Our quiet little Christmas

Since Sherry and I don’t have any children, Christmas is typically a quiet and peaceful day for us.  Don’t get me wrong.  We still have are share of holiday stress and chaos but usually not on the day itself.  This year was no exception.

Our festivities usually start on Christmas Eve with a family dinner hosted by Sherry’s mother.  This year it was a little more special because Sherry’s brother and his family have moved back to Santa Rosa from Phoenix.  That means the entire clan of siblings, aunts, uncles, niece and nephews were all there.  After great food, a little fun and games, gift opening and dessert we finally called it a night.

Christmas morning is a time for us to sleep in and just be a little lazy.  At around 9:30 we headed up to Centro Espresso, probably our favorite coffee shop, to meet friends.  Centro definitely got the word out they were open from 9 – 12 because the place was happening.  We hung out for just about an hour chatting, laughing and really just enjoying the beautiful day . 

Once we got back home it was time for our real breakfast.  If you have read my blogs in the past you know that Sherry makes awesome french toast. This might lead you to safely assumed that’s what was on the menu for Christmas Day.  However, she has now perfected Belgian waffles as well.  What a dilemma!  In the end, the french toast won out this time.  Now, sometimes we go all out on the Christmas morning breakfast but this year it was simply french toast with a little fresh coffee.  Sometimes keeping it simple really is the best way to go.

Just after noon I decided to go out for a ride on the bike.  Really, the weather was just too gorgeous to pass up.  Plus, there was a threat of rain for Saturday and Sunday so you got to take advantage of these opportunities when you can.  If you want to know how the ride went head over to my other blog, Lee’s Life Adventure, for a full report.

Our tradition for Christmas dinner is to go all out and try new recipes.  In many cases these meals take hours to make.  This year it wasn’t too bad in terms of time.  Our menu consisted of pork tenderloin roasted with pears, gratin dauphinois, endive salad, and warm bread.  It was all very good.  The only question was what wine should we serve.

I consulted Bob who is my neighbor, good friend, and wine aficionado.  After some research, we decided that either a fruitier style Pinot Noir or a German Riesling would work best.  Since Sherry and I do not know Rieslings very well we decided to use this as a chance to broaden our horizons.  Ultimately, we settled on a German 2007 Erdener Treppchen Riesling Spatlese.  It was very good and paired with the pork quite nicely.

This afternoon, Bob and his wife Karin, came over for a little holiday cheer.  The plan?  Well, we drank a little champagne, ate a little cheese, and then perhaps open numerous bottles of wine to experiment a little more with which wine would have been best with the pork.  I actually made a second roasted pork tenderloin just for today’s pairing test.

After Bob and Karin arrived, we started with a taste of the bubbly.  Our choice?  A non-vintage Champagne Lallier Grande Reserve  Grand Cru.  It was excellent!  Then we did our pork-wine taste test.  We opened two German Rieslings and a California Pinot Noir.  Everyone agreed the Rieslings were the better choice.

So that was our quiet little Christmas holiday.  We spent time with family, drank coffee with friends, ate a romantic dinner together, and enjoyed a wine and food pairing afternoon with more friends.  What more could you ask for from a Wine Country Christmas.

Au revoir!