It’s a week until Christmas Eve and Day No. 9 in Cathy’s 12 Days Before 
Christmas Countdown (seemingly mathematically impossible, but true nevertheless). To celebrate, how about a quick and easy recipe perfect for family entertaining or gift giving? It’s my family’s favorite, Graham Cracker Cookies. My mom first got us hooked on these, and now it’s not Christmas without them. Inexpensive, fun, quick, simple and satisfyingly too-rich-for-everyday, set these out for the kids when everybody gathers at your house — and watch the 
adults sneak a couple, too. Stack a few with doilies or squares of parchment paper, wrap up in plastic wrap and tie with festive ribbon for gifts. Or fill a holiday tin for the really special folks on your list. Here’s how you make them: Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and layer with graham crackers. Bring one cup brown sugar and one cup butter to a hard boil and pour mixture over crackers. Bake at 350 degrees for about five minutes and remove. Cookies will be hot and soft and then will harden somewhat but won’t be crisp. Check back tomorrow for No. 8 in the Christmas Countdown for something to give you a headstart on Christmas 2009.
12 Days of Christmas Countdown
6
Training began this week at the newly finished Demos’ restaurant in Florence, 
Alabama. “Today (Monday) is our official first day of training. We won’t open until the end of the month,” said Felicia Demos, chief financial officer for the family business, in an e-mail. Demos’ is a middle Tennessee icon, with restaurants in Murfreesboro, Nashville, Lebanon and Hendersonville famous for offering delicious homestyle food at great value and with excellent service. My husband and I are both from middle Tennessee and we eat at Demos’ whenever we’re nearby. I cannot believe our luck in getting one practically in our own backyard. We must have been living right. Who knew? Visit 
on dreary winter mornings or cozy up at night? Or anytime. I love pulling out holiday mugs and cups every December. When piled up on a tray in the kitchen, they double as the best kind of decor: cheap and functional! From morning cappuccinos to post-lunch macchiatos to afternoon tea to evening hot cocoa, I’ve got every drink situation covered. Not that I drink coffee and espresso and tea and hot cocoa all day — well, actually, I do. But of course some holiday drinks are not rich and hot and creamy and served in a sturdy mug — such as these cool ruby-red margaritas my friend Evelyn served us at our Christmas book-club gathering. Delicious and refreshing.
And for another delicious and refreshing treat, how about the No. 2 pick on my list of favorite Christmas movies? It’s 
There’s just something special about holiday hospitality. When my
friend Evelyn recently hosted the December meeting of our four-woman book club, the other three of us practically refused to get up from her elegant red and gold dinner table when we were finished eating. She made us feel so pampered that only the promise of opening presents in front of the fire — and, oh, yeah, discussing our book of the month — made us leave. I love the way she used simple solid red napkins and plates to create such a festive and sophisticated look, proving once again my grandmother’s timeless advice to always buy red things — they’re good for three out of four seasons, which is a record you cannot beat.
Kaye and its older sibling, the 1942 “Holi
I’m 51 and a grandmother and somewhat capable of 
handling things on my own (no, really, I am) but I still want to go home to my parents’ for Christmas and have everything as it always has been. Like the John Deere village my mom puts up — my dad had a John Deere dealership before he retired and now he buys every JD catalogue and ad that comes up for auction anywhere in the world, or at least in Illinois. And like the 
ornaments I put on the tree when I was a kid, and now my 20-something-year-old children help me put them on their grandparents’ tree — great-grandson 8-month-old Nolan is no help since he would only eat the hooks. And then there’s the great holiday food that only Grommy — what my children call my mother — can make: TV Mix eaten in 40-year-old wooden bowls, graham crackers covered in butter and brown sugar and hot cocoa stirred from scratch in an ancient heavy saucepan. Grandmas definitely are special, and I’d better get my act together if I’m going to be the same for Nolan. But I’ve had lessons from the best, so hopefully I”ve got a headstart. One of my favorite parts of going home during the holidays is coming back to my house with fresh-cut holly and fir branches from my dad’s nursery — one of his other retirement projects. I cannot keep up with them! At least this year I’m making my own Chex mix — I’ll have to call my mom, though, to talk me through.
Donna Reed. I know, I know. It’s a heartwarming American classic. It’s a Frank Capra masterpiece. It’s a multi-layered holiday icon. It’s everybody’s favorite. So why isn’t it No. 1 on my list? Because it used to scare the #$%^ out of me! The drunk pharmacist who boxed young George’s ear and made it bleed, the mean and rowdy crowd at the bar, the cheap and hateful Mr. Potter who caused such misery — these disturbing black-and-white images did not bring me comfort and joy when I was younger. And as I grew older and understood the sacrifices George made and the dreams he lost and the drab and dreary life he felt he was living, it made me sad. George did have a wonderful life but bitterness and regret kept him from realizing it — what a waste for all those years. I mainly feel sorry for him. It’s a good thing Clarence comes along to shake him up because I sort of want to do that myself. And here’s the thing: Where were all George’s friends before the bank shortfall? Why does it take a crisis to bring them together and make them value him? Do these people ever stop by to say “hello” or to eat lunch or go to a ballgame? And will they do that now? Or am I being too cynical? You have to admit, though, it’s the kind of movie that breeds cynicism if you didn’t have a healthy dose of it already. Like me. Come back tomorrow for No. 3 — a bonus two-fer. Can you guess what they are?
Coffee with Cathy 