On that note, I made chocolate truffles and chocolate cookies. Maybe it was cabin fever? (I was confined to my aunt's house, sick with bronchitis.) Or the overexposure to "Everyday Italian" and "Barefoot Contessa"? (same reason as former) Whatever it was, everyone enjoyed my creations. Everyone but me. But it made my Christmas a little bit warmer.
Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti
The chocolate that was used in this recipe was Nutella, which is a rare exception to my aversion to chocolate. Something about the hazelnuts minimizes the "chocolate-ness" of Nutella. With the help of a couple of Santa's little helpers, I toasted and peeled the hazelnuts. Note: hazelnuts are a real pain in the ass to peel. But so nutty and delicious.Hazelnut Truffles
Obviously, I had toasted hazelnuts leftover. This was for my aunt, who was on a liquid diet for a colonoscopy. She masochistically subjected herself to FoodTV all throughout her liquid diet, vowing to eat everything she wanted as soon as she finished her colonoscopy. The colonoscopy came out clean, and to celebrate, we made truffles. And I learned why they're called "truffles." If you do it right, the chocolate doesn't mold into perfect spheres. (Godiva has us all fooled.) They turn out to be a bit unshapely, like truffles (the first-class fungi, not the chocolate).I think the fun of Christmas comes from following those Christmas traditions that have been dormant all year, only to be awakened that time of year when the ordinarily vacant lots transform into Christmas tree farms, all claiming to be the best in town. For me, those "traditions" include listening to Mariah Carey and Celine Dion's Christmas albums, watching "Miracle on 34th Street" (when I was younger) and "Love Actually" (now that I'm older), and orchestrating the annual Secret Santa gift exchange for our family.
As I get older, these traditions seem to fade. And as they start to fade away, I'm realizing the importance of keeping these old traditions and even creating new ones to keep in the following years. No matter what the adults say... it's not just for the kids. BP and I decided to start a new tradition this year. I'm hoping it'll become an old Christmas tradition.
One of these days, I'm going to get Christmas back. I'll buy that house that was made for Christmas. The kind with big, white French windows and a chimney made of brick. I'll get a tall Christmas tree and decorate it with ornaments that I will have been collecting over the years. The air will smell of the cold of winter, the warmth from the oven and cinnamon. Lots of cinnamon.
You will have that house, you will have that life. I can see you in your huge kitchen, with something hot in your hands, on an early wintry morning when all this is behind you. Your gaze will be a little deeper, your laugh more robust. You will have your mother's light about you. Until then, I love the way you are waiting and living. Love, the one with a shared childhood, an ocean away.
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