Merry, Merry, Merry Christmas!!

Quite possibly, the cutest Christmas card, ever.  : )

The little red car is a rubber stamp, and I cut out the Christmas tree from green and brown cardstock (like how I did for this card).  I punched four tiny holes (like how I did for this card), and used my red and white-striped baker's twine to "tie" the tree to the roof of the car.  I gave this card as a second Christmas card, along with awesome Christmas presents, to RR.  

One of the presents I gave RR was HOMEMADE BOOZY TRUFFLES!  I had never attempted anything remotely close to truffles before, but RR really loves chocolate desserts, so I decided to make truffles (recipe from Ancestral Chef) and buy a bottle of Taylor tawny port (because of our trip to the Taylor port caves in Portugal this past summer) as part of his gift.  I had a panic attack or two during the process of making them, but in the end, they turned out beautifully (whew!).

The chocolates on the left side of the box were made with a generous pouring of Amaro Nonino (my favorite fortified wine) and rolled in Marie Belle Aztec Spice Cocoa Powder, and the right side is apple brandy with a crushed praline coating!

I also put a bourbon cherry into a few of them for variation:

You can find the recipe for the cherries here on my Flickr page (scroll down).  RR opened his new bottle of port, and we enjoyed it with all the truffles on Christmas Eve.

Tomorrow and Friday, RR and I are heading on an overnight trip to Philly for fun and good eats and drinks (and probably the museum of art)!  On Saturday, we're planning on a daytrip to Dia: Beacon, a famous modern art center that occupies a former Nabisco box printing factory on the banks of the Hudson River, and then wandering the cute town of Beacon in the afternoon.  It's gonna be great!

I wish you all a very, very Merry Christmas!!