Si Mangia Bene: O, Christmas Wreath

By Kolina

I adore the holiday season for three solid reasons:

Number one: I get to see my entire family. My mother is from a family of 14 (yes, she has eight brothers and five sisters, no joke), and Christmas is the one time of year that I get to see the majority of my aunts, uncles, cousins, their significant others, kids, and so on.

This year my wonderful aunt Jacqui is hosting the Vashro Christmas Party, and I’ve been excited for that day all year. (I spent Christmas in Florence last year away from my family, so I’m really looking forward to seeing everybody!)

Number two: The holiday spirit that takes over everybody. Sparkly lights, mulled wine, massive trees and cheery music. It’s trees like the one said mother put up this year that remind me how great this time of year is. It’s colossal! And, please forgive the cliché, breathtaking! Holiday tunes can certainly get old, but for the month between Thanksgiving and Christmas I can really get down with “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire.” I think now is an appropriate time to confess that my favorite Christmas album is that of Billy Gillman, circa 2000. I realize how sad that is. If you know of some great holly-day tunes, let me know! (I suppose I should also admit that I kind of love Gaga’s song, “Christmas Tree”).

Number three: This one’s a no-brainer. THE FOOD! Grilled asparagus wrapped in pancetta, honey-baked ham and, you guessed it, mashed potatoes! My family has never been very traditional when it comes to Christmas (which makes the holidays new and exciting each year), but ever since I was little there has been one constant: Christmas wreath cookies. I’m sure you know what I’m talking about. The addicting green globs of marshmallows and butter topped with red hots. If you’ve never had these before, I’m so very sorry. Whether you’ve indulged in this delicacy or not, I thought it would be a nice early Christmas present to all our tkTC readers to provide you with the recipe (on the off chance you’re incapable of Googling).

Chrismas Wreaths

Ingredients:
-1/2 cup butter
-1 package of regular marshmallows
-1 1/2 tsp. green food coloring
-6 cups corn flakes

Directions:
-Melt butter on low heat.

-Add in marshmallows and stir until fully mixed.

-Remove melted butter and marshmallow concoction from heat, stir in food coloring.

-Add flakes to mixture.

-Stir until flakes are well coated.

-With buttered fingers, shape flakes into wreaths.

-Add red hots to your heart’s desire.

-Eat. Love. Share. (Only if you want to. My suggestion is making two batches: one for yourself and one for people you want to fatten up).

I know these are what I’ll be bringing to my Christmas party. And how about you, folks? Do you have any holiday specialties? Any Hanukkah-celebrators that want to share their family traditions? I’d love to know! Shoot me an email at [email protected].