Take that Sandy! Holiday Tradition Survives!

Our Christmas plans have been a little up in the air of late. We normally spend some time with my in-laws and other extended family, but as they live in an area hit heavily by Hurricane Sandy we weren't sure what was going to happen.

Eventually we got word that our traditional dinner was still on but I wasn't sure if we were doing the full-blown, traditional dinner or not. When my wife and I offered to cook for Christmas Day my father-in-law shot the idea down because he would "need my help" on Christmas Eve.

I knew what that meant. It meant the Herb-Crusted Stuffed Fillet of Beef was on the menu.

I'm not exactly sure when this became the "go to" Christmas Eve dinner, but it's sometime within the last 5 or 6 years. For awhile we would reference the original recipe that my father-in-law clipped from the newspaper, but, um, we kinda set that on fire one year after a liberal round of Manhattans (him) and beers (me).

Luckily, I was able to find the recipe on-line and despite always printing a copy for safe-keeping, etc., the "finding of the recipe on-line" has become as much a tradition as the actual making and serving of the fillet.

By the way, if you decide to give the recipe a try sometime, totally disregard their cooking time. It takes way longer than they suggest.

So take THAT Hurricane Sandy! You may have done damage and dislodged people and their belongings, but some traditions live on regardless!

Best wishes to all our readers, friends, fans and fellow bloggers for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Tell us what's on your traditional table for the holidays in the comments section below...