The Bees' Knees

On Christmas Eve in my family we always have what my oldest daughter has named the "Over the Top" dinner. In past years we have made the menu provided by Gourmet magazine, complete with the selected wines. This year, as many of you know, Gourmet is no more - the November issue was its last. We had no Gourmet to guide us, but Sarah came up with our menu.

Our appetizer course gave a nod to my bees. We had a cocktail called "the Bees' Knees." It consisted of (for two drinks) 1/2 cup gin, 3 T honey syrup (equal parts honey and warm water), 2 T lemon juice. This concoction is shaken in a cocktail shaker, which another daughter noted looked like a bee hive. Consumption of this delicious drink gave all of us an appropriate "buzz!"


The shaker

The drink

The appetizers that went with it: Pancetta crisps with goat cheese and pear slice and garlic crostini with a sage/white bean spread.

Wondering about the rest of the menu? Here's our Christmas Eve menu for the 2009 Over the Top Dinner:

OVER THE TOP DINNER MENU – CHRISTMAS 2009
APPETIZERS:
Crostini with White Bean, Sage & Roasted Garlic Spread
Pancetta Crisps with Goat Cheese and Pear
SOUP:
Scarlet Carrot Soup
MAIN COURSE AND SIDES:
Herb Stuffed Leg of Lamb Braised in Red Wine
Winter Squash Gratin
Chard with Tomatoes and Asiago
Linda T’s Amazing Dinner Rolls (also made with honey)
DESSERT:
Winter Jewel Upside-Down Cake with Pomegranate Compote
Chocolate Truffles

We had appropriate wines for each course. My son-in-law, Jeff, brought a bottle of wine he had brought from Paris a number of years ago to go with the lamb....really special.