Happy New Year to you and your families. We hope you enjoyed your Christmas whether at home or with family elsewhere.
Mac and I often host Christmas at our home but Mac’s brother Ted took a turn this year. We were lucky enough to spend the holidays in Miami with Mac’s parents, four brothers and their families.
Ted has a picturesque home close to Coconut Grove with tropically landscaped grounds and a magical fresh water coral stone pool. The girls love swimming with the fish, though it was too cold this trip. Ted, a fashion photographer, and his charming Belgian wife have the most fabulous taste and he had excelled this year with the ambiance.
He had decorated the garden with strings of lights but the outdoor Christmas tree alongside two sets of antique table and chairs was a page out of a magazine.
It’s always a little weird to have such sunny weather but it was cool enough for the family to sit around the fire at night. Christmas Day was one of the warmest days of our trip and we spent part of it at Matheson Hammock, a scenic man-made atoll surrounded by palm trees. We have been coming here for years with the girls and it was a pleasure to sit and watch them build sandcastles all afternoon.
Most nights we had a BBQ and enjoyed dinner outside. We brought a few English traditions with us including Christmas Crackers, which contain a party hat, a silly joke and a tacky gift.
The girls and I made a mince pie… which is NOT meat, but a mixture of raisins, currants, apple, citrus peel and rum. (Most supermarkets have this filling in their baking section, look for brands like Borden or Cross and Bakewell.)
Our eldest daughter, Madeline, decided to carve the letters ‘Merry Christmas’. How creative — maybe a future artist?
Traditional Mince Pie (makes one 9 inch pie)
- Pastry for a 2-crust pie
- One Jar of Mincemeat
- 1 egg yolk
Preheat oven to 425 and prepare pastry.
Turn mincemeat in pastry lined 9 inch pie plate.
Cover with top crust and cut slits near center.
Wet edges of pastry to seal, brush egg yolk over entire surface of pie for a golden crust.
Bake for 30 minutes or until golden.
Serve warm with English custard and/or whipped cream.
Sadly, for Mac, we missed that amazing snow storm that most of you experienced and arrived back when the worst of the snow had melted. Thanks to brother Ted, who took most of the photos in this post and for hosting a magical Christmas!