O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum

The smell of evergreen will always get me into the Christmas spirit. And, at this time of the year, it is everywhere. I catch it wafting from garland on our neighbor's porch. It greets me each time I open the front door from our wreath. But, the best place to catch it is in our living room. There it comes from a real Christmas tree.

While it seems that everybody else in the world is putting up some sort of artificial tree, I am a purist. A Christmas tree has to be real. Just like the ones I grew up with.

Each year about 2 or 3 weeks before Christmas, we would put up the Christmas Tree. It was always a big tree. And, putting it up was always a big production.

First, Daddy would drag in a big bucket of sand. Nope, no silly little metal stands with giant screws for us. Just a big ol' bucket of sand. Then, he would drag in The Tree. It seems that we always had a big, fat tree - a Douglas Fir or a Scotch Pine. Daddy would jam The Tree into the bucket and then spend the next 14 hours trying to get The Tree properly centered. Daddy wasn't happy until The Tree was standing ramrod straight. But, the real production came with the lights.

We always had blinking bulbs. Not the little dinky ones that come pre-strung on thin green wires and blink off and on in unison. No, we had great big bulbs. The best part about these bulbs was that they blinked independent of one another. The worst part was that they had to be individually screwed into their sockets. Mom would put all the bulbs into a big metal bowl and then us girls (Mom, Sister Sue, and me) would screw them into the sockets. Daddy would supervise and woe be to the person who put two green or two blue next to one another. He would catch it every time.

After the bulbs, came the ornaments. We didn't go much for the glass ball kind. Sure, we had some, but I liked the other ones better. Some were made of wood. Others were of paper. There were a few cloth ones. I particularly liked the ones made from tiny rolls of Lifesavers that someone had cleverly made to look like little clowns.

It seemed like it took hours to get The Tree totally decorated. But, finally, after the angel had been placed on its top, came my reward.

I would turn out all the lights in the living room, "plug" in The Tree, lie down on the sofa, and just stare at the ceiling. The colorful bulbs would blink off and on and off and on independently. The light would find its way through the branches of The Tree. And, there on the ceiling, I would find the fireworks of Christmas. To make the moment truly perfect, I would get Daddy to put Christmas music on the hi-fi and Mom to make me popcorn.

I still like to recreate this every year. Except now, it's just Me and The Husband. Here are some of the treats we will be eating while the fireworks "explode" over head.

Christmas Cheese Tort

20 ounces cream cheese -- softened
1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes, oil-packed -- drained well
1/3 cup pesto sauce

Line one 4-cup dish or two 2-cup dishes with plastic wrap. Divide cream cheese into 2 portions of 6 ounces and 1 portion of 8 ounces. Blend one 6-ounce portion of cream cheese with pesto. Heat until semi-liquid. Pour into lined bowl(s). Place in refrigerator for 10 minutes. Heat the 8-ounce portion of cream cheese until semi-liquid. Pour over pesto layer. Place in refrigerator for 10 minutes. Puree sun-dried tomatoes in a food processor. Blend in last 6-ounce portion of cream cheese. Heat until semi-liquid. Pour over plain cream cheese. Cover with plastic wrap. Place in refrigerator overnight. To serve, remove plastic wrap from top, gently pull plastic wrap lining away from the sides of the bowl, and invert bowl on a serving plate. Carefully remove bowl and plastic wrap. Serve with crackers, small bits of toast, bagels, etc.

Crab and Brie Bakes

1 can crab meat -- rinsed and drained
3 scallions -- chopped
pinch dill weed
3 ounces brie cheese
1 package won-ton wrappers or potsticker wrappers

Mix crab meat, scallions, and dill. Cut brie into small chunks about 1/2 inch by 1/2 inch by 1/2 inch. Place a chunk of brie in the center of the wrapper. Add about a teaspoon of crab mixture. Moisten edges of the wrapper with water (use your index finger) and fold wrapper in half. Pinch edges firmly together. Place on a baking tray. Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven until brown and the edges are crispy (about 15 minutes). Allow to cool slightly before serving. Serve plain or with a cocktail sauce.

Smoked Oyster Florentine

1 tin smoked oysters -- drained well
1 package frozen puff pastry sheets -- defrosted
or
2 packages refrigerator crescent rolls
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 medium red onion -- finely chopped
1 package frozen spinach -- defrosted
pinch thyme
pinch marjoram
pinch salt
pinch pepper
1 whole egg -- beaten
1/3 cup parmesan cheese -- grated

Melt butter in a medium skillet. Add onions, thyme, and marjoram. Sauté until onion is soft. Add spinach, salt, and pepper. Sauté until liquid from spinach has evaporated and mixture is quite dry. Take care not to burn mixture during this process. Remove from heat and let cool. Mix in egg and parmesan cheese. Cut puff pastry or crescent rolls into rounds about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Spoon about 1 1/2 teaspoons of the spinach mixture onto the rounds. Place a smoked oyster on top of spinach mixture. Bake in a preheated oven (according to package directions) until pastry/roll is puffed and browned. Cool slightly before servicing.