The Waitresses - Christmas Wrapping

Everyone ready for Christmas? Our very exciting new washing machine arrived and was installed on Wednesday. The delivery was scheduled for 8AM-12 but the phone rang at 7:30AM. I kept wondering what asshole kept phoning me at that hour and then the doorbell rang. They were about the nicest delivery crew ever, especially for such an early hour. I finally went with a capon for the meal so it's sitting in a brine at the moment. (Ooops, just remembered I had to flip it this morning.) I've never cooked one but could tell it has a lot more fat than a standard chicken. The capon weighs just over seven pounds so should be plenty. For starters we have a few dozen oysters, Alaskan smoked salmon, foie gras with fig spice bread and Champagne. For the main we have the capon plus chestnuts, green beans and mashed potatoes. I picked up a few cheeses including a goat cheese from Burgundy, a lamb's milk cheese from Corsica, a real Gruyere from Switzerland, a Brie from Melun (where I love to cycle) and a Beaufort. There will be a red Burgundy served and a vin jaune to go with the the cheeses, or at least the mountain cheese. We generally don't do a lot of gifts for each other over the holidays but instead, prepare a nice meal. (We do give each other gifts, but it's not dictated by the holidays.) Now to set the table and bring some order to the house. Joelle's parents plus an elderly neighbor are coming for Christmas dinner this evening. Tomorrow will for relaxing and maybe a bike ride to work off the dinner.