Decided to host an impromptu Christmas Eve Eve party for 10, one day in advance (Dec. 22). Had everything on hand except the turkey. DH and I had a mini-adventure trying to find a 10-15 lb. bird (to fit in the fryer) at 9:30 pm. We ventured into several "regular" grocery stores and were shocked, I tell you, shocked at the prices, which was kinda fun in itself.
Day of, I planned on making Westport Cranberry Relish, but at last minute discovered that my still-in-the-box, clearance-purchased grinder attachment was in fact, a grain mill. Hurriedly requested to borrow the correct attachment via NextDoor and got one! This delay meant I had no time to prepare and serve this dish with dinner, as it needs at least eight hours for flavors to meld. Since all ingredients were prepped, I decided to make the relish between dinner and desert. Everyone had fun observing/coaching/cheering on the process.
At the end of the evening, each guest was gifted with a jar of just-made WCR to take home and serve at their respective Christmas Day festivities. This was tucked into to their previously packed goodie bag of homemade toffee, caramel, jam, candy cane reindeer, etc., all of which was crafted long before I decided to throw the party.
Made my day to pull this off, especially the Westport Cranberry Relish (Google it, every version is remarkably similar), without going out and buying anything but the turkey. BTW, we bought and cooked two, one of which is going to my brother's house today, along with a jar of WC Relish, which should be perfectly ready to eat by this afternoon.
A mustachian feat/feast indeed! Made me stupidly happy to pull this off.
Merry Christmas to all who celebrate the day!