Andy Sullivan: Against the Grain
Christmas and New Year’s parties mean food. We all have our favorites. I usually go straight for peanut butter balls as far as snacks are concerned. Some might know them as Buckeyes. After the Kentucky/Ohio State game, I most certainly will not be calling them buckeyes. OSU’s nickname is the Buckeyes if you didn’t know.
Recently I’ve discovered I like a good cheeseball. What’s not to like? Cream cheese, sour cream, garlic powder, onion powder, pepper, cheddar cheese and pecans. Put a little on a Ritz cracker and it’s awesome! Great for Christmas Eve and New Year’s!
Who doesn’t love a good peanut butter ball? As I mentioned above, I know have another reason not to call them Buckeyes. Roll peanut butter in a ball(hence the name), dip them in chocolate and enjoy. I know I do!
Plantation crunch is also good. Two packages of vanilla or white chips, 1 cup peanut butter, 7 cups Rice Krispies cereal, one cup salted peanuts, 2 cups confectioners sugar, 2 tablespoons plus two teaspoons of water, 4 and ½ teaspoons meringue powder, ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar. Again, what’s not to like? The recipe I looked up says sprinkles but we don’t do that.
Some people have allergies(in some cases, ones they don’t even know about). For instance, several Christmas Eves ago, I woke up at about 2 am broke out bad. I looked back on what I ate and blamed it on a sausage or cheese ball. I’ve had cheeseball since then and nothing happened. Maybe it was the sausage ball. Maybe it wasn’t. That’s why I’m careful about what I eat now.
Our family tradition for Christmas Eve has always been that we get together at our neighbors/cousins after Christmas Eve service. Recently we’ve taken up the Dirty Santa game. I will not attempt to go over any rules as everyone plays it differently.
However you spend(or spent, as this might be posted after the 25th), I hope you have/had a very Merry Christmas!