Christmas Eve Fettuccine - Creating Traditions for Myself
I live for traditions. Traditions are effortlessly beautiful in so many ways. They have the power to bring together loved ones, they showcase culture and generational history and have a wonderful ability to adapt and to be shared. Simply put, traditions tell a story. A story that is full of whimsy and nostalgia and promise.
Whether simple or elaborate, a tradition can create a charming atmosphere around the holidays, transporting us to a world of childlike joy, breathing life into memories nearly forgotten. Traditions are the warm fuzzy feeling that we long to bottle up each year, they are what become ingrained in our fundamental celebrations, our very own holiday tale.
These little moments that are slowly collected and transformed into the very best Christmas memories, that is where the quiet magic lies.
I have so many traditions from my childhood that to this day, I still hold close to my heart - Needlepoint stockings from Santa on Christmas morning, a prime rib dinner on Christmas Eve, watching White Christmas, listening to the Charlie Brown Christmas album on repeat, cutting down a tree at Thorntons Treeland, latkes and shirred eggs for a holiday brunch… These are things that make up the magic of Christmas.
As an adult, especially an adult who is single and without children, I am constantly looking to create magic for myself… a few elements for the season that are special and uniquely me. These little traditions that I have worked so hard to cultivate have shaped my Christmas experience for many years, making special a time when it is not so easy to be on one’s own. Imagining and designing the holiday for myself has been such a beautiful process, bringing so much light to my petite celebration in my little jewel box of an apartment. I get my tree from a little Los Angeles tree lot, I decorate with a mini snack spread just as I did when I was younger with my family, I make little dinners for myself to enjoy by the glow of the twinkling lights, I host friends for an epically festive evening and I watch my favorite xmas movies on repeat. These little moments all add to the bigger picture, the holiday as a whole. For it is the littlest things that bring about the festive spirit and illuminate the wonder of Christmastime.
May your petite traditions, no matter how simple and small, forever hold a special place in your heart. Xx
A few of my favorite things.
Slowly building my collection of ornaments. Every year I buy a handful of ornaments from Bergdorf’s in New York. A couple small somethings that represent who I am, what I love or what the year has held. One day I hope to share that tradition with a little family of my own each of us picking out an ornament or two to represent us that year.
Christmas Fettuccini. Not always on Christmas Eve but always enjoyed by the xmas tree with a nice glass of wine while watching a holiday classic. This tradition (inspired by The Holiday) began in 2020 when, thanks to covid, I spent my first Christmas alone in Los Angeles and wanted to do something special (yet simple) and festive for myself.
Decorating my tree with tinsel, colored lights and an electric collection of ornaments. Simple and retro and I love it. Plus, tinsel trees are now a trend so I guess I am a cool girl.
A hot cocoa party with friends. Odella Bakes Le Chocolate Chaud served with a hot cocoa accoutrements platter filled with festive treats, fluffy gourmet marshmallows and a pile of freshly whipped cream.
Needlepoint xmas stockings. My mom did one for my sister and me when we were children and now I am doing one for myself. A great way to spend the evening while watching a movie vs. mindlessly scrolling on my phone. I am in love with my slow but steady progress and hopping it is done before Christmas 2024.
Homemade Chex Party Mix! Oven toasted and generously seasoned. I have been perfecting my recipe for a few years now and its basically perfect.
Homemade gluten free ‘Christmas Fettuccine’ - Odella Bakes flour
Gluten Free Pasta Dough
240 grams Odella Bakes gluten free all purpose flour
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 whole eggs
4 egg yolks
1 tablespoon olive oil
Mix dry ingredients together on a flat, clean work surface (I use a large wood cutting board.) Create a well in the center of the flour mound and crack whole eggs into center, add yolks, salt and olive oil. Whisk with a fork, slowly bringing in flour from the interior edges of the well until nice and thick. Begin to bring the remaining flour into the wet mixture with hands and kneed until all flour is fully incorporated*. Continue to kneed dough until the ball is smooth and silky. Cover with a damp tea towel and let rest at room temp for 30 minutes. Cut into 4ths, keeping the sections you’re not using covered with the damp towel so that they don’t dry out. Flaten and roll dough out until it’s a thin disk that can be rolled out through your pasta machine on the widest setting. Continue rolling out dough setting the machine to thinner settings as you go until it’s thin enough to see shadows through. Then run it through your fettuccine cutting function.
Serious Eats has an amazing step-by-step guide for pasta making that I followed when first learning to make pasta - I cannot recommend reading through this detailed guide enough!
* if dough is too dry while kneading together, add water with a spray bottle, one spritz at a time.
