It’s a new year and a fresh start with blogging. Maybe I’ll finally find time to do what I would like with the blog this year. Until then it’s always fun to start the year off with an In My Kitchen post, hosted by the wonderful Sherry.
The obvious place to begin is with Christmas gifts. As always I received several gifts related to the kitchen. First off are two cookbooks from the boys (though they deny it since Daddy did the shopping for them)! The recipes and photos in both books are drool worthy and I can’t wait to get cooking/baking.
I also got two new linen aprons. I’m a bit of a mess in the kitchen and these will come in handy! One is full bib style and the other full length half apron. They came from my parents and Josh.
I also have a few gifts I got myself long before Christmas. I decided to phase out my plain everyday white dishware and go with handmade pottery. I’ve started with these six handmade freeform plates that I love. They are from MudForm on Etsy.
I also got these four salad plates from the same potter. They will likely end up being props more than anything else, though I use them often. They are a perfect size and I love the high lip they have. So many possibilities.
Now for some holiday food photos. Let me start by saying I pulled off the ultimate Christmas surprise and flew my brother in from Seattle. This was the first year ever my parents were going to be here Christmas morning when the boys opened presents and it wouldn’t have been a family holiday if Uncle Nick wasn’t here too.
Christmas Eve breakfast I made homemade sourdough bagels and we had all the fixins with them. It was delicious! For dinner that night we had our traditional homemade pizzas. We grilled six different pizzas and enjoyed every bite. Cookies and homemade eggnog for dessert too, plus some for Santa of course.
Christmas brunch of course must include bubbly, this year with several liqueur mixins in addition to orange juice. Virgin sparkling cocktails for the boys. The main entrée was build your own fritattas with several options. Fruit and a red velvet cake dessert bowl rounded out the meal.
2017 ended with a fantastic holiday with family. This year was off to a rough start but is finally improving. Wishing you all a wonderful year! Check out what is happening in kitchen’s across the globe over at Sherry’s Pickings.
Sherrys Pickings
Feeding My 3 Sons 
Enjoyed your post. I have 3 sons myself, and they could eat. They are grown, however, they still can eat.
Boys definitely eat a lot!
Lovely new kitchen wares Gretchen – especially those aprons 😊
The aprons are well used by now!!
Happy New Year Gretchen. I’m a messy cook too and should wear an apron, heaven knows, there are quite a stack in the linen press but they seem destined to stay there. I’m loving that sourdough book and have made the bagels a number of times
Love those sourdough bagels. Next weekend we may have to try the English muffins.
Oh I love Smitten Kitchen, you’ll enjoy those books, her recipes are great. I’m impressed with the homemade bagels! Happy new year from Down Under.
The homemade sourdough bagels were fantastic and have been made a couple times. I finally was able to cook and eat my first recipe from Smitten Kitchen last night and loved the chicken marsala meatballs and buttered egg noodles.
Happy New Year Gretchen to you and to your little family. I love cookbooks. I would love to flick through Smitten Kitchen cookbooks. I absolutely love the pottery plates, so will check out the etsy link. I also very much enjoyed looking at you holiday photographs and the food, so good that your family got together.
The cookbooks are great, finally cooked from one last night. It’s been a crazy year with the stomach bug making the rounds in our house so cooking has been very limited.
wow that is an impressive christmas eve effort – 6 pizzas! I thought I did well to make one pizza 🙂 I love your pottery bowls – are the salad ones for serving a big salad or to eat the salad off – I have a shallow salad bowl I love to present a pretty salad on but still want to replace a few salad bowls that I am tired of.
The salad plates/bowls are smaller, more so for individual servings. I love them!
I love the build your own frittata idea – just brilliant! And the homemade sourdough bagels – can I ask is that your own recipe? I do have sourdough going but in Australia we are really poor for choice when it comes to bagels, so I’d love to give them a try. Happy new year!
The bagel recipe is from Artisan Sourdough Made Simple by Emilie Raffa. It’s a brilliant book if you bake sourdough, so many wonderful recipes. I’m definitely doing the build your own frittata bar again for brunch soon.
Thank you for giving us a glimpse into your holiday traditions, how wonderful to have your whole family together. That pottery is absolutely stunning and will be beautiful in photographs. And the aprons are very stylish. Happy New Year!
Thanks Liz. It was a wonderful holiday and now this year is already whizzing by me!
happy new year gretchen! love the pottery! as you have probably seen, i am a huge fan of handmade crockery. thanks for being part of IMK, especially over the busy Christmas break. have a wonderful 2018 and see you in IMK world soon. cheers sherry x
Thanks Sherry. Yes, handmade crockery is a bit addictive but so useful. It was a slow start in our kitchen as the stomach bug and flu made several appearances in our house. Glad to finally be in the kitchen again.
Kitchen gifts are the best (to get and to give). Love the pottery dishes and your holiday feasts look spectacular. Happy 2018!
Thanks some much. It’s been a crazy year already!
I love the look of those cookbooks and your new crockery. I hope 2018 is a great year for you and your family x
Thanks Kari. 2018 was off to a slow start but I hope it’s improving.
I love aprons. The second one is my choice. The rustic salad plates are great!
My aprons are getting lots of use!!