Day After Christmas Blues

It is 7:10 AM the day after Christmas. I am concurrently connected to facebook - right now I have 1 friend online out of over one thousand. Everyone I know is asleep, recovering from a long festive day that is typically defined with overeating and excessive alcohol, though the airport is bustling with travelers that are off to who knows where. Christmas was fantastic. We had a perfectly cooked beef tenderloin with a Potato-Leek Gratin, a warm Beet and Mission Fig Salad with caramelized Goat Cheese, a and a tradatitional Squash Casserole. It was a meal defined with some of the old times favorites, but was complimented with some new, rustic winter dishes that seem to work so well this time of year. They did. I think it was the best meal I have had in my father's dining room. He pulled the tenderloin out of the oven at the optimal time, let it rest, then began carving, as I broiled the top of the various casseroles to caramelize and crust the cheese on top. It was all wonderful. We enjoyed it, as we always do, though no more than the company. It was our first Christmas with my brother's wife, Liza, and it was the first Christmas that my baby niece, Elle, really started to understand the way Christmas works. Holidays to me, are always about preserving rich family tradition, while at the same time playing off of those traditions and taking changes into the future. I already miss my family, and the holiday season, and it isn't even over yet. CCH