Lets start with the ballet! I always LOVE going to see the Nutcracker at Christmas time so when Vinnie suggested it I was thrilled. Little did I know it would be the Moscow Ballet! The program was full of beautiful names like Ekaterina, Anatoly and Svetlana and the adorable children were supplied by the local school. We tried to have dinner at John and Vinnie’s favorite Italian restaurant but did not anticipate the crowd. The super friendly hostess was sympathetic and kept giving us plates of super fresh bruschetta but after 2 good bottles of Primitivo time forced us to get a super delicious pizza and eat it in the jeep on the way to the ballet. Now that’s what I call elegant???

The shop below is called Thyme in a Garden and I blogged about it in the Spring when I first visited Asheville. At Christmas time it is nothing short of magical. I knew I shouldn’t buy anything but naturally, there on the 40% shelf was this amazing ceramic bowl, already reasonably priced and a steal with the discount. How would I get it home? Who cared! I just had to have it! I would figure the rest out later!

We played games (well some of us). Scrabble is a Patson family tradition. My mom and dad were so good and knew all the tricks. Mom liked to bet money (who does that???) ‘cuz she knew she could win!

Vinnie baked cookies using the recipe from Martha Stewart and they turned out delicious!

I don’t recommend trying to find cookie cutters at the last moment as it was a bit of a scramble but Vinnie perserved and was successful! (I’m sure freehand would have been disastrous!)

We cruised all around downtown Asheville.

Should we have taken the Christmas Trolley? a charming option to a car!

We browsed the local book store (told John and Vinnie they would probably be in this calendar next year!)

Visited several Art Galleries (this by local artist Cornbread – love the name and the art!)

Shopped in the Five&Dime (could’ve gone crazy with all that nostalgic candy!!!)

Saw lots of beautiful nature (this is Beaver Lake but the major body of water in Asheville is the French Broad River).

Including what will probably amount to 1000′s of fallen pine limbs (due to heavy snowfall on their branches)
BTW, this is one of many in John and Vinnie’s front yard! Looks like they’ve got their work cut out for them!

Couldn’t miss the neighborhood flock of turkeys.

And can you believe it, we even spent a good deal of time relaxing….!

Although relaxing is not really in our nature with so many fun Holiday activities to do, it certainly helps when you have 3 wiener dogs (the 3rd one is behind me) and 1 cat sitting on you! Sometimes the critters just know how to calm you down!

Can you say Holiday Cook-o-rama????

One tradition in our family is to always have a steaming pot of something on the stove awaiting the person when they arrive from the airport. For my arrival I was greeted with a big bowl of leftover (even better!) Chicken Daube that John had made the night before. How perfect was that????

The next day we had quite a bit of grocery shopping to do so we ran up quite an appetite (natch!) running around. A good lunch was a must! John and Vinnie took us to the Sunny Point Cafe where Marc had some fancy egg dish with crab and John had local speciality of Shrimp with Grits which was amazing! Check out their menu here!

Local entertainment at the grocery store and at home! Banjo or chainsaw, you choose!

That night it was my turn to cook and I went down memory lane with an homage to a recipe that my mother used to make: Swiss Steak. Really easy and REALLY delicious! If you are looking for another great comfort food recipe I definitely recommend this!

The next day we went to a really cute cafe in the Biltmore Village called The Corner Kitchen. I think Lu made the best choice with the Ploughman’s Lunch – a new and generous take on soup and salad. It included a cup of Shrimp and Corn Chowder, a side salad, Two Different cheeses & A slice of Country style Terrine or for a Vegetarian Farmer, Roast Portobello for $10. Wow!

We’re now up to Christmas eve and since we make such a fuss for Christmas dinner we like Christmas eve to be easy and fun. More comfort food. Last year we surprised ourselves by making the best spaghetti and meatballs. This year it was John’s Pork and Hominy Stew! Again, another one pot wonder, the ultimate in COZY!

Christmas breakfast seems to be almost as important as Christmas dinner! Here’s a tradition we just can’t give up. And why would we? Aunt Aggie’s Nut (butt) cake. We added the butt because when we were little, well, we just added the word “butt” to just about anything we could! This one stuck.

The cake is a delicious take on a coffee cake – not too sweet with lots of walnuts. John substituted the Crisco it calls for with a new and improved non-hydrogenated brand which turned out great.

Counter Intelligence!:

the final delicious product!

Breakfast main course was an artichoke and ham Strata with roasted potatoes.

Christmas dinner starts with Celery Bisque with Stilton Toasts.
The recipe for this soup is already on a previous post. Just search for Celery!

The main course is out own version of Surf and Turf: Crab Imperial, petit filet mignon with baked potato and broccoli.

Take that Martha, at least we had friggin Wine Charms!!! So what if we got our Holidays confused!!!!

And now for something completely different – the day after Christmas lunch at Louella’s BBQ!
Our order in is!

Happy Campers!

Ribs, hushpuppies with 2 sides and a beer!

One thing’s for sure, all the food we had in Asheville was downright Cozy!!!

Marc and I spent Christmas in Asheville, North Carolina with my sister LuAnn, brother John and his partner Vinnie and their 4 wiener dogs and 6 cats. Needless to say, we have a wonderful wonderful time!

The following 3 posts will be all about Christmas. What we Did. What we Ate. And how we spent Christmas! But first, some images that just make me feel Cozy and I hope you too!

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The perfect snowman created by the neighbor girl. The next day she added a snow dog complete with leash but then temps raised and it melted before I had time to take a picture!

What a gorgeous holiday mantel! Marc, an expert fire maker, kept the logs glowing.

A beautiful front door is just a hint of things to come!

The view from their large kitchen overlooking the neighborhood blanketed on that first day with 13 inches of snow!

After running around so much we thought what could be more perfect for our last night than just spending it with good friends over a big plate of spaghetti! Martin decided to make both homemade Marinara and Pesto, of course fresh Parmesean and bread and salad. Did I mention wine yet? We had lots…….

Superstar chef Martin Fritsche!

Pro Obama – Anti pasti!!!

The spaghetti! Molto delicioso!

A glass of champagne: Corinne stops by unable to stay for dinner and apologizing with a bottle of Veuve Clicquot!
Apology accepted!

Good night and good bye to the gang! Tomorrow it’s off to the airport and good bye Switzerland!

We took the 30 minute train to Winterthur to visit Marc’s Godmother Christina, Ursula and a bunch of cousins and nieces and nephews.

Christina and Ursula have the house in Tuscany Marc and I visited after we first met. We baked pizzas in the outdoor pizza oven using vegetables from the crazy overrun garden. We have an outstanding invitation to go back. What is taking us so long?!!!

They even gave us a bottle of olive oil from the press of their own trees. What a treasure!!! Can’t wait to taste it but need good summer tomatoes!!!!

Marc’s cousin Martin and his wife Daniela adopted to babies from Ethiopia. They are now toddlers and are totally adorable and completely well adjusted, maybe just a little shy. Martin and Daniela are really really cool!

Kid’s tables are too cute! Marc’s other cousin Christian’s son (who is 1/2 Brazilian) mans the little ones.

Coffee is served in tiny beautiful cups as Lydia signals it’s bedtime!

It was so great to finally meet the kids and see Christina, Ursula, Martin, Daniela and Christian. Next time let’s do it in Tuscany!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJi8thPQcjA]
What did we do on our last day in Switzerland?

Why we went ice skating of course!

Some of us felt more at home on the ice…

than others……..

Yes, this is what toddlers use!!!! and thank God for this Penguin! I never would have made it around without it!
I am hanging on for dear life!!!

Now we’re really in trouble…Martin brings us Gluhwein topped off with a shot of Rum!
Cheers boys and watch out for that Penguin, I hear they really can’t handle their liquor!

Perfect 10?? Hardly, but we’re still standing although still waiting for Ice Capades to call!

Look out Tanya Harding wherever you are!

I know, you’re probably saying ENOUGH ALREADY! Will she ever stop posting about this Swiss trip???

Well, the answer is YES! After this, there’s only two more posts. But these images are important to me too,

While walking through the Neiderdorf. Violin anyone?

In St. Gallen we visited the Textile Museum, it was beautiful and fascinating! How chic is this Lanvin?!

The cathedral in St. Gallen is one of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. Loved the colors.

This beautiful plate of food comes from a very rustic restaurant in the countryside in the Swiss French part. A little bit of fish, some sauce and some vegetables.

Wake up Martin, we still have to walk home!!! (We had so much fun that night!)

I loved these elegant art books Martin had at his apartment.

The Christmas Trolly on Bahnhofstrasse in Zurich.

Marc at Dior. Next time, please buy me something!

Probably a good place to “hide” your millions!

The boys at their “Water Pipe” night.