Holiday & Party Recipes marga@lacabe.com

Every year since Mike and I have been married we've celebrated Christmas Eve with a special dinner, either made by me or by my friend Lola. This is following in the Argentine tradition of having a family party, often a potluck, on Noche Buena. Since Mika was born 3 years ago Christmas Eve dinners have been at our house, so that she can go to sleep at a semi-reasonable hour, which puts the onus of cooking on me. This is usually not a problem as I love to entertain, but this year I'm 7 ½ months pregnant and get tired very easily. Thanksgiving dinner made me realize that cooking a multi-course dinner was beyond my physical abilities. Still, I was determined to have a great Christmas Eve dinner so I decided to look for dishes that would be wonderful but that I could either (or preferably both) prepare in advance and that would take a minimal effort. With the help of Epicurious.com I was extremely successful. Lola and Iggy also helped as they brought a salad, home-made bread and dessert. My final menu consisted of: Pancetta, Leek, and Goat Cheese Tartlets followed by Mushroom Soup in turn followed by Prime Rib with Cabernet Jus Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes a favorite recipe from the Zuni's cookbook Roasted Carrots with Balsamic Vinegar Stouffers Sourdough Stuffing what can I say? I like this stuff! Salad brought by Lola & Iggy Lemon cake also brought by Lola & Iggy Everything I made, I'd make again. All Recipes