Christmas Eve

This year I had to work Christmas night so we did our cultural Christmas dinner tradition on Christmas Eve. 

I believe it was Peter's idea to roast a whole pig- I will give him the credit.

We looked into it a bit and decided we were going to go for the "whole hog".

I ordered it from a local butcher with an estimate based on the number of people we had coming. I overestimated but leftovers are yummy!

 The butcher removed the head and feet for us. We kept the head but left the feet knowing we would not pickle them. 

 We are so lucky to have Peter's parents in town for the holiday and Jon's baptism on Saturday.

Max was awesome at cutting up the pig into manageable pieces to cook. We did not feel comfortable digging a pit and knowing it would be done right. 

 We did cook the head and it fit nicely into my crockpot. It was a bit eerie having it staring at me through the lid all day as I worked in the kitchen. 

 The meat was injected with flavor as well as a spice mix rubbed on. The kids all helped and thought it was great. 

 It looks like Max did all of the work but really Peter was busy getting all of the cooking apparatuses ready.  He lines this box with foil and puts it over our smoker to help control the heat. 

 Half of the pig was cooked low and slow on the grill. 

 Pictures of the finished products.

 From L to R: countertop oven roaster, smoked in smoker, grilled, head in crockpot, Costco sausages because they were a yummy sample and fit the pork fest theme. 

We were ready to "pig out".

 We invited our guests to bring sides. There were some yummy sides and some international ones at that. We had spaetzle, fondue, vietnamese spring rolls, scalloped potatoes, mashed potatoes, fruit platter, brazilian limeade, green salad, herbed bread and crepes for dessert.

 Some were brave enough to try the pig brain. I was not one of them but kudos to those that did including Elder Worden.  

We also played reindeer races and acted out the Nativity.  There was a Mary and Joseph but Lily would not leave the baby Jesus alone so I jokingly said she was the nanny. A friend's little girl said to her mom that she did not remember Jesus having a nanny. 

 And the finally tradition of the night, opening a present of pajamas. Peter actually got two new t-shirts and I got a jogging suit type thing that still fits now but will be super comfy to lounge around in after the baby comes and still feel like I have gotten dressed. 

The kiddos ready for bed and Santa to come!