Christmas in July
In scrolling through Pinterest, I saw the best doormat that literally spoke to me - “We’re Like Really Into Christmas.” Oh my god I fall more in love with husband every holiday season because his love for Christmas rivals mine. We decorate as early as possible, are anxious to fast forward through Thanksgiving to get to Christmas, watch Christmas movies everyday, go look at lights, wear festive gear. We just do it all & I live for it. It’s the time when we can put a festive spin on almost anything, & Christmas in July is simply an excuse to give my inner holiday spirit a thrill, & make a little at-home party out of the deal. Put on some jean shorts & my favorite red shirt, enjoy dinner in the yard, soak up the golden hour with a glass of Rosé in hand, & call it Summer-Christmas festive. I decided to dust off one of our newest Christmas traditions for dinner, & trade in mugs of cocoa for Frozen Cocoa Cones to create a simple & delicious backyard feast..
This year we started one food tradition for just us, & that’s Christmas Fettuccini. Inspired by The Holiday, it’s a night where we light a fire & curl up with a bowl of creamy fetuccini & take a moment to share a festive dinner with just us two. & of course watch the Holiday while we do it. I’m not busting out the Christmas movies quite yet, but our new festive date-night was a highlight of our first holiday season in the PN. With it being a new Zehner tradition it only felt right to bring back the Christmas Fettuccini for Summer Christmas 2019.
Seasonal pasta vibes were brought using the same tried & true sauce recipe as before (1 stick butter+1 cup heavy cream+2 cups parmesan=Alfredo sauce perfection), except changing things up by using a Beet Fettuccini that ironically enough was given to me as a stocking stuffer. I’ve been saving it for a special occasion, & what better occasion than Christmas in July? The beet coloring just looks so pretty on a white platter & makes for some colorful eats. A cheesy & creamy Alfredo is the perfect pairing for any flavored pasta - any pesto, tomato, or carrot infused noodles from a local specialty shop will taste great tossed in the sauce & are a great way to add some color to a summer pasta.
I paired our pasta it with my most favorite Summer salad - Sugar Snap Pea & Prosciutto Salad. It’s light & refreshing, made with a red wine vinaigrette that’s tangy & brightens up the whole dinner. The sugar snap peas are pretty hearty, & that super crunchy bite they bring to the table gives a little variety to a creamy pasta dinner. & let me tell you a bite of salad with a twirl of cream fettuccini is a perfect bite. Backyard dinner heaven.
Christmas food is decadent, and that’s one of the things I truly do love the most about the holidays. Bring on the cheese & buttery sauces & roasted meats. So as if pasta in cheese sauce isn’t enough of an an indulgent moment, I brought on the Christmas bruschetta. Plus I just really feel like 3 dinner elements makes it fancy, so I’m rounding out the Christmas in July Big 3 with even more carbs. One baguette halved, slathered with cranberry sauce, sprinkled with blue cheese & cooked bacon. Holy moly it’s delish.
Last but not least, something sweet & festive to enjoy as we sit in our Adirondacks fireside. A dessert bar build around my favorite things - loaded cones. Loaded milkshakes have become the craze - glasses that frosted with ganache & every kind of candy sticking out of it. Well I’m a fan of the ice cream cone, & loaded cones are my shit. These Frozen Cocoa Cones are 100% product of my imagination, & have a little nod to Rocky Road - hot fudge slathered around the cone, rolled in chopped walnuts, & marshmallows sprinkled on top to make em’ look real cute. I also channeled my inner Cold-stone fan girl and mixed in just a touch of hot fudge, walnuts, and chopped marshmallows in some softened chocolate ice cream so you get the little bits of goodness throughout the whole cone. & there you have it - loaded cones that are truly too die.
Finished the display with the only Christmas treat that matters - Christmas cookies. Because it might as well not have happened unless there were Christmas cookies. I went with a pale pink and gold color story for these since it’s summer, and any color story of light and bright colors passes. & let me tell ya - leftover Christmas cookies dunked in morning coffee. Quite the delicious sweet treat in AM every now and then.
My opinion about at-home datenights is unwavering - finding the little things in life to mildly celebrate is what makes nights at home feel special, a little more fun, & truly what makes them lit. So if you aren’t the biggest Christmas fan in December, Christmas in July probably isn’t your jam. We, Jordan & Lesley Zehner, really do love Christmas. The vibe in our house is brighter, we get so excited to come home & do something festive, stay up even later to said festive things (or just stare at our Christmas tree), and it’s because of those things that we really enjoyed our first Christmas in the PNW. It brought so many firsts to a time of year we already loved so much. First time being able to light a fire in a fireplace, first time being snowed in, first time where bundling up was a winter necessity. Finding an excuse to do a mini Christmas mid year brought back all of those happy memories. Moreover, it proved to me that at home date-nights don’t need to be these at-home productions. Yes doing something new is great, but sometimes the best way to have fun at home is to recreate simple moments that fueled so much fun, & making the little extra effort to make it slightly more elevated. Whether that means buying some specialty ingredients for an extra memorable dinner or spending 5 minutes making a little chalkboard sign. For us it’s as simple as fettuccine around a fire and ice cream cones, & moving our evening fire from the fireplace to the fire-pit for an outdoor dessert bar felt like the perfect teaser for holiday season 2019.