Christmas Eve

I look forward to Christmas Eve more than Christmas Day.  For as long as I can remember, my dad’s side of the family has gathered to make merry at my grandfather’s house. It is a raucous affair where we eat, guess Christmas songs played on a buzzer, yell to be heard over the constant roar, laugh, play trivial pursuit, and eat cannolis. Over the years, things have changed as things often do and this year marked a pretty big change. It started to seem a little silly for the oldest members of our family to take on the brunt of the entertaining burden so it was decided by quorum that a new generation should step up. We had a team to help decorate, a potluck style dinner with help from all, and a team of people to help leave the place clean when we left. When I was young I remember my Noni’s lasagna being a part of our tradition. Unfortunately my Noni passed away when I was still quite young and we haven’t had lasagna at the holidays in quite a while.  I thought it would be nice to bring that tradition back with both a meat and a cheese version. I think it was an ok first try. I will be happy to try again next year. To help make it a little more like what she used to make I planned a lesson this month with family member that used to help her cook. It isn’t the same as having her to guide me, but it is the next best thing. I hope to make this a tradition I can pass on one day. My first bit of advice? Frozen rice is not a good substitute for frozen shredded mozzarella.  Hey, we all make mistakes.