Christmas planning was also a lot easier this year because we stayed in town and I am no longer a class mom at Nikita’s school. So, for example, all gifts were bought by the 15th and arrived on time (but I should avoid sending packages to MIT), and I finally found a bulb for our angel tree topper. I only had to help sell cookies at the Christmas fair at Nikita’s school; Igor figured out how to get prizes at the raffle, so boys actually won toys this year. I also discovered (for a party for one of my classes) that the NYT pumpkin cake goes perfectly with Cook’s Illustrated (CI) eggnog, but I have to use higher flame for the latter to avoid stirring at the stove for over 30 minutes. Finally, the Jesse Tree is a fantastic way to count down the days to Christmas. Although Nikita was originally upset that this advent “calendar” doesn’t involve candy or toys (we have ample supplies of both), both boys were excited to hang up an ornament each day.
Nikita and I were done with our respective schools by the 17th. It’s been really fun to be in the house with both boys the past two weeks, although maddening at times. Nikita spent most of his vacation building with Legos or playing “Arabesque” on the piano. He tends to do the latter whenever we want him to do something (like eat), but he really likes the piece. Once I heard him play just the left-hand part, which made me glad because it means that he is appreciating the harmony.
Meanwhile, Ivan has really gotten into play-acting. He spent one evening playing David (our plumber) fixing our pipes, but he really likes to play Don Ottavio from Don Giovanni. For the latter, he insists on wearing a dress shirt and sometimes a jacket, which he originally thought was another shirt. We’ve had a number of tantrums about the costume. At first, Ivan insisted that the shirt be worn over the jacket, then he was upset that he didn’t have the same fuschia shirt worn by the singer in our DVD production. I don’t know how we’re going to find him such a shirt; I think it would be easier to intentionally ruin a white dress shirt by washing it with something red.
As you saw with my countdown, I spent the first week of vacation cooking and baking for Christmas, and the second week recovering then preparing for Galina’s birthday and New Year’s Eve. Galina’s birthday dinner was easy because I just repeated our Christmas Eve dinner: salmon and tomatoes in foil (NYT), sautéed Basmati rice, and sautéed green beans with tarragon. Galina didn’t request Lemon Squares this year, but I adapted a Deborah Madison recipe to make a nice buttermilk upside-down cake with leftovers of the NYT Winter Fruit Salad. I substituted the syrup from the salad for the buttermilk, so added powdered buttermilk, cut down on the sugar, and left out flavorings. The cake was good (especially topped with cream), but the topping was a bit too caramelized because I accidentally used dark instead of light brown sugar.
For New Year’s Eve, I baked my first ham (CI) with a sauce made with mustard, Vermouth, and thyme (CI). The sides were the Voluptuous Cauliflower (NYT), Russian salads, and rice pilaf with carrots, almonds, and orange/tangerine (Please to the Table). I chose cauliflower as the main side because Galina said 2011 is the year of the white rabbit, and the cauliflower worked perfectly, with its cream and Greyere cheese sauce. The mustard-based sauce went really well with the ham, but I think next time, I will also make a simple glaze of sifted dark brown sugar (from Tiptionary).
A two-day blizzard the day after Christmas meant that the boys and I were finally able to play in the snow. The snow was powdery for the first couple of days, then was perfect for making snowballs and snowmen.
Nikita spent most of his time building forts and snowmen...
...while Ivan went sledding by himself.
Back in the house, we decorated and assembled the gingerbread house (there are 12 days of Christmas after all), received more presents (including my sister-in-law’s addictive toffee), and mixed and matched Christmas leftovers (a particularly good combination is Chicken Relleno, sautéed Basmati rice, and Russian pickled cherry tomatoes).
We had to make a couple of trips to the pediatrician’s sick clinic for both boys (Nikita’s coughing and ear infection; Ivan’s sudden rash on the face), but in general we had a relaxing time, with long afternoon naps leading to late bedtimes, marked with a story or poem from The Family Read-Aloud Christmas Treasury by Alice Low. The boys were actually able to stay up until midnight on New Year’s Eve. So, we all greeted 2011 by drinking sparkling cider and watching Times Square. We were upset that there was no ball coming down, so amused ourselves by watching cheesy Russian pop and skits, including one satirizing drunk policemen – something you won’t see in this country!
