On the eleventh and a half day of Christmas

Yes, I know, it is Carol of the Bells, again. But, this one is for my friends and family in Ohio. This morning when I called home (that would be last night for you), my sister said it was blizzarding. I love George Winston and I think this poster created a beautiful collage of snow.

No snow here. But, it was overcast so not as hot.

Back to work. Hmmmm. I just realized I left before the champagne was served. Hmmmmm. We were pretty busy- but finished as hoped by 3 PM.

Christmas eve entertainment- "Badder Santa". We enjoyed the film- funny and sweet. Kevin gives it 3 stars (of 4). It was great to revisit the film but we can't recommend it over just plain "Bad Santa"...unless you thought during the original "That cursing should last longer".

Christmas eve dinner: Roast Salmon and Vegetables (from Real Simple Magazine)

2 large fennel bulbs
1 pt grape tomatoes
8 cloves of garlic, peeled and halved
1 lemon, thinly sliced
1/4 cup olive oil
1 and 1/2 tsp salt (kosher- I used sea salt)
1/4 tsp of black pepper
6 springs of fresh thyme
4 6-ounce salmon fillets, remove skin

Preheat oven to 400 F
Cut each fennel bulb in 1/2 lengthwise, then cut each half into 6 wedges.
In roasting pan/baking dish combine everything except the salmon. Spread into a single layer.
Roast until fennel is tender- about 40 min.
Season salmon with some additional salt and pepper then place on the top of the vegetable mix.
Roast until fillets are the same color throughout and flake easily. (The recipe suggests 12 min- but it depends on the thickness of the fillets. Ours took about 20.)
Remove/discard the lemon before serving- or just tell Kevin not to eat it.

Oh, and I obviously miscounted when I started my countdown to Christmas... I guess that sort of thing doesn't happen if you START the 12 days of Christmas with Christmas day.