By John Simpson

Reporter

Over the past couple of issues, Carolyn Iamon has written columns about how to clean and prepare for the holidays and how to decorate your home accordingly. She even put out a column that gave some cocktail recipe ideas for the holidays.

With those bases being covered it is time to round third and head for home, the most important base of all. In this case, that base is food.

The food you can serve over the holidays is a vast subject. Thanksgiving is pretty simple; you serve turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, green beans, some pie, etc. What can be the difference is what you serve for your Christmas meals. Now, yes I wrote the story urging readers to not overlook Thanksgiving. Yes that sentiment still stands, don’t do it. However, with the focus of this column being food there is not much left to discuss regarding Thanksgiving. Everyone knows what to do for that.

Christmas has its favorites; ham, some form of potatoes, a casserole, all the classics.

Here’s something to think about though, how can you jazz up Christmas breakfast? In my house it was a yearly issue that we failed to plan for. After we ripped open our presents, mom would always look around and say, “Well, I guess we should think of something for breakfast.”

Don’t let it take away from the emphasis put on the Christmas dinner or even the Christmas Eve dinner. However, it can be simple to make an easy breakfast casserole and just toss it in the over in the morning. There are other options though that can be made with ease and are festive.

For instance, try to make some gingerbread pancakes.  Total estimated cook time is 25 minutes, with only 10 minutes of that being prep time. The only ingredients needed are; a half cup of flour, a teaspoon of baking powder, a quarter teaspoon of baking soda, a quarter teaspoon of salt, a half teaspoon of ground dried ginger, a teaspoon of ground cinnamon, an egg, a half teaspoon vanilla extract, a quarter cup of molasses, and one and one half cup of water.

Once you mix in all the ingredients, its as simple as making pancakes from that point. You could even have the kids or grandkids help with this and turn it in to a family event.

For those who are looking for something a little more daring, you could try your hand at making eggnog French toast. For this recipe all you need is; two eggs, one and one half cup of eggnog, one and one half tablespoon of cinnamon, one teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, and 12 slices of French bread.

Mix all ingredients together except the bread. Once the mix is made, then dip the bread in the mixture and cook it on a lightly greased skillet. This is another simple twist on an old favorite to make your holiday breakfast just a little more festive.

Family is the most important part of the holidays, but food the most important part of the most important aspect. Everyone says the best family time is around a table, so make it memorable.