Christmas Day

The greatly awaited Christmas day has come. Bells are ringing, people singing...yeah, right. I am so glad to finally have the opportunity to say "Merry Christmas"! This is the day where people all around the world come together to celebrate one single thing--baby Jesus! On this day everything on the face of the world ceases to matter. People show love unconditionally. "It's the most beautiful time of the year," Justin Bieber said. This year was a little different for our family. We spent Christmas Eve at my aunt and uncle's house with all of my cousins, throwing fireworks and having a good time. The next day, on the 25th, we had the traditional Christmas Eve dinner that we usually have at my house for lunch. My mom and I spent all morning cooking, which was totally worth it when everyone went back for second and even third servings. This is what Christmas is all about--priceless quality time with family.

{Forever21 shirt and skirt, Kenneth Cole flats, Francesca's necklace}

{I tried this new recipe of Red Wine and Garlic Mushrooms. They were to die for.}

{Trying to make a simple salad pretty? Make a flower out of spinach leaves with a tomato in the center.} 

{Final outcome of working hard all morning. Two words: mouth watering}

Turkey and stuffing

Corn Souffle

Red Wine and Garlic Mushrooms

Arab Dolmas

Simple Salad

Arab Weekend

WARNING: IF YOU'RE HUNGRY PLEASE DON'T LOOK AT THESE PICTURES. 

The pleasures of Christmas: eating, eating, and eating! Whenever we travel to San Pedro Sula to visit my other half of the family, they greet us with banquets of exquisite Arab food. This time was not an exception. The motive for our trip was my cousin's new born baby's beautiful baptism. My godmother or "madrina" organized the whole event for her grandson and whenever you put my madrina's name with "celebration" in the same sentence, you can bet it's gonna be priceless. The moment I saw this baby I fell inlove with him. He was so serene and peaceful. He did not moan about everyone trying to hold him. Instead, he seemed to enjoy all of the attention. His older brother, who is turning three in January, is impossibly adorable too. Sometimes I wish I had a little brother...or maybe even better-a sister. 

Day 1 

 {Hotel Breakfast: Whole-wheat toast with fresh strawberry jam, mini cinnamon-raisin roll, a banana, watermelon, pineapple, cantaloupe, and a cup of coffee}

 {Lunch at the baptism: Jumbo shrimp, Fettuccine Alfredo with salmon, salad with mixed greens, green apple, cucumber, and pomegranate seeds...May I add, my godmother made ALL OF IT}

 {I could not stay away from the dessert table. Why choose one when I can have ALL OF THEM? (muahaha). I had a brownie, a lemon bar, a mini red velvet cupcake (not in the picture), and about a hundred yogurt covered raisins and pretzels (I could not stop. They were amazing)}

{For Dinner at my aunt's house that night we had "marmahon" also known as "couscous" with chicken, "hojas de uva" also known as "dolma", and salad}

Day 2

 {Hotel Breakfast round 2: Whole-wheat toast with fresh strawberry jam, fresh pineapple jam on the side, two cranberry-orange biscuits (one I ate afterwards so it's not in the picture), a small alfajor de dulce de leche, watermelon, pineapple, cantaloupe, and a cup of coffee}

 {Lunch at the "Club Arabe"'s all-you-can-eat Arab buffet: "Marmahon" or "couscous", chicken, "hojas de uva" or "dolmas", hummus with pita bread, and salad}

{Dessert table at the "Club Arabe"'s all-you-can-eat buffet: Pecan bar (I had two), banana bread, and strawberries with whipped cream (not in the picture)}

I'm not even sure my clothes fits anymore. And I know this doesn't end here. Christmas is coming! 

Grayves (Deditos de Reina, Arab Cookies)

My Arab heritage goes back to the peculiarly romantic story of how my paternal grandparents met. Ironically, both of my grandparents were born in Palestine. However, destiny brought them all around the world to the small city of San Pedro Sula, Honduras where they met at a club night out. Falling in love at first sight, my grandparents were happily married and created a huge family of six children. I did not have the honor of meeting either of my grandparents since they both passed away before I even came into this world, but the stories I've heard of them make it seem like I have already met them. My grandfather, I've been told, was such a hard-working, wise, and extremely handsome guy. My grandmother was a loving, caring, beautiful woman with an exquisite skill for cooking. She would open up her house to anyone who was willing to stuff themselves up with hummus, backlava, sambouseks, etc. As a legacy my grandmother left behind for me, this recipe is only a small part of it.

Ever since I can remember, my aunt spoils me with these cookies whenever we travel to San Pedro Sula to visit her. These cookies literally dissolve in your mouth at every bite and make you keep eating one after another. They are extremely easy to make and literally have about five ingredients in total. These are one of my favorite cookies in the world and I honestly thank my grandmother in heaven for letting me continue her work. 

Grayves

This recipe makes approximately 100 finger cookies

Baking Time: About 15 min. at 300F

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of powdered sugar, plus more for powdering
• 1 bar of margarine, melted
• 1 cup of Crisco vegetable shortening
• 1 cup of all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 oz whiskey (optional)

Directions:

1. In an electric mixer bowl, add the powdered sugar and start blending in the Crisco butter with it.
2. Slowly, add the melted margarine, but ONLY THE YELLOW LIQUID, NOT THE MARGARINE'S WHEY
3. Keep mixing and slowly add the flour in. Then add the vanilla extract and the optional whiskey
4. Next knead the dough with your hands, being careful not to touch it too much because the butter makes the dough delicate to heat
5. Roll the dough up and cut the desired lengths of the finger cookies
6. Bake at 300 degrees farenheit for about 15 minutes. Do not let them get too brown because they will be harder than they should be. 
7. Lastly, let cool and add sifted powdered sugar on top.
8. Enjoy with a nice cup of coffee, milk, or tea.