TheyTriedIt.com – Happy Holidays from the Talele Family!

Wow, we have really dropped the ball over here, haven’t we? Our heart is in the right place, but December has been even crazier than usual. The Talele household is really to kick things into high gear for 2012, though!

We hope everyone who celebrates Christmas had a wonderful holiday with family and friends! We do our big dinner on Christmas Eve, and we hosted 14 family members for a beat-the-odds dinner. My oven decided to die on December 23, and everyone’s convinced I worked the thing to death. LOL I panicked for a few minutes, took a deep breath, and then became very thankful that it happened the day BEFORE everyone came over instead of the day OF.

We made a few last-minute recipe changes, and I was able to borrow a neighbor’s oven to finish off other items. It’s also pretty amazing what you can cook in a toaster oven. Who knew?

Dinner was fantastic, and it was most definitely a group effort. I think the best part of the evening was everyone trying foods they don’t normally like…and loving them! My family will most certainly mark this Christmas on the calendar because I not only fixed a mushroom side dish…I ate it! I also converted a few non-Brussels Sprouts eaters. Success!

Here’s our menu for the evening along with links to the original recipes (if I fixed the dish):

Antipasto Dip
Black Olive and Cream Cheese Penguins
Christmas Tree Veggie Tray
Beef Tenderloin (with a few modifications)
Indian-Spiced Turkey Breast
Mashed Potatoes
Sauteed Brussels Sprouts with Bacon
Garlic Roasted Mushrooms
Chopped Autumn Salad
Sweet Potato Casserole courtesy of my sister-inlaw, Kellie
Green Beans courtesy of my brother-inlaw, Jay
Homemade cheese bread courtesy of my sister, Tricia
Death by Chocolate Trifle

I don’t think we had enough food, do you? Funnily enough we did run out of a few items. It was probably one of my favorite holiday dinners to date.

The Taleles would like to wish you all a wonderful holiday season, and a very happy new year! I have no doubt 2012 will be full of all kinds of fun and crazy things, and I wouldn’t have it any other way!