The Holiday Season begins!

This is not a recipe post, more of a personal one.

As soon as I have my last bite of turkey, I am ready for the smell of pine and snowy images and cranberry flavored products and Nutcracker figures all over the place. Maybe it's because I have so many fond memories of Christmas with my family. The Pham family tradition starts with stuffing ourselves on Christmas Eve -- sometimes we made turkey, sometimes we ate lots of seafood -- while listening to the same Amy Grant and Kenny G CDs we've been listening to since I was in elementary school. We drink lots of sparkling apple cider (and by "we" I mean me and my sister because we can put down a bottle each of the stuff). Then we gather in front of the tree, sprawling all over the floor and couch in our living room and take turns opening presents. My parents yell at my brother for getting them extravagant gifts, I patiently wait until it's my turn again and anxiously wait for other people to open the gifts I got them. Afterwards we lay there talking, sleepy with our bellies full and our hearts content. The next morning, we go to Rockefeller Center to see the tree.

This is the first year I will not be in New York for Christmas. But regardless of where I am, during the holidays I reflect upon how lucky I am for my friends and family, I look forward to getting treats for the people I love,  and I anticipate the increase in my favorite year round activity -- eating with people I care about. All the holiday parties which pair festive cocktails with tasty appetizers and the belly stuffing feasts with friends and family fill me with an indescribable happiness which really make the holiday season special to me.

Yesterday I made a big pot of beef pho and invited some friends over to share it with us, prepping as I ran my holiday errands throughout the day. Beef pho is a different process for me than chicken pho -- it requires more than a chicken and some pho cubes. But it felt like I was making a "special occasion" meal as I made the stock with oxtail and other cuts of beef on the bone, got together my spices. I made some Vietnamese coffee ice cream (using this recipe), fried up some cha gio I had in the freezer for us to snack on while I prepared everyone's bowls. I'm so happy when I get to share tastes from my culture with my friends -- it quells a little bit of my homesickness, and it makes me feel as if they are getting to know me a bit better on some level. One dinner guest brought over some peppermint ice cream and hot fudge -- which I gladly put out in lieu of the coffee ice cream because who turns down fudge?!

Looking forward to more good times like this throughout the month -- tis the season to be grateful.