Might have been our best Christmas so far. Jess said it best, "I want to have Christmas h
ere every year!" Family together, getting to see the rest of our families even when far away and a lovely day, we had a wonderful time.
Up early for coffee and stockings (which Jess brought from England) on deck. (Check out our extra special (hom
emade and tiny!) Christmas tree!). Jess brought all the gifts up on deck so we could unwrap them in the sunshine. Jess brought us all sorts of boat supplies, including dry bags, cognac and a special surprise! Madge and Brian sent a Kindle supply and Jen sent games "to keep our brains from turning to mush!" and a great LL Bean bag with 'Snowbird' embroidered on it. Mom and Dad sent a depth finder to keep us from running
aground so frequently! Eileen, please note, your package has made it all the 
way from England in October to Christmas Day unopened! (See the evidence - Steve opening it today!)
Luckily Santa had brought a 'boat blender' so we could attempt our annual Christmas breakfast, card attached, 'To Jess, Steve and Mom, Happy Hollandaise!' Eggs Benedict just wouldn't be the same without the Hollandaise Sauce! It's a heart attack special, but hey it's only once a year! Here's how we make ours every year:
Eggs Benedict
English muffins toasted
One egg each, poached or fried over easy
Half a package of bacon (cut the package in half so you have short pieces) fried or broiled
Blender Sauce
3 egg yolks warmed to room temperature (you cannot use cold eggs!)
2 tsps of lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
Couple splashes of Tabasco Sauce
1/2 lb of butter
Blend egg yolks, lemon juice, Tabasco, salt and pepper. Heat butter in small pan until hot and bubbling. Swirl the pan a couple times to cool ever so slightly and pour in a tablespoon(ish), blend. Pour in a couple tablespoons, blend. You should start to see the emulision and the mix turning a creamy yellow. Pour in half the remaining butter, blend. Should be really creamy now. Pour in the rest of the butter and blend well. What you should have is a thick, almost melted cheese sauce. Layer English muffins with bacon and eggs, pour the sauce over the top. Serve with Mimosas or spicy Bloody Marys - great start to Christmas day!
After that food fest, we loaded the laptops into the dry bags and headed off to find a wifi signal so we could talk to our families, both in the US and in the UK. Eileen has been quite the techie lately, swapping all her software from one computer to new one and then getting Skype with both audio and video set up for Christmas! Way to go, Eileen! We saw everyone (almost) from the family (we'll catch you next time, Andrew and Chris!). Mark, couldn't hear what you were saying, but we're sure it was very funny! Jess talked to Matt, his folks and Granny, Granddad and Nana.
Brian has started Skyping so we even got to see the folks from New England! It's really great to SEE everyone in addition to talking with them, it makes such a difference when we don't get to see each other face to face. And it's nice to be able to stay on the phone without that little international call money meter ticking away! Mom and Dad, Jen, Madge and Brian, (think Jim might have peeked in!) and all the kids - saw all their smiling faces on Christmas Day, just great!
Back to the boat for sitting in the sun and a Stevie Special Christmas Dinner with
(almost!) all the trimmings - Fantastic! A cognac on the deck ended a perfect day!
Merry Christmas to all our very special family (Mom, Dad, Eileen, Claire and Chris; Jennie, Jim, Matt, Emma, and Zach; Madge, Brian, Morgan and Spencer; Liz and Mike; Julie, Andrew, Sue, Mark, Ellie and Louis; Sharon, Chris, George and Harry, John and Margaret, JP and Simone (and little ones!) and friends (Bill and Joe, Kath and Jack, Matt (Jessie's), Rebecca / Jamie / Isabel, Sharon, Karen, Ann, Robert, Hughes and Rafael, Philip, Julie and James, and everyone else that we're missing!), we're thinking of you all and hope you had a wonderful day!
ere every year!" Family together, getting to see the rest of our families even when far away and a lovely day, we had a wonderful time.Up early for coffee and stockings (which Jess brought from England) on deck. (Check out our extra special (hom
emade and tiny!) Christmas tree!). Jess brought all the gifts up on deck so we could unwrap them in the sunshine. Jess brought us all sorts of boat supplies, including dry bags, cognac and a special surprise! Madge and Brian sent a Kindle supply and Jen sent games "to keep our brains from turning to mush!" and a great LL Bean bag with 'Snowbird' embroidered on it. Mom and Dad sent a depth finder to keep us from running
aground so frequently! Eileen, please note, your package has made it all the 
way from England in October to Christmas Day unopened! (See the evidence - Steve opening it today!)Luckily Santa had brought a 'boat blender' so we could attempt our annual Christmas breakfast, card attached, 'To Jess, Steve and Mom, Happy Hollandaise!' Eggs Benedict just wouldn't be the same without the Hollandaise Sauce! It's a heart attack special, but hey it's only once a year! Here's how we make ours every year:
Eggs Benedict
English muffins toasted
One egg each, poached or fried over easy
Half a package of bacon (cut the package in half so you have short pieces) fried or broiled
Blender Sauce
3 egg yolks warmed to room temperature (you cannot use cold eggs!)
2 tsps of lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
Couple splashes of Tabasco Sauce
1/2 lb of butter
Blend egg yolks, lemon juice, Tabasco, salt and pepper. Heat butter in small pan until hot and bubbling. Swirl the pan a couple times to cool ever so slightly and pour in a tablespoon(ish), blend. Pour in a couple tablespoons, blend. You should start to see the emulision and the mix turning a creamy yellow. Pour in half the remaining butter, blend. Should be really creamy now. Pour in the rest of the butter and blend well. What you should have is a thick, almost melted cheese sauce. Layer English muffins with bacon and eggs, pour the sauce over the top. Serve with Mimosas or spicy Bloody Marys - great start to Christmas day!
After that food fest, we loaded the laptops into the dry bags and headed off to find a wifi signal so we could talk to our families, both in the US and in the UK. Eileen has been quite the techie lately, swapping all her software from one computer to new one and then getting Skype with both audio and video set up for Christmas! Way to go, Eileen! We saw everyone (almost) from the family (we'll catch you next time, Andrew and Chris!). Mark, couldn't hear what you were saying, but we're sure it was very funny! Jess talked to Matt, his folks and Granny, Granddad and Nana.
Brian has started Skyping so we even got to see the folks from New England! It's really great to SEE everyone in addition to talking with them, it makes such a difference when we don't get to see each other face to face. And it's nice to be able to stay on the phone without that little international call money meter ticking away! Mom and Dad, Jen, Madge and Brian, (think Jim might have peeked in!) and all the kids - saw all their smiling faces on Christmas Day, just great!
Back to the boat for sitting in the sun and a Stevie Special Christmas Dinner with
(almost!) all the trimmings - Fantastic! A cognac on the deck ended a perfect day!Merry Christmas to all our very special family (Mom, Dad, Eileen, Claire and Chris; Jennie, Jim, Matt, Emma, and Zach; Madge, Brian, Morgan and Spencer; Liz and Mike; Julie, Andrew, Sue, Mark, Ellie and Louis; Sharon, Chris, George and Harry, John and Margaret, JP and Simone (and little ones!) and friends (Bill and Joe, Kath and Jack, Matt (Jessie's), Rebecca / Jamie / Isabel, Sharon, Karen, Ann, Robert, Hughes and Rafael, Philip, Julie and James, and everyone else that we're missing!), we're thinking of you all and hope you had a wonderful day!
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