We survived our Thanksgiving dinner and the leftovers are either eaten or frozen. I have been creative with the food on hand because I don't want to buy a bunch of groceries and then go back to Colorado and leave food to get stale. Mr. Troutbend isn't much of a cook, but when I look at the grocery receipts for the past year, he does buy a lot of canned green beans.

I brought a large ham from Colorado for Christmas dinner, and today I decided to thaw it out now so we can start eating some of it. Of course this will make Christmas a little bit less special, but there's no law that says I can't get some other special thing for that day - maybe nice beef or seafood. My cousin Betsy, however has to have her beef cooked to leather, so I'm not so sure it's worth trying to be special about beef when she comes for Christmas Day.

Last year for Christmas dinner I made a rice casserole with ham in it that I really like. I'm not sure what the other two (Mr. TBend and Betsy) thought about it, but I thought it was so much better than slices of ham congealing on the dinner plates as they cool off during the time it takes for everyone to putz around serving themselves potatoes and vegetables, rolls and butter.

Without the meat, this dish is easy to make vegetarian. It sounds fussier than it is.

Wild and Brown Rice with Cranberries and Caramelized Onions
2 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
1/2 cup brown rice (Basmati Brown Rice)
1/2 cup wild rice
(Substitute some Sweet rice if available for either one of these)

Cook and stir in 1/2 - 3/4 cup white rice to stretch it if desired
3 tablespoons butter
3 medium onions, sliced into thin wedges
(2 - 3 stalks celery, sliced thin)
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 cup sweetened dried cranberries
(1/2 teaspoon finely grated orange zest)
To make a casserole:
1 can mushroom soup
Ham or turkey

Combine chicken broth and both rices in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer 45 minutes, or until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed. Meanwhile, melt butter in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and brown sugar. Cook 6 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and onions are soft and translucent. Reduce heat to low. Slowly cook onions, stirring often for 25 minutes or until they are caramel colored. Stir in dried cranberries.

Cover and cook over low heat for 10 minutes or until cranberries swell. Gently fold cranberry mixture and orange zest into cooked rice.

For the casserole, stir the mushroom soup into the prepared rice mixture. Layer it in a casserole dish with sliced cooked turkey or ham. Cover and bake 30 - 45 minutes at 350 degrees until very hot.

Speaking of Betsy, we have to do some Christmas shopping for her. Usually she has some certain thing that she can't live without - draft stoppers for her outside doors, a battery-powered card shuffler, a bathrobe - but this year she doesn't know what she wants. That will be a challenge. We know better than to take her shopping to pick out things she needs or wants because if something sets her off, she will sulk and pout the whole time and refuse to look at anything. Mentally, I think she's about 10 or so - a bright 10 years old, but there are certain things she can't do, like adjust the thermostat or rewind a VCR tape. I know, I know, most 10 year olds these days are smarter than their grandparents when it comes to technology, but Betsy is 66, so she's just as tech challenged as the rest of us plus the mental block of not being able to go through the steps required to do something.

We will definitely have to buy some eggnog for her, the least we can do. I haven't looked this year, but a couple of years ago we discovered that eggnog isn't eggnog any more. Now it comes in various flavors, like pumpkin spice eggnog and sugar cookie and caramel and cinnamon and something called Golden Eggnog. Plus light eggnog and vanilla eggnog. One more: gingerbread.

Okay, now I wish I could try some of those, but Golden Eggnog is a secret recipe of Hood Dairy products, sold in the Chicago area, maybe other places, but not Colorado or Nevada. After further research, it's possible Golden Eggnog is their regular eggnog flavor, so I feel I'm missing out on less. And if I'm buying eggnog around here, I don't care how many flavors, I'll stick with the regular, maybe the low fat regular flavor, but maybe not.

Sometimes I make my own eggnog, a recipe that is a cooked custard so it potentially gets thick like the storebought, but maybe less sugar and thickening agents. I say potentially, because if things don't go well, it curdles and doesn't get thick. I decided the ones from the store have rum and brandy flavoring in them.

Homemade Eggnog
1 quart milk
1 cup sugar
4 tablespoons flour
pinch salt
6 eggs, separated
vanilla to taste
brandy extract
1 pint light cream or half-and-half

Heat the milk until tiny bubbles form around the side of the pan. While it's heating, toss the sugar, flour, salt, and egg yolks into the top half of a double boiler and mix them well. When the milk is hot enough, add slowly, stirring constantly. Place over boiling water, and cook, stirring often, until it coats the spoon like a smooth, clingy cream. Take off the heat, add vanilla, set aside to cool. When cool, stir in the light cream or half-and-half; then beat the egg whites until they're stiff, and fold them into the nog. Spike with whatever and garnish with nutmeg.

Speaking of brandy and rum flavors, here is a mix you can make for hot buttered rum and give it as gifts. It keeps a long time in the refrigerator, so you don't have to give it as gifts, you can use it to get through the cold months of winter and spring.

2 cups (1 1/2 pounds) firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter at room temperature
1 tablespoon honey
1 1/2 teaspoon each:
vanilla extract
rum extract
brandy extract
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg

Combine all ingredients and beat with a mixer until smooth.

To serve: put 1 teaspoon mix into 6 to 8 ounces of hot apple or orange juice, hot milk, coffee, or hot water with rum.

Now that I've thought about hot buttered rum, I need to go make some - not this whole mix, just the short version:

1 tbsp butter
1 - 2 tbsp brown sugar
Ground nutmeg
Ground cinnamon if desired
Heat together so they melt. Remove from stove and add 1 cup hot water and as much rum as you want.

I've never tried it with spiced rum - that's why I have to hurry and do it right now because I won't be able to sleep tonight thinking about it.