” (gizzard, liver and heart) of the turkey into the smoker with the ham. It was about an hour later when I discovered that I like hickory smoked turkey heart much better than just baked turkey heart.

Christmas Dinner was a quiet affair for us this year. This was the first time in 17 years that Christmas dinner was just the five of us. We almost always have guests over. But this year it was just my dear wife, the three kids and I. We did discover one small benefit to having just the five of us for dinner. No one dressed up. We spent the day in sweats or jeans. It was nice lounging around and cooking in casual clothes, but I think I would trade that for having some family or friends around.