The only change I made to this tradition as a young mother and wife, was to make the eggnog and bread from scratch. And now with the oldest son engaged to be married this coming June, our future daughter-in-law Ruthie, will continue in the family tradition. Ruthie is new to bread baking, which is not a problem, because bread is actually very forgiving.
There is no reason to be timid when making dough for bread, for you see there is only one rule that must be followed, don't over heat the yeast. Yeast is a tricky one, wanting what it wants, when it wants it. So all you have to do is give yeast what it wants!
Remember some of the old ways once practiced by cooks? The one I am referring to is where you drip a drop of warm liquid on the inside of your wrist. If the liquid does not feel hot and it does not feel cold, it is just right. But just right for what? Babies and yeast. Too hot will kill the yeast and baby won't like it either.
With that said, lets make bread. This is a simple farm style loaf. It is substantial enough for toasting and easy enough to accomplish, even during those busy times, like Christmas. Start the day before to mix, let rise overnight and bake when needed.
Ruthie's Bread
developed in the kitchen of: Our Sunday Cafe
1 cup milk
1/4 c butter
3 T sugar
1 t salt
1/4 c warm water
pinch of sugar
1 package or 1 scant T yeast
1 egg
4 c flour - divided (always remember to lightly spoon flour into your measure and "sweep" the extra off)
Place the butter, 3 T sugar and salt into the bottom of a large mixing bowl, pour over the hot milk. Let sit until butter is melted and the mixture had cooled to comfortable warm.
While the milk mixture is cooling, proof the yeast.
In a small measuring cup, stir together the warm water, yeast and sprinkling of sugar. The yeast will foam and "proof".
When the milk mixture has cooled, add 2 c flour and the egg. Beat with a mixer for 5 minutes, set a timer and beat for the entire five minutes, this step is needed to develop the gluten.
Stir the yeast foam, add to the batter in the mixing bowl. Beat for a minute until smooth. Remove beaters from batter and batter from the beaters, you want all the batter!
To turn the batter into a dough, stir in the remaining two cups of flour by hand. The dough will be stiff, but take care to work all the flour up from the bowl bottom and sides, into the dough. Cover the bowl with a towel or plastic wrap, set a timer and let dough rest one hour.
Stir down the dough, making sure that any dry flour is incorporated into the dough. Turn dough out into a prepared loaf pan. Gently rub some oil over the top of the dough in the pan and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate over night or up to 24 hours.
When ready to bake, remove dough from the refrigerator, Remove plastic wrap. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, bake 35-45 minutes or until done in your oven.
Let cool in the pan five minutes, turn out to cool. I like to turn out onto a clean towel and place the loaf on it's side, so that more surface is exposed to cool the loaf quickly.
And then, enjoy. This bread slices up so nice. I can almost taste it now, toasted with cinnamon sugar sprinkled on top. I guess now I should share that egg nog recipe, it is really really good!
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Yes, I did make a double batch, for gifts, you know.....
We had a wonderful Christmas, starting on Christmas Eve with the family and ending with Christmas day, just the two of us, quietly tasking, planning and enjoying.
I am not a photographer and would never master a more advanced camera, evidenced by the picture above of the Tea House lamp!
I have come to love books on jams and preserving, and this one is a beauty! She took an interesting path in life to be in the jam business, passion will do that to a person.
This is a beautiful book, there is nothing more to say...............(swoon.........).
Love these tags, made for me by my son and granddaughter. These have inspired a change here at Our Sunday Cafe, by the seat of my pants will now be known as cafe created. 
The week between Christmas and the New Year is a messy one around here. Our garage is full of various boxes of Christmas ornaments, trinkets and linens. About 15 boxes worth........this year the decision was made (mine actually, when I realized all of these must come down from the attic storage over the garage) to narrow down our choices for decorating.
This year I had a guessing game with candy canes at work. Last year it was a half gallon jar filled with marshmallows, mini, regular and the super size ones for some mores. I like to have the same item in different sizes to make the game a challenge. Not all of my tenants play along, but those that do, have a good time and look forward to the cash prize I offer. Oh by the way, the answer is 109.
Terry added to my Santa collection this year. With one of the new Santas being a hinged box design. I have a serious fondness for hinged box designed trinkets. And as luck will have it............
I found this little sequined Santa in one of the boxes that got sorted. Apparently he was in the box before I began displaying Santas each year.
And last but not least, I had to show off this adorable snow globe cake my daughter made and brought to Christmas dinner. 
During Spring/Summer, our Weber grill gets quite a workout. Alas, our outdoor grills are tucked in for our California winters. Our tomato plants are spent, and our small herb and vegetable garden is looking a bit sparse. Sigh. 
Our thyme and marjoram are still hearty, this time of year, and they don't go to waste in the kitchen. It soups & stew season, and I'm ready!
Pinkie promise? Thank you. I'm not gonna lie. It takes about an hour to get the stew ready. Enough talking-- I'll show you how I made this:
Finely chop 2 fresh carrots. Yes, I took a shortcut and let my food processor do the work. Clean and quarter one pound of fresh white mushrooms.
I then added 2 cloves of minced garlic for the last 30 seconds, removed the onions and set those aside.
In the same pan, add a little olive oil and saute the carrots for 2-3 minutes-- just until soft. Remove and set aside.
Add one cup of beef broth and one tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce (my not-so-secret flavor builder).
Add the browned beef into you Dutch oven, slow cooker or pressure cooker. Pour the sauce over it.
Tie a few springs of fresh marjoram and thyme (thyme only will do) and nestle it into the stew.
Meanwhile prepare the mushrooms:
The pressure cooker beeped, and it's time to release the pressure. (My cat doesn't like this part, and she skedaddles.)
The stew is bubbly hot, and smells so good! Remove the herb bundle with tongs, as it's done it's job.
Add the mushrooms, and onions.
For the pressure cooker, seal the lid again and pressure cook (on high) for 5 minutes more. Release the steam, and the stew is ready. For a Dutch oven or slow cooker, allow to cook for about 15 minutes more.
Toss in some chopped fresh parsley and serve. NOTE: if you prefer a thicker stew, I made a slurry of cornstarch and water and carefully whisk it in; simmer until thickened. However, I didn't need to do that, this time.
Traditionally, this stew is served with steamed potatoes. I was craving egg noodles. Um, I didn't have any... so I made my own. (Yes, I can be an over-achiever at times.) I didn't document how I made the noodles, but I'll do it again and save that for another post.
The meat was buttery tender, the sauce had a rich flavor with notes of red wine. The next day, it tasted even better. I would serve this at a dinner party, and am sure that my guests would love it.