Christmas dinners of my childhood were small, simple affairs. Most of my extended family live in Kentucky and Tennessee, so it was often just my younger brother and me and my parents at home for the holiday. Later, when my mother’s parents moved to Florida, they joined us for Christmas dinner. My grandparents always stayed late for competitive games of Rook around the round oak dining table, its smooth edges warped from too many years in the Florida humidity, and my grandfather with an eternal cup of black coffee beside his hand.

Somewhere through the years, we decided to forgo the roasted turkey or glazed ham, and instead we chose to celebrate that day with a pot roast, mashed potatoes, and gravy – three of my father’s specialties. He was a master at preparing flavorful, juicy roast beef in his ancient Presto pressure cooker. The hissing and spitting sounds made by that pressure cooker and the savory aromas of the beef filled the house on Christmas, teasing us with the promise of the delectable meal that awaited us.

I was never able to replicate my father’s pot roast until I got over my own fear of the pressure cooker. Though I never witnessed any explosions, the noises emitted from that cooker as the pressure increased inside were enough to put an everlasting fear and mistrust of that device into me.

Perhaps some part of me didn’t truly want to replicate the meal. Because my taste memory of that dish is permanently intermingled and entwined with memories of my father, I wanted him to be the only one to cook that pot roast for us. Always and forever.

Of course, another big part of me just wanted to eat that pot roast again and not have to wait for Dad or for Christmas.

So I did it. I made my own version, staying true to the general idea of my father’s pot roast, but infusing my own touches into the recipe. And I managed to avoid the scary, old fashioned stove-top pressure cooker, instead using the more modern electric version for my version of Dad’s pot roast. This one doesn’t make crazy noises that scare the children – or me – and I like the convenience of pressing buttons.

This is a great pot roast, perfectly juicy and tender. It’s not my father’s pot roast, but that’s okay. This one will do until he can make his again for us.

There’s no recipe today, folks. As many of you know, I get my best cooking done on the weekends. Saturdays and Sundays are really the only time I have the leisure of spending the day in the kitchen, without the pressure of time constraints, and in the daylight. And, since we were out of town the past two weekends, my cooking and baking have fallen by the wayside.

My sweet husband has handled most of our weeknight cooking of late, but he’s had some help from this slow cooker, an updated version of the ancient one I used to use. I’ve cooked several things from this slow cooker cook book, and we’ve both been pleased with the results. I highly recommend the cassoulet recipe; we’ve made it a few times already.

Two weekends ago, we went to Las Vegas to celebrate the wedding vow renewal of two of our good friends [hi, Julia!]. I’ve had several requests for photos of the gold stilettos I bought, the ones I mentioned in this post.  Here they are, in all their painful-toed glory:

I’m still not sure how I walked in them.

This past weekend, there was no cooking because we celebrated my daughter’s eighth birthday at Sea World and Disney World. My husband and I were forced to ride roller coasters that neither of us had any business being on. The trip was not perfect — there were at least a handful of tantrums, one lost stuffed dog, a painful splinter that caused tears upon extraction, late nights and too-early mornings — but snuggling in bed with both kids while watching The Polar Express on Saturday night made up for all the not-so-nice parts of the weekend.

If you’re still hunting gifts for those you love, be sure to check out my gift guide, parts one and two, for ideas. Also, if you have not done so already, please enter the giveaway for a beautiful Eat Boutique jams gift box. Entries are open until this Friday, and I plan to select the winner on Saturday morning.

And last, but definitely not least, I am guest posting over at unstitchedblog.com today. Lillian is the author/editor/publisher of unstitchedblog.com, and her blog is just gorgeous. She asked me to share a little bit about my kitchen style — at which I first burst out laughing (style? what style?), and then collected myself and said yes, graciously.

Style is Lillian’s thing. Practicality and comfort are mine. Regardless, check out my kitchen over at unstitched.  You can be the judge.

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Update 3/13/2014: Lillian’s blog isn’t there any longer, so I’ve removed the links. Sorry about that!

I bought myself a little something recently.

Okay, maybe more than a little something. Last weekend in Las Vegas, I splurged on a gorgeous pair of sparkly gold stilettos. They were the perfect pair of shoes for Vegas, but I’m going to find any excuse to wear them now that I’m back home. I have to get the cost-per-wear down a bit, if you know what I mean.

But this post isn’t about my new shoes. This is about the other little gift I bought for myself. This gift is one that won’t hurt my toes or cause me to twist an ankle. This one was waiting for me when I got home from Vegas, delivered carefully to my front step, and was filled with sweetness. Literally.

Maggie, the lovely lady behind the brilliant concept that is Eat Boutique, added some new gift boxes to the Eat Boutique line up, just in time for the holidays. I treated myself to a box of her favorite jams.

I’m a big fan of Eat Boutique, and meeting Maggie this September in New York City for a cup of coffee was a highlight of my trip. She’s such a warm and friendly person, filled with an amazing energy. Our brief get-together in a Soho coffee shop just wasn’t long enough.

You might remember that in July, Maggie was generous enough donate a gift box for me to give away to one of my readers. And just recently, I included an Eat Boutique gift box in my holiday food gift guide. And I’m not the only one who fawns over Eat Boutique. Just yesterday, Food52 included an EB gift box in their hand-curated Shop.

Included in the box are four jams – Sqirl Kumquat Chamomile Marmalade (from Los Angeles), We Love Jam Blenheim Apricot Jam (from San Francisco), Blue Chair Jam Tomato Provencal Jam (also from San Francisco), and The Stand Blueberry Cinnamon Jam (from Brooklyn, New York).

The assortment of flavors is heavenly. Trust me.

And, once again, Maggie has promised to give a box of these jams away to one of my readers for free. She’s pretty incredible, that Maggie.

To Enter:

It’s very simple to enter — no hoops to jump through. And, while I would love it if you followed me on twitter and liked my Facebook page, it is by no means a requirement.

All you have to do is leave me a comment on this post with the answer to this question: What is your favorite food gift to give — or to receive?

The Fine Print:

Because there is always fine print, right? Comments are open through Friday, December 16 at 9:00 pm EST (6:00 pm PST). Just one comment per person, please. I’ll randomly select the winner the morning of Saturday, December 17th. The gift box will be shipped to the winning commenter directly from Eat Boutique (to either you, or the recipient of your choice). Because of shipping costs, this is only open to residents of the continental United States ONLY.

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Would you rather guarantee your opportunity to taste these jams — or any other gift box packaged up by Maggie? Don’t want to take your chances on the giveaway? Use the promotion code “MerryEB” for $10 off your order at EatBoutique. Maggie has offered this discount for readers of the merry gourmet, simply because she’s so sweet. And she likes us!

Saturday 12/17/2011 — Addendum: We have a winner! According to the random number generator, the winner is comment number…

And comment number 9 belongs to…

Congrats! You’ll love the jams gift box. Happy holidays!