Since y’all have been SO kind to read through yesterday’s post on Christmas, I will keep the Christmas photos to a minimum so that you can get to the delicious recipe at the end of today’s post.
I’ll start with this little tree I put together this year, which sits in a funny little corner in the center of our first floor. If you go left, you’ll head upstairs. But if you turn right you’ll go into the kitchen (in fact I can see a doorknob that I didn’t edit in the background, which takes you to our garage.)
I had a little trouble making up my mind this year on whether I should do sort of a coastal blue theme (blue is my favorite color) or stick with the traditional red and green, which I love.
The result was a mish mash of colors this year. Does anybody else do this? Please say, “Yes!”
I found several packages of pheasant feathers at Michaels and simply stuck them around the top of the tree. The vintage blue and silver tree topper was given to me by Mom. Instead of using a skirt, I just tucked some spare burlap that I had around the base of the tree.
Here’s a small tabletop tree I did in one part of our family room. Again, using blue and white as my theme. I already had everything, including the glittery white bird (found at Michaels) that sat near the top. I used a pewter dish that my Mom had passed along to me and filled it with small glass balls and a shell one of my boys had found at the beach last summer.
This tabletop tree sits in a small, galvanized bucket. This year I sat it on my family room sideboard atop a vintage silver tray with a couple of mercury glass votive holders. I did something similar here last year.
And because my boys don’t care all that much about how the house is decorated {as long as the Christmas tree is up and decorated}, I thought I’d share what Elfy did on his last day with us. Funny, he had trouble spelling in his note to them, but spelled “Merry Christmas” perfectly with bananagram letters.
Finally, I wanted to share with you the spice rub I used on the roasted pork loin we had for Christmas dinner. It was delicious and I’ve used it on center-cut pork chops since.
Using dried oregano, minced garlic, kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper and a couple of tbsp of fennel seeds that I had toasted and crushed, I quickly put together this rub.
I applied the rub on all sides of the pork loin. It was covered and put back into the refrigerator to marinate for 6 hours until it was time to go into the oven.
I’m a little upset with myself that I didn’t photograph the pork once we took it out of the oven, but it was Christmas and the hectic day gave way to limited photo taking.
I do hope you will try it.
Toasted Fennel, Oregano & Garlic Dry Rub
Ingredients
1 tbsp fennel seeds, toasted and crushed
4 tbsp of dried oregano
4-5 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
2 tsp kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
Method
Combine first 3 ingredients using a mortar and pestle. Add in salt and black pepper. Apply liberally to pork loin and then cover and refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight. Roast in a 400 degree oven until internal temperature reaches 155. Length of time will vary according to your oven and the weight of your roast.
Thank you for allowing this wayward blogger to post about Christmas a full month after it has passed.
I hope you’re enjoying your weekend!
Um yes, guilty…I do use quite a lot of colors at Christmas in the house, but blue is my all time favorite color, so there’s a lot of that. That’s why I think your tree is so great! I love all the decor you’ve done this year. Terrific job! It’s making me nostalgic for that time of year again 🙂
Thanks for the spice rub recipe! Hubby loves pork, but me….eh not so much. This will help, I’m sure!
I was in awe when I did a google image search for blue/coastal Christmas trees…Wow, I was not alone in my love of blue decorations for Christmas! I did not see a lot of multiple color combos in the same house though. I can’t seem to break away from the traditional red & green. Perhaps I’ll be a little more streamlined in my choices next year! Thank you for your kind words.
Speaking of spices, I have it on my list to do some dishes with herbs de provence, like with roast chicken and vegetable or lamb. Have you used them much in your cooking?
No, I haven’t, so I’m looking forward to hearing about this! YAY!!! I’d love to experiment….with your guidance, of course 🙂
One of the best things about the holiday season is the food, of course. Sipping lowfat eggnog lattes while shopping and nibbling fresh roasted chestnuts while dressing the tree and singing along with Christmas music are a couple of my favorites. Feeding hungry houseguests and preparing for holiday dinner parties are also on my calendar. Roasted pork tenderloin is a go-to dish in my home, since it’s so impressive-looking, elegant, satisfying, yet simple to prepare.
You’ve described some of the most wonderful and festive details of the Christmas season. Fresh, roasted chestnuts are pretty special. And, a roasted pork tenderloin is a simple, but elegant dinner offering to guests…I completely agree!
Thank you for stopping by this weekend.
Allison