And so ............. the holidays are over. December was a whirlwind - the first 10 days were spent on a road trip with my dearest friend (More on that later). Upon my return the
holidays came rushing at me like a train. I stepped off the tracks and avoided most of it. Didn't decorate, baked a few things - and headed back to Sotto Il Monte to spend Christmas with friends and fellow wine lovers from New Mexico. We were blessed with beautiful weather and able to have Christmas brunch al fresco in the courtyard. We started off with Bellinis - Prosecco infused with white peach juice to accompany the salad of baby greens, raspberries, pomegranate seeds, almonds and goat cheese.... topped off with a balsamic vinaigrette.
For brunch ........ Spiral sliced honey glazed ham from Apple Lane Farms, cranberry compote made with port and Texas oranges, potatoes Au gratin and asparagus with lemon & hollandaise sauce.
And the vino ........ It was a special day - so I opened a special wine. Amore de Tuscano from my favorite Texas winery ..... Torre di Pietra ...... TexasHillCountryWine.com.
Amore is a Sangiovese and Syrah blend with dark chocolate and black cherries on the front and creamy oak on the finish. Ooooh la la!
Franco brought a bottle of Brinley Gold Vanilla Rum - Thick rich rum with more than a hint of vanilla. A perfect pairing for the pecan tarts, pumpkin pie and coffee ...... decadent.
New Year's was spent back at the Pied a Terre . Jim made the omelets - I made the mimosas! Brunch out on the terrace watching the egrets and herons swoop over the water. Happy New Year!
