Christmas Rewind

We've had family over since Christmas day, so I've been behind with blogging.  My sister's family flew in from Chicago and my mom and dad and other sister's family came in from New Jersey.  We hosted them for 4 days.  I live here with just my husband and 3 cats, so it's nice to have a full house.  I've also hadn't had time to blog because we had a blizzard that dumped 29 inches of snow onto Staten Island.  We received the most snow out of all the 5 boroughs, the snow is amazing, but after 3 days of it, it starts to get annoying.  Slush, black ice, public transportation suspended, a complete travel nightmare.  So, what does one do when you are snowed in?  You eat, and you eat.  For Christmas, my dad made an amazing meal.  He's a professional chef so he does all the holiday cooking, which is a special treat for us because he never cooks at home.  Something about not bringing work home with him.  (hahahaha)  Here's a view from the head of the table, where my dad sat. 

For an appetizer, he made shrimp cocktail.  This was delicious!

For dinner, my dad made stuffed green peppers, stuffed eggplant, potatoes au gratin, filet mignon and mussels with black bean sauce.  We also had hot and sour soup for an appetizer.

The potatoes au gratin were made with potatoes grown on my husband's father's family farm.  My dad makes it incredibly rich, not only does he put heavy cream in it, he also puts sour cream, cheddar cheese and parmesan cheese. Holy cholesterol on a plate! 

He stir fried the mussels chinese style with black bean sauce, garlic and scallions.  This is my favorite way to eat mussels.

Hope you all had a great  Christmas!