Brisket, Latkes, Matzo Treats, and Hanukkah/Christmas Part 1

On the plate:  Brisket, latkes, and matzo treats

Soundtrack to cook to:  Mariah Carey Christmas station on Pandora

Happy new year and a belated happy Hanukkah and merry Christmas!  *Phew!*  That was a mouthful.  Now is the time for me to officially catch up (yet again) as my little family and I were away for the holidays and things have finally settled down and gotten back on schedule at home.
Before Joseph, Alexander, and I left (Oscar went to the dog trainer's home for the holidays), we had our own little family Hanukkah before we visited our families.  I prepared some delicious brisket, latkes, and some yummy matzo treats that were incredibly addicting.

Mmmm!  The yummy, caramelized brisket that was so tasty after
slow cooking in the oven for six hours.  As my dad would say, "It'll
make your tongue slap your brains out!"  Definitely one of our faves.

Super simple latkes.  Grate 1 lb. of potatoes and 1 onion.  Combine
with 1 egg, 2 tbsp of flour, salt and pepper to season.

I like making them into little haystacks and frying them up in
some extra virgin olive oil.  I personally prefer to serve them with
fat free sour cream, but you could do apple sauce as well.

We had to have veggies, of course.  Simply sauteed with
salt, pepper, garlic powder, and olive oil.

Yes, I mentioned that I made matzo treats.  As a teacher, my students would make these for me every so often and I reluctantly shared them with Joseph because they were SOOOO delicious and addicting.  They're incredibly easy to make, and I even took a short cut to making them as well.  

Line matzo crackers (I like the lightly salted ones, because I like
the combination of salt and sweet).

My short cut - Buy a bag of Kraft caramels, unwrap them, and melt
them in a sauce pan with two tbsp of butter.  Pour over the matzos
and bake for 15 minutes.

As soon as you take the matzos out of the oven, sprinkle some
semi-sweet chocolate chips over the matzos.  The chips melt
almost instantly, so have a spatula ready to smooth out the chocolate
over the caramel.

Sprinkle slivered almonds over the chocolate.  Place the pans
in the refrigerator for ~20 minutes and serve.  I swear to you, you
will not be able to stop grazing by the serving plate with these on them.
They'll be gone by the end of the day.  

Our menorah - all prepped and ready to be lit.

Now on to our little family Hanukkah.  Joseph, Alexander, and I celebrated together at home, lit the menorah, played with dreidels (which Alexander loved), and opened a few gifts.  It was a nice, humble celebration before all the craziness of holiday travel commenced.

Alexander checking out his Hanukkah haul - it was mostly comprised
of Thomas the Tank Engine things.

I found a cute Hanukkah sippy cup and Alexander absolutely loved it.
Joseph opened up his gifts as well.

"Totti!!!"  (Alexander's version of "Thomas") - he was overjoyed
to see so many Thomas toys in his stocking.

Alexander playing with his Thomas whistle that my friend Jocelyne
got him.  He's been "toot tooting" around the house ever since.

The next day, my sister Kristen and her boyfriend Pete came over and we celebrated our own little Christmas/Hanukkah.  It's always easier to exchange gifts before we go to my parent's house, that way we don't have to travel with the gifts and then bring them back afterwards.  Also, my sister and I have absolutely NO patience when it comes to gift giving - so it's also another way that we can get our presents from one another earlier...we're brats.  You would think that turning 30 and 27 would change that type of behavior...but unfortunately it has not.  It's still so exciting, plus, we have a little one with us now and it's exciting to see his reactions to all of this as well.

Kristen and Pete opening up their gifts.

Alexander sitting in Tita Kristen's lap and opening up some gifts.
He was hesitant at first to rip the paper, but then got into it.  Joseph
was monitoring the gift giving.  :)

Alexander opening up another one of his gifts - who seemed more excited
about this, me or him?

"ELMO!!!" exclaimed Alexander.  Joseph and I
immediately looked at each other and said, "How does he
know Elmo??"  Kristen and Pete got Alexander Rock 'n Roll Elmo -
it's incredibly lifelike and plays the same few songs over and over.
Alexander has already found his favorite and keeps pressing
the buttons over and over until he gets to the song that he likes.
Joseph and I look forward to turning Elmo off at the end of the night.

Checking out Elmo

Alexander opening up some more gifts.

Alexander sitting in Uncle Pete's, also known as "Eppy", lap and
checking out his new Thomas toy.

Alexander needed a little snuggle time after all of the gifts.
As you can see, he also had some chocolate matzo treats by the
little chocolate stains around his mouth.

It was great to celebrate the holidays with our small family and it was fun to see Alexander so excited to check out his new toys.  I have lots more to catch you up on, but Alexander is waking up from his nap as we speak.  Until next time...

Love and kisses,

Nikki