Merry Christmas! Now, About New Year's Eve...
3 stylish seafood appetizers to pair with your celebratory Champagne
Merry Christmas and welcome to Quaintrelle, a weekly newsletter that shares ideas, inspiration, and insights on easy, elegant entertaining.
Would you be so kind as to click that little heart above?
Thank you reading. Quaintrelle is written by me, journalist-turned-sommelier and party host, Erin Henderson. If you have food and drink lovers in your life, please share this post with them.
Kitschy Grandpa Winter
This is my alleged Holiday Aesthetic, according to a very scientific rubric from Better Homes and Gardens’ Instagram post.
I think it’s rigged. BHG got Jolly Elf Chic. Of course they did, they’re the ones who created it.
I wanted Cozy Sugarplum Energy. But I’d have to be under 15 years old to get it. Totally rigged.
What’s your Holiday Aesthetic?
Alright, enough kvetching, it’s Christmas and you’re not here for my complaints. As valid as they may be, BHG.
If you’re stealing a few moments to read this love note today, I am so very flattered to be part of your holiday. There are now nearly 1,300 of us in the Quaintrelle community, and I am delighted to have you along for the ride. As I’ve said many times before, I am truly grateful for your time and attention.
In just a few hours, our family will have blazed through the mountain of presents levitating the tree to new heights, and we will be sitting down to our first of many meals of the day. A cozy brunch with our favourite egg casserole – the recipe I sent last week, along with crispy hash browns (which we call potato jams, no idea why) and a tangy green salad to keep the guilt at bay.
It’s our tradition to take a long walk after brunch before settling into an afternoon of serious game-playing and merry-making with various nibbles washed down by celebratory bubbles. And then there’s dinner, of course. We change it up every year, and this time we’ve opted for classic prime rib with wild mushroom gravy, balsamic roasted cipollini onions, and in place of Yorkshire pudding, a challah stuffing made by my expert-baker sister.
I was going to send a few ideas in today’s post for the quiet and cozy in between days. Those brisk winter moments when you might join friends on a walk along a snowy trail followed by a hearty lunch of boeuf bourguignon and a seedy sourdough loaf. Or maybe those cozy days cuddled on the couch for a movie marathon and brimming bowls of steaming soup.
But, January’s theme is all about those hearty and healthy get togethers, when we’re all considering changing things up a bit, ideally for the better. Each week I will have a new idea for ways to connect with friends and family, that dials back the decadence of December, but is no less fun. Recipes for hearty and satisfying salads (no sad desk lunches here!), tempting soups, and delicious, company-worthy dinners that respect the healthy focus of the new year, but don’t compromise on flavour and style.
But January is then, and this is now. So we’ve still got a few days to don our festive fancy pants before the lull of winter tucks us in to our hibernation era. Today, I’m sharing three luxe seafood recipes, that are all whipped up in 20 minutes or less. (Don’t worry, what they lack in effort they more than make up for in cost. But hey! It’s the holidays.) And – they are all brilliant paired with that NYE bubbly.