Christmas 2009, Sacramento-style

So there I was, chilling in California at my sister's place for Christmas. It's in Suburbia. We were entertaining ourselves... which is why we came up with such great food! I serendipitously got a recipe for what Real Simple called Chocolate Chip Meringue Kisses, but what we all knew were really Surprise Meringues that my Grandma Pinard used to make- what a find! So I bookmarked it and brought the idea with me to Cathy's, where we were able to make a good-sized batch with her mixer (which I don't have). They were delicious! They started out SUPER crispy, then got more chewy as they sat on the stove and absorbed moisture, just like I remember.

And I loved the wonky shapes! It looks like a class of meringues doing yoga, no?

Cathy made her contribution as well- cranberry bread, tart and flavorful, which we had to bring to the family dinner with the Owenses (but we kept half at home for toast and snacking).

We had a lovely dinner cooked by Jan with others contributing- towering mounds of culinary goodness! Also, there was a little white elephant gift exchange which turned out to be a riot. Just gotta have it with the right people- in this case, Corey and Jim!

And then of course, there was the Wii Bowling Tournament to get through. Watch out for that furniture- it'll getcha!