KitchenAid Food Processor winner!

Merry Christmas everyone!  I have to say that I've been a bit out of my writing element this holiday.  I suppose it's good to take a break, but I'm really looking forward to getting back to blogging after a year of non-stop studying...

And I'm happy to say, that I am now a Sommelier!!  It was a lot of work, but also alot of fun - and now I'm happy to be able to share wine stories with you as well as food ones!

Please keep an eye out for my New Year's Eve post, where I'll post my most memorable morsels of 2011!!  Until then, I wanted to share with you the winner of my KitchenAid 13 Cup Food Processor!! I put all of the names in my mother's most Christmas-y bowl and my big sis drew the name.  Thanks so much to KitchenAid, for their generous donation of this awesome prize!

Without further ado, Congratulations to Carly N, for her fantastic story of a 'lobster surprise' on Christmas Eve!!  I've posted her story below so that you can all have a good laugh.  Thanks to Carly, and everyone else who posted a Christmas food memory, and thanks most of all, for sharing them with me. :)

Carly, please get in touch with me via the email link so that KitchenAid can hook you up with your new Christmas toy!

Carly's Story:

One of my fave memories was actually last year, when I brought back lobsters from Halifax to my hometown of Winnipeg for Christmas eve. We traditionally have steak and some type of seafood (usually store bought shrimp, as it's the prairies) so last year I decided to kick it up a notch and bring a taste of the maritimes back - live lobster. I planned lobster tails to go with the steak and used the rest of the meat (claws, body, etc) to make an amazing lobster stuffing - so easy; uses sherry; delicious - arranged in the shells.

This was the first time I'd cooked live lobster and my mother picked that moment to decide she was an animal (crustacean) lover and couldn't bear to be in the same room when I "killed" them, so I was all alone in the kitchen, attempting to pile four live lobsters into a pot of boiling water. I got them in, put the lid on, felt very accomplished... and then one popped back out, the lid went flying, and I may have yelled a bit (a lot).

Eventually they were cooked, after employing some tongs (and a lot of "I'm sorry Mr. Lobsters!"), and we sat down to dinner; it was definitely one of the best dinners and a most memorable Christmas eve.

Christmas KitchenAid Contest!

For me, as for many of you, this time of year brings a flood of childhood (and adolescent and adult) memories.  It shouldn't be a shock to you that many of these memories revolve around food.  I go home to NL (almost) every year, and indulge in a well-stocked fridge and pantry from which to craft decadent snacks and tasty treats.

There was the time that I made my first risotto with green peas and Parmesan, topped with (dad's) pan fried cod and a luscious mixed tomato salad; a Moroccan-style stew with leftover turkey; french toast with leftover lemon-cranberry loaf and last year's lovely pancakes with apple-cinnamon topping (below) for our Christmas Brunch.  There used to be photos of all the others too, which I can't seem to locate...

Our Christmas day brunch is my absolute favorite memory because all we do - all day - is EAT!  An awesome spread of scrambled eggs, bacon, lovely cheeses, clementines, brioche, croissants, pancakes and strong coffee.  Then later, we break out the bubbly, Bailey's and rum and eggnog.  We only start to acknowledge presents at 2 pm or so!  On Christmas day, it's the food, the music (Vince Guaraldi's Charlie Brown Christmas), the twinkly lights and the people I spend it with that make the memory special.

Of course, there were the more indulgent memories: Christmas Fest on the Upper West and my lovely box of chocolates from The Newfoundland Chocolate Company,  Then again, to a lesser degree of exertion,  I also remember devouring an entire crate of clementines or copious amounts of rum and eggnog.

But regardless of these meals, the majority of them were shared with my family. Living away from my parents in NL and my sister in Manhattan really makes Christmas special because we get to spend time together.  Most of the best times for me are spent in the kitchen with my mother while my sister shirks any kitchen duties in lieu of practicing her viola (convenient timing) and my dad putters around with tools, stoking the woodstove, playing the...wait for it...accordion!  And I wouldn't have it any other way.  Even as I write this, I'm filled with anticipation of a nice LONG break, where I get to relieve my stress in the kitchen with those familiar sounds.  

Anyhow, I digress.  The purpose of this post is to let readers know about an exciting contest that I'll be holding through www.withbite.ca!  The folks at KitchenAid have provided me with one of their NEW 13 cup food processors to give away to a reader.  And since I love food - and memories revolving around it - I thought I might ask you to share yours with me.

For your chance to win, simply comment on this post below with your favorite Christmas food memory - EASY! I should tell you that I don't particularly like turkey dinner, so let's get a bit more creative, shall we?  And since I have so many great memories, I'm sure you all do too, so feel free to post more than once.

I'll draw the winner on Christmas Eve, so that on Christmas Day, you'll get an extra prezzie!  Don't forget to check in on Christmas Day to see if you've won!  Look how shiny - you know you want it! ;)

Happy Holidays, Happy Baking,
and Happy Memory-making!