I hope you enjoy the holiday weekend – whatever holiday you celebrate.

And I hope you receive one of the above goodies. Strawberry-flavored steak treats – or perhaps bacon?

You’ve been good all year, right?

Wait, if you’ve been good does that mean you SHOULD or SHOULD NOT receive this?

I’m confused.

In any case, have a happy, happy weekend filled with joy surrounded by the ones you love.

That’s universal.

Photo courtesy of Jeff Houck via flickr.com.

Steak is perfect for ANY meal – even Christmas dinner.

Apparently, Uncle Eddie (of Uncle Eddie’s Theory Corner) thinks so, too.

Here, he gives us explicit instructions on how to make the best Christmas Steak Dinner EVER.

He uses ribeyes in his recipe which makes him A-OK in my book. Enjoy Uncle Eddie’s facial expressions and descriptions, too. He’s a hoot!

And after you click here to see Uncle Eddie’s tips, let me know how your Christmas steak turns out!

Photo courtesy of UncleEddiesTheoryCorner.blogspot.com.

Oh, how I love the holidays!

But if you’re like me, you stress about family and friends coming to your house and making a big meal (or mess – whatever the case may be).

I think two turkey holidays in a row may be a bit much. That’s why this time around a beef tenderloin roast is in order.

It’s elegant. It’s tender. And it makes the whole house smell divine.

THAT says “holiday meal” to me.

Here’s a fantastic recipe with a full menu suggestion, including sides and dessert. You can’t go wrong with this meal.

And here is where I get my beef tenderloin roasts so I don’t have to worry that the beef might not be up to par. I KNOW it is.

There are all sorts of roasts to choose from – from Chateaubriand to prerubbed beauties. Choose what you like! It’ll all be good.

And let me know how your holiday meal turns out – minus the scene Aunt Edna made in the living room.

Photo courtesy of KansasCitySteaks.com.

Here’s a tasty tip for your Christmas dinner beverage (if it includes a wonderful roast beef or prime rib).

Serve this wine and your guests will think you divine!

Have a very, very merry Christmas, everyone!

We’ve known this for a while, but apparently word is just getting around that a rib roast is a superb alternative to a classic ham or turkey for Christmas dinner.

This is something we beef lovers have known since birth. Beef=good.

But this recipe from our friends at Better Homes and Gardens combines beefy flavor with fruit and onions. Oh, the aroma!

Get your roast here for optimal quality and wow your guests this holiday!

Check out that full recipe here!

Photo courtesy of Shine.Yahoo.com.

At my house, the kids are out of school for the holidays. Freedom!!!!

We’re celebrating with a steak dinner so we can chat about the exciting days ahead.

Today happens to be Free Shipping Day, so if you’re quick, you can take advantage of that and get some amazing meals ready for the holidays ahead.

Steaks, burgers, prime rib, beef tips, ham, turkey – everything! Go here and get ‘er done!

It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas at my house!!!

You love beef, so why not shout it out to the world?

Here’s a little pick-me-up for you after an exhausting day of shopping, preparing for the holidays and seasonal merriment…

This Holiday Meat Tree mousepad could be the best gift you ever gave – or received!

Just think, every time you sit down at your computer to e-mail your child’s teacher/your contractor/your attorney/the Pope you could be staring down at this lovely amalgam of raw meat on a tree.

How festive!

Click here to find out how you can brighten someone’s day by giving them this genuine work of art.

You’re welcome.

Photo courtesy of Zazzle.ca. 

DesertWolf1979 shot this video of our amazing military preparing steaks on Christmas Day. If anybody deserves steak on Christmas Day it’s these guys!

Here’s his description:

This of course was taken on Christmas day. Our command decided that they were going to give us a nice dinner and grilled about 500 pounds of steak and took about 6 hours to cook them all on 5 grills.

Well, God bless these guys and God bless America!

OMG!

I’m a sucker for brilliant packaging and marketing. I love pretty things. And with this little item I’m not sure if I like the packaging or what’s inside best!

Okay, I pick “inside,” but it wins by just a hair.

They must have had me in mind when they created this sweet gift box because this is a girl’s dream come true.

Holy smokes – opening up these babies on Christmas morning would make me feel like a princess – or a queen – or a princessy queen.

Plus, I’d know what I’m having for dinner later. No question.

This is just a little hint from me to you:  If you really like someone, THIS is the way to show them! You can check out all the different varieties that come in this lovely gift box here.

And, eh hem, I like boneless ribeyes. You know, just in case, well, you know.

Happy shopping!

‘Twas the night before Christmas . . . and we were starving.

Can you guess — in a house full of carnivores — what we ate?

Wait for it.

Yes, my friends, steak.

Like many other families across this great land, we decided to dine on a Christmas Eve meal of strip steaks, baked potatoes, and all the wine related people can indulge in without looking like we have some problems we need to talk about.

We prefer to keep it light around the holidays. No talk of the sagging economy, world destruction or personal issues. Just Santa, anything positive and the kids in our lives.

This Christmas we found ourselves with a lot to be thankful for — despite what the news shows have been telling us. And the steak? Well, the steak set the tone for a Christmas Eve full of corny holiday classics, thick anticipation and pure excitement.

We decided to try a new seasoning this time. It was Christmas Eve, so we thought, What the heck, let’s go for it.

This steak seasoning, made by SuckleBusters, was just the right amount of spicy hot and flavorful.

We put it on the steaks before my hubby braved the Blizzard of ’09 and ventured outside to grill the steaks IN THE SNOW.

As he said, “You gotta want it.”

And we did.

That is real, actual, honest-to-goodness snow coming down behind the grill there.

Sure, we could have pan fried them inside or put them on the George Foreman in the comfort of our warm kitchen. But what would be the fun in that?

The kids wrote their names in the snow on the patio table while Dad flipped the steaks sans gloves. It was all part of his “get tough” theme for the evening. Very Christmasy.

But, I gotta tell you, this Christmas Eve was one to remember for us. Family with only a minimum of dysfunctional issues, great steaks from my favorite place, a new seasoning and the Christmas night countdown. What could be better than that?

I hope your holidays were just as special!

If you celebrate Christmas today, have a merry, merry one!

More and more families are celebrating this day with a sumptuous steak dinner.

This photo is of a luscious filet with herb butter. The rest of the menu consists of a creamy potato casserole, carrot pineapple salad, a brie with cherry chutney as an appetizer and a caramel banana cream pie for dessert.

Does yum come any bigger than that?

Check out all the recipe details here and don’t forget to let me know what you think!

Photo courtesy of Linda Larsen at BusyCooks.About.com.

I give you “Mr. Miyagi’s” steak dinner for Christmas Eve. . .

A filet in miso butter with mashed peas and asparagus.

Beautiful.

What are you going to cook for Christmas Eve dinner? Do you have special food traditions for the holidays?

Have a wonderful Christmas Eve tomorrow! May it be filled with tantalizing steak!

Photo courtesy of Mr. Miyagi on flickr.com.

Er, I mean, what a difference a year makes.

Last year at this time, I was preparing to go on a road trip to Florida where we spent a week with family celebrating the holidays.

You can read about our adventures here, here, here, here, here, here and here.

I’m telling ya, there was lots of good food to be had. Like this . . .

Beef tenderloin tips. Good stuff.

But this year, there will be no road trip. There’s a little thing called a recession going on. I don’t know if you’ve heard about it.

But after saving up for a very long time for last year’s beachside holiday adventure, it seemed out of the question this year. And indeed it is.

We had our food shipped to our door in Florida last year. And what a treat it was to have good, quality food right there at our fingertips. We KNEW the meat would be fabulous. And it was.

I hate playing a guessing game with the meat at the local supermarket in a town I’m not too familiar with. Heck, I don’t like it in towns I AM familiar with. So, we ordered what we wanted and it all came to us when we needed it. Like magic.

The good thing is, I can get that same quality anywhere I am in the country. So now that I’m home for the holidays this year, I’m having it delivered to my house. Um, which is not beachside in Florida. Boo.

We’re going to have a turkey, ham and all the trimmings on Christmas Day — and steaks! on Christmas Eve. And I will not be standing in line at the supermarket with the rest of humanity for it all.

Merry Christmas to me!!!

And happy holidays to you. The countdown at our house has begun . . .

It’s getting close to Christmas and the tension in the air is palpable at our house.

We like to tell stories with our kids before we go to bed. And now that Christmas is only days away, ALL our nighttime stories are Christmas-related.

My husband and I try to impress upon the kids that old adage about being “naughty or nice” and the possibility of a lump of coal in their stockings. Things like, don’t beat your brother black and blue trying to race him to change the “countdown to Christmas” statue to today’s number.

Santa doesn’t like that.

So, at story time a few days ago, my oldest added a new twist to the lessons we have been carefully teaching.

“Once upon a time,” he began, “the elves were busy building toys in the North Pole. And Santa was getting the reindeer in line. Sometimes they didn’t listen to him. So Santa grabbed some steaks and threw them at them. One got stuck in Blitzen’s antlers. The end.”

Apparently steak is so prevalent in my house that that’s the first thing that came to mind for Santa to hurl at the reindeer. Nice.

My littlest’s eyes were so wide by this time. You could see the gears turning in his head.

“Mama, what happens when Santa is naughty?” he asked.

Sometimes I just want to scream, I DON’T KNOW, PEOPLE! THIS STUFF ISN’T EVEN REAL!

But I maintained my composure and ended the night with a brilliant, “Well, that’s silly, honey. It’s a made-up story. Santa would never do that. Good night.”

I never said I was the kid whisperer. Often, it’s enough to just get through the day without any obvious psychological damage.

I am, however, wondering if the story about Santa chunking steaks at the reindeer might just become a new classic. Maybe you’ll see it on TV next year. 7 pm on ABC Family channel?

Or maybe not.

Photo courtesy of DigitalDreamMachine.com.

Our friends over at Epicurious.com always have interesting things to stimulate our brains as well as our taste buds. Right now, they’ve got a poll going asking YOU (and me) what we typically eat for our holiday meal.

My beloved steaks are in the running, but take a look at what meal is the front runner. *Wink, wink* it’s one of my favorites, too!

What’s your vote?

Take the poll here.

Oh, and where can you get the most popular items in this poll? Right here of course.

Photo courtesy of Tastespotting.com.