Nochebuena in the O.C. (¡Oh, Sí!)

I'm just now recovering from the Food Coma that has ensued since our fabulous Nochebuena celebration.

Once again it fell to me to host My Big, Fat, Cuban Family for our big Cuban feast on December the 24th. Cubans celebrate Christmas Eve more so than Christmas Day. It's a fall-back, I think, to the days when we actually celebrated the 12 days of Christmas leading up to January 6th and the Feast of the Epiphany. January 6th was the day The 3 Kings brought our presents. We call it El Dia de Los Reyes but that's not important right now.

I think that just about every Cuban I talk to feels that December the 24th is especially ours. It's a Cuban thing. It's our Christmas. Our very Cuban menu. Our special night. I kind of love that.

My sisters all pitch in to cook the classic menu of roast pig (lechón asado), black beans, white rice, yuca with mojo, and plantains.

A perfectly perfect Cuban feast. Clockwise from the top: Cuban bread, fried plantains, green salad, yuca with garlic mojo, roast pork, black beans and white rice.

Cuban food for a crowd (or my immediate family) looks like this:

Since we celebrate at my house (my freakishly small house), it falls to us to prepare the tables and decorate.

Happily, this is what I do best.

My kids have all been in theater and because we entertain so much and have to always move furniture around to fit people. (Did I mention my house was freakishly small? I know I did.) Lucy, who is a Stage Manager for the productions at Saddleback College has wisely shared the attitude that we are just "set designing" for a production. I kind of love that.

We moved furniture and made a Feliz Navidad banner to go across the room. Lucy and Adam strung lights across the room overhead and set the table with candles and chargers and runners and greenery. It was quite magical.

Beyond this room and past the kitchen, we enclosed the patio and added two more tables. See what I mean? Freakishly small.

There was no room for my 7 foot tall Christmas tree. What to do? Put small trees in the corners of the living and dining rooms. That turned out to be lots of fun and a big hit.

We set up a photobooth in Jonathan's room. (More on that tomorrow.)

My 98 year old mom, Luza, and me. She was celebrating her 98th Nochebuena.

The desserts were very typically Cuban:

Pastelitos de guayaba y queso crema. (Guava and cream cheese pastries.)

And of course, my Mom's Famous Flan:

And the Creme de Vie flowed all night.

The evening was a great success. Everyone was happy and in a wonderful celebratory mood. I so enjoy celebrating family and Christmas in this very Cuban way.

The cousins stayed to help tear down tables and to help us prepare for our Christmas Day the next morning.

Which led, of course, to a late night dance party. Of course.

And because we had no tree, we just stacked the presents in the middle of the room.

I kind of loved that. In fact, I kind of loved all of it.

El Wiwichu

There's so much that I love about the holidays. My earliest Christmas memories are all filled with abundance and magic.

I think one of my favorites happened as we were learning the language and the customs of our new adopted country. Our default greeting was always "Feliz Navidad." But here in the U.S. things were a little different.

Our Cuban tongues that could so easily roll R's into oblivion were a challenged by the Christmas greetings we heard around us.

Merry Christmas came out sounding more like, "Meri Cree-mah," all Cuban accented, broken and abrubt syllables. And then there were the new songs we were learning in school. (I started 1st grade here in the U.S. without speaking a word of English.)

Our favorite was something we called, "El Wiwichu."

That's right. It goes something like this:

"Wiwichu ah Meri Chree-mah, Wiwichu ah Meri Cree-mah, Wiwichu ah Meri Cree-mah. Ana hapi niu yiah."

As I send out my Christmas cards, I can't help but think of El Wiwichu.

And it makes me smile.

Merry Christmas, my friends.

It's beginning to look a lot like...

I often say that the best part of Christmas for me is being Cuban.

Our traditional Nochebuena celebration begins with the fabulousness that is Lechón Asado. A roasted pig. Or, if you don't have 50 of your closest relatives coming for dinner on Christmas Eve, then a 20 lb. pork shoulder will do. If you're a cheater, like me, you can also get your lechón happening in a slow-cooker. (Don't judge me.)

Slow-roasted in a low temperature oven (or Crockpot!) from around midnight the night before, the house smells of intoxicatingly awesome garlicky pork all day.

We have our extended family celebration on December the 24th. We call it Nochebuena (the Good Night) and have a late and leisurely Cuban feast.

The days leading up to the Cooking of the Pig means there are a lot of culinary preparations, mostly in the form of a garlic marinade which is injected into this same pig (or shoulder, or fat pork chop, or pork roast), which we call Mojo Criollo. (Pronounced MOH-HO, as in Ho-Ho-Ho.)  Click this LINK for the recipe.

So, with all these crazy-busy preparation for the Cuban Awesomeness heading our way, I leave you this sentiment:

Stay Cuban, my friends. ;-)

Nochebuena is coming and everyone's invited!

We Cubans celebrate December the 24th. It's our BIG Christmas celebration with the extended family. And when I say celebrate, I mean we pull out all the stops.

It's a PARTY.

The meal is usually roast pork (lechón asado), white rice, black beans, plantains, yuca con mojo. And a great big flan (and assorted sweets) for dessert. It's a fabulous time to celebrate with family and friends. We always celebrate on December 24th. Always.

And everyone who is invited knows this, and yet...an invitation is always sent.

Always.

For some of my past Nochebuena invitation designs: Click here.

This year, I decided to step it up a notch and make the invitation a cheerful one. I made labels and pasted them on bottles of Martinelli's. Frankly, I was quite pleased with myself.

Here's the label. It says:

Please join us for some Christmas Cheer and Cucufate at the Darby Home. 6:00 pm. Nochebuena, Monday, December 24th, 2012

I handed them out at Thanksgiving and mailed just the above postcard to those who were not present that day. I'm kind of pleased with myself.

If you got an invitation to a party attached to a bottle of sparkling cider, wouldn't you make it a point to get there?

Yeah, me too. ;-)

Happy Dia de los Reyes!

Happy Dia de los Reyes. Day of the Three Kings. Day of the Magi.

It's always so strange to try and explain some of our Cuban superstitions traditions. And yes, I know we've been exiled for 50 years now, but some traditions we still keep. Even if they are now mostly just as a nod to our heritage.

Enter the Three Kings. Or the Three Wise Men who showed up at the birth of Jesus to bring him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

In Cuba, back in the day, they were the ones to bring us our "big" presents. Which would be waiting for us when we woke up on January 6th.

Santa Claus or if you prefer Spanglish, "Santi Clo" was a minor player in the Christmas drama and he brought us some candy or a token to mark the beginning of the REAL 12 Days of Christmas from December 25th through January 5th. (Which is why it's crazy-making to me when people start talking about the 12 days on December 1st, but that's not important right now.)

I've told this story countless times. And while we don't hold fast to the tradition of the 3 Kings bringing the presents, we still keep our tree up at least through today. (We didn't put it up until the 24th - don't freak out! - so we're not even tired of it yet.) And so, we try to keep some of the tradition alive.

My husband, Eric has learned that it's important to me to celebrate Christmas in this time frame and so he enjoys playing along. He has embraced the Cuban Christmas Timeline. And also the "big" gift delivered by the Los Tres Reyes Magos. 

Look at what I found from the Three Kings this morning:

Apparently Gaspar, Melchor and Baltazar are waiting until my kitchen is painted to deliver my set of new kitchen appliances!(YESSSS!!)

I *heart* that man. ;-)

Happy Three Kings Day, everyone!

Everything I wished for...

Happy New Year, everyone!

I know some of you are wondering what happened with the Dark Christmas Tree. 

Here's the story:

My son, Adam flew in from the Bay Area at the crack of dawn, landing at around 7:30 AM on Christmas eve. Lucy and Jonathan went to pick him up at the airport while Eric and I finished up the last minute touches around here. Or maybe we just slept in, but that's not important right now. ;-)

And they were all exhausted so they napped for most of the day which was fine by me. We had an amazing NocheBuena celebration at my sister, Alina's house. Everything was so beautiful and festive and everyone was so happy. (We also did a photobooth thing again which I'll share with you later.)

In short, a good time was had by all.

We didn't get home until about 11pm. It was then that we busted out the Créme de Vie and cranked up the Christmas music and decorated our own tree and put out the presents and set the table for breakfast.

Christmas morning felt pretty magical and I think we all felt it. (I made them put the lights on the tree in a swirling light pattern. You can see it if you squint. I kind of loved it. A lot.)

We had an absolute feast on Christmas morning that included quiche, fresh fruit, monkey bread and my best friend, Pam's Pamagranate Jelly.

Seriously, the house went from plain to spectacular fabulous magical (=D) overnight.

And as we leisurely had breakfast and opened gifts... (lots and lots of gifts. Thanks, guys!)

I felt absolutely content. We had a wonderful time together and all 6 of us were in the same area code. 

Which is all I really wanted for Christmas anyway. 

It's Nochebuena! And everyone's invited. Again.

My big, fat, Cuban family consists of pretty much the same people year after year. Except for the occasional birth, marriage, or divorce, I'm still related to the same people.

It's still just "us." (Sometimes "us" can get to upwards of 40 people, but that's not important right now.)

We Cubans have our BIG Christmas celebration on December the 24th. Nochebuena. (Which translates to "Good Night.")

For as long as I can remember and many generations before me, my family, like most other Cuban families, look forward to roast pork and black beans and white rice and yuca con mojo and fried plantains on December 24th.

Every year, on December 24th, we celebrate our Nochebuena with that grand-there's-nothing-like-it Cuban feast.

Every year, on December 24th, we get together as one big family and exchange gifts.

Every year, on December 24th, we stay up late and drink Crema de Vie and enjoy the Christmas festivities.

Every year. On December 24th. For as long as I can remember. The date has always been the same. The menu has never varied. Neither has the guest list.

And yet......

I always make invitations. Which I send to the same people I've been related to all my life. Who have been celebrating Nochebuena on December the 24th for their entire lives, too. And who all know we'll be getting together for our annual Nochebuena Celebration on December 24th.

Chances are, we've even already discussed where the party is going to be held, too. (This year we're going to my sister, Alina's house.)

And yet.....

I send out invitations. Every year.

Nochebuena, 2006:

Nochebuena, 2007:

Nochebuena, 2009:

Nochebuena, 2010:

And now.....(drum roll, please)......

Nochebuena, 2011:

I'm quite proud of this year's invitations. Aren't they just beautiful? I'm so into the whole "subway art" thing right now. I created them in Photoshop CS5 and uploaded the file to my local Kinko's (excuse me, FedEx Kinkos) so they could print it on coated cardstock.

I'm seriously so very pleased. =D

I just mailed these out to all of my big, fat, Cuban family. Who live just a few miles from me. With whom I've been celebrating Nochebuena for all of my life. On December 24th.

"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." ~Albert Einstein

Honestly, I know it's a little insane. But it's Cuban Christmas Insanity.

And to me, that's the very best kind. ;-)

Cheaters Lechón Asado (don't judge me.)

It's raining like mad here in So Cal. And we live in The Bubble (aka. The O.C.). And Nochebuena falls on a Friday. And the men-folk are all working. What does this mean?

It means that there will be no Cuban Caja China Pig Roasting for us. (*insert sad face here*)

Of course, this does not mean that we won't have our lechóncito. We are, after all, self-respecting Cubans. Going without lechón on Nochebuena is not an option.

It just means we'll cheat a little. ;-)

Super Garlicky Lechón Asado (In the crockpot. I know. Shut up.)

• 2 Tbsp. Olive oil
• 1 1/2 lbs. Pork loin chops – the big, thick ones
• 2 cups Mojo Criollo*
• 1 white onion – sliced into rings
• 1 tsp. Parsley

1. Stab each of the chops two or three times and brown them quickly in the olive oil.
2. Put them in a crockpot. Cover with the mojo and the onion slices and sprinkle with parsley.
   Cook on high for 4-5 hours. Or on low for 6-8 hours.
3. For added Cuban tastiness: Double the Mojo recipe and after the pork is cooked, pull it apart just a bit - it should be very tender - then, move it into a roasting pan.
4. Pour mojo over the pork and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes.

Serve with black beans and white rice.

*Mojo Criollo
You can use the mojo that comes in a bottle, or make your own.
Here’s my recipe.

• 20 cloves garlic
• 2 tsp. Salt
• 1 tsp. Coarse-ground Pepper
• 2 tsp. Oregano
• 1 ¾ cups bitter orange juice
• ¼ cup white vinegar

1. Using a mortar and pestle, mash together the garlic, salt, pepper and oregano to make a paste.
2. Stir in the orange juice and vinegar.

They'll never know the difference. =D

Buen Provecho!

"Making Christmas?" or "Resolviendo"?

Our home is small. You could say it's freakishly small, but I prefer to call it cottage-like. (That makes it sound so much cuter.)

So hosting my big, fat, Cuban family for holidays is often a challenge. We have to move furniture around to make room for everyone. Can I just add right here that even though it's kind of a challenge, it's my absolute pleasure to have my house full of the noisy people that I love best.

In the past, my sister, Alina hosted Nochebuena. She had the largest home which made it easy to accommodate the small army that constitutes my immediate family. But last year she downsized and so the Cuban Christmas Eve defaulted to us.

Did I mention that our house is freakishly small cottage-like?

But, lucky for me, I'm married to Mr. Creative Guy. (I sometimes have a few good ideas myself, but that's not important right now.)

Challenge Number 1: I happen to like everyone to have a place at the table. Call me old-fashioned, but I like to think everyone feels more at home when they have A Place. Plus, there is nothing that I love more than a beautifully set table.

Challenge Number 2: Place settings for 24, plus the kids' table. I like my tables to have a certain amount of uniformity. And yes, I do happen to have lovely white buffet dishes. If I were hosting a buffet... But this is Nochebuena I'm talking about. And I wanted to seat everyone. *Eric does face-palm*

I should add right here that I have amassed quite a nice collection of Christmas dishes over the years. I like our Christmas morning table nicely set (for the 6 of us) and Target has had some beautiful place settings in the past. (Have you started doing the math yet? You know what's coming next, right?)

We have managed to art direct the settings for enough of our kids' plays that we know a thing or two about creating a mood.

Mr. Creative Guy wrapped our Patio Cover in stage canvas. (See the 26 foot backdrop we painted for Lucy's Spring Musical here. We just happened to have lots of this stuff left over, but that's not important right now, either.) And he bought a square of carpet to cover the patio slab.

This room addition made it possible for us to seat 12 people, plus set up a drinks table. Genius.

Which then just leads us to the setting of the tables. This is where it got good....

I was able to set up Christmas Themed Tables. ("You did what??") I know. Shut up.

There was The Snowflake Table. So named for my (ancient!) red snowflake table cloth & napkins. I found a ton of these glittery snowflakes and hot glued them to old acrylic napkin rings. That table got gold chargers and the gold rimmed goblets. (The small shot glasses are for Creme de Vie....of course.)

The Rustic Reindeer Table got its name from the cute little metal reindeer holding the placecards. (Actually, I didn't name it. The people who ended up sitting here started calling themselves the Rustic Reindeers. The wine was flowing by then and everyone was getting creative....) I found the reindeer at Crate & Barrel. They were really ornaments, but I yanked off the string and called them placecard holders. No one was the wiser. (Certainly not after the wine started flowing, but that's not important right now, either....)

I already had the plates and the red glasses. The little cherry-jingle-bell napkin rings were from a long ago Nochebuena that my mom had done. I am so glad I inherited these. They just make me happy.

The Ornament Table is the next one. I love these dishes. They are simple and elegant and they just scream "Merry Christmas." Plus the red chargers look amazing under the red-rimmed plates. The placecard holders are little ornaments. Sadly, one broke the morning of the setup. Of course, being the hostess, it happened to be mine. Ooops. ;-) The gold-trimmed glasses have my parents' names on them and were from their 50th anniversary celebration. Again, happy to have inherited these.

The next table was The Poinsettia Table. These dishes look spectacular with crystal and those silver chargers. The white glasses with the red rims were another wonderful find.

What's fun about my home is that, besides being freakishly small cottage-like, it has white beadboard and red leather furniture. Almost like it was meant for Christmas celebrations.

Kids! I almost forgot....we have a Kids' Table, too. There are 7 great-grands. But only 5 were in attendance. We covered our coffee table which obviously worked best with the kid-size chairs. And provided an activity - in this case - cookie decorating. The basket held frosting and sprinkles and all of that kind of stuff. I added some noisemakers to their places. (Dollar bins are ideal for these sorts of things.)

I was quite pleased with the results. Instead of my house appearing freakishly small too cottage-like, it felt cozy and like it had 5 different neighborhoods.

I couldn't quite get over how serendipitously it all came together.

I know you're wondering... where in the world did we manage in this freakishly small cottage-like atmosphere, to put the Christmas tree?

I love my family. =D

Do you host your family for Nochebuena? How do you do it? Tell me.

Let the Noche Buena Preparations Begin!

It's time to get ready for Noche Buena at the Darbys!

 
I wish you could all come. It's going to be such a fabulous event!

We've been up to our eyeballs in party preparations and I'm totally excited.

This year we are hosting my big, fat, Cuban family. And our house is small. Freakishly small when I think of the logistics of serving 30 people at a sit-down event, but that's not important right now.

So we are figuring it all out, or as we say in Spanish, "resolviendo."

Me (a little distraught and a little whiny): "But it's just going to look like our little house is just over-crowded. I want it to be magical!" *sigh*

To which my family responded by jumping into action. (I can be very persuasive when I'm whiny. =D)

Amy came up with the idea to cover all the pictures in Christmas wrap to make them look like gifts. And that made me happy. I think it's starting to look pretty festive.

 

Eric added greenery and lights to every corner of the room.

It's coming together quite nicely. It seems that every spot downstairs (including the bathroom and kitchen) has been touched by Christmas and this makes me totally happy.

Today is the day I send the boys out to pick up the extra tables and chairs from my mom's garage. We are enclosing the back patio with a heavy canvas curtain. And we'll have to move out all of our living room furniture to have room for the tables. (When I say we, I mean Eric. =D)

And no, there's no room for the Christmas tree. (I know. Shut up.)

But my Creative Team made the executive decision that we will put it out on the front lawn and bring it in on Christmas morning. I kind of like the craziness of that. At least this is one Christmas we won't soon forget!

[Side note to all of you who start decorating back in November: I have nothing against decorating your home early, if that's what you like to do. I, personally, don't. I prefer decorating a few days before and turning it into An Event. It keeps me focused on Christmas itself. But that's just my way.]

Meanwhile, I'm in the kitchen with Adam cooking up batch after batch of our fabulous Creme de Vie. (Click here for my famous super-secret Creme de Vie recipe.)

 

I finally gave up buying the beautiful bottles at Pier One (plus it was getting a little expensive). The local wine shop was glad to give us (as in free!) their empties and I just made personalized labels for the recipients. (I like how the snowflakes on the tablecloth reflect onto the bottles and enhance the snowflakes on the labels.) Pretty sweet, no?

I have found that after a few cups of this wonderful stuff, everything seems so much more....I don't know...magical?

How are your preparations coming along? Do you host? Do you travel? (Do you drink?) ;-)