Stacey Stauffer
My first Christmas Dinner almost Burned Down the House!
New House, New Marriage, New Baby. It finally came time to host my first, official family holiday dinner. Christmas seemed like the perfect time to do it. I actually had off from work, a rarity in the T.V. business. I decided to make a traditional rib roast a la Emeril Lagasse with all the fancy trimmings… including a lyonnaise potato recipe courtesy of my favorite Philadelphia restaurant at the time: Le Bec Fin.
It would just be my immediate family - a party of about 15. Manageable, right? I started prepping dinner Christmas Eve - roasting the garlic for the beef… cutting the strawberries for the shortcake and thinly slicing pounds upon pounds of potatoes, feeling very Parisian indeed.
I also felt so grown up, so proud, a true homemaker as I went to sleep that night.
Finally, the big day arrived. The presents were opened, the family was together and the amazing meal I had planned was slowly cooking in the oven. Everyone was laughing and sharing great memories as I watched in awe at how easily things were coming together. Of course, it was just at that moment when the "you know what" hit the fan.
All I can remember is the glaring sound that began to pierce our ears. Confusion sunk in. Everyone went into a panic. Where was that awful noise coming from? And why is it getting hard to see inside the house? Suddenly, smoke started filling up my downstairs. I ran right to the stove and what did I see? All those wonderful French potatoes I was so proud to make were now over-bubbling and burning at the bottom of the oven. Leave it to a novice not to have a dutch oven big enough.
We quickly threw open the doors, rushed the kids outside the house and started fanning the smoke detectors in hopes of silencing the alarm. IT DIDN'T WORK! It kept going, the sound was so obnoxious it was hard to think. Now the kids are crying, so we disconnected the smoke alarm in hopes of bringing peace and tranquility back to the house. WHAT? NO LUCK! The alarm was STILL going and that's when we realized the house alarm we installed at the house - included a fire alarm which sent a call STRAIGHT TO THE LOCAL FIRE DEPARTMENT. By now it was too late - Just as we all looked at each other…. the sounds of fire engines - two of them - came speeding down our street. Unfortunately, Old Saint Nick was not hitching a ride to bring more presents to the house. Nope, it was the brave men and women of Ladder Company 41 - fully dressed - ready to fight fire. Oops! Sorry!
Long story short, (too late), the firefighters came inside and made sure everything was okay. They were so kind but, of course, teased me a little and went on their merry way. It’s a holiday memory I will never live down. Stacey and her nearly life-threatening Christmas dinner. It has made for one heck of a story…one I can proudly say, ended with a perfectly cooked, fabulous meal.. Le Bec Fin Potatoes and all!
Here is my recipe for Gratin Dauphinois - Le Bec Fin
serves 4-6
cooking time 1-2 hrs.
Ingredients
4 large Idaho Potatoes
2 gloves garlic, peeled & chopped
2 TB butter, softened
1 quart heavy cream
salt & pepper to taste
Directions:
Preheat Oven to 350 degrees
Slice potatoes into 1/8 inch thick rounds (a mandoline makes this much easier)
Generously butter baking dish or dutch oven
Place 1/3 of the potatoes in an even layer on bottom of dish
Add enough heavy cream to cover potatoes and season with garlic and salt & pepper
Repeat process twice more or until all potatoes are in dish and end with a layer of cream
Cover dish and bake 1 to 2 hours
Uncover last 10 minutes to brown top
Enjoy!
Kerstin Lindquist
"New Year's Eve 2007 ... here we are with our closest friends. We all decided we would ring in the New Year together and since all of us loved our cats & dogs so much, they all came too. That did not go well. The girl in the middle ended up getting cat scratch fever and ended up on the ER January 1st. Note to self: cats & dogs on New Year's Eve don't necessarily mix!"
Mary Beth Roe
"My Christmas blunder had to do with poor planning in the decorating department and it in no way compares to anything Stacey or Kerstin had to endure. It gave me a good laugh more than anything. I simply ran out of ribbon to trim the tree, but thanks to QVC, I was able to order more and it arrived before the big day and my company. Blessings, Mary Beth"
Pat James-DeMentri
"This is our tree from last Christmas! If you look closely you will see weights anchoring our tree in hopes that she would continue to stand upright.. I admit that four days before Christmas your options are limited to a Charlie Brown tree or the only twelve foot tree on the lot..I got a really great buy so we trimmed three feet off of it and the salesman used a forklift to load it on the car.. The problem was my nine foot ceiling and the front door wasn't quite wide enough.
Once we got it wedged in the front door and again in the hall, I jammed it against the ceiling..when I cut the top it fell but after many attempts I tied it to the door..my thanks to Nicole's friend who helped us trim more off of the bottom and tie it to the weights.
I learned the important lesson of shopping earlier for our tree next time! Our angel is on the table next to the tree..I did; however, find a penny from heaven as we pulled the tree..I miss my Dad.."