Christmas is just a few days away. And we truly had a very holiday like weekend last weekend. Had some friends over for dinner, delivered gifts to the family we adopted, went to see Santa and even saw Santa passing by on the fire truck. It's funny how every year, my tot's reaction to Santa is different. Our tradition is to go to Macy's which is the first place he ever saw Santa. The first year, he was not even one and just slept on Santa's lap. So precious. Last year, he didn't cry but he was not too sure and asked me to come sit close to him. Now his third year, he's a pro. As soon as he saw Santa, he ran right up to him and sat on his lap, seemed like he was talking to him. Turned out, he told Santa what he wanted. He loved the experience. Thank goodness for the express pass. If we had to wait for 2 hours like a lot of people, none of us would have enjoyed it. Well..it's never going to happen because without the express pass, we are not going anywhere near Santa land. Haha
And for more festivity, I made some caramelized onion and cranberry chutney. It's great with roasted chicken, pork roast, baked brie, crostini and the list goes on and on. This can be done days ahead as it keeps well in the fridge for up to 2 weeks or so. Great homemade condiment to add a little shine to the meal without having to stand by the stove while rest of the chaos going on at holiday meal.
Caramelized onion & cranberry chutney
Ingredients :
1 small onion, roughly chopped
2 Tbsp butter
8 oz cranberries
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
4-5 sprigs of fresh thyme, only the leaves
Directions :
1. Melt the butter in a pan over medium heat. Add chopped onion and cook until onions are caramelized, stirring occasionally. It took me a little over 15 minutes with one small onion.
2. Add remaining ingredients. Increase the heat to high and bring it to a boil while stirring so sugar dissolves.
3. Reduce the heat to medium and cook it down for 8-10 minutes until cranberries pop and mixture reduces slighly, while stirring occasionally.
4. Cool completely and keep in the fridge up to 2 weeks. Take it out 30 minutes before serving.
*Adapted from Go bold with butter.