Tom is Italian. We love Italian food most of all for the warmth and comfort a good traditional meal provides.

When Tom’s Mom passed away, I was grateful she gave me her sauce recipe. It’s still our favorite Bolognese sauce and probably always will be.

Even with all our family favorite recipes, we still keep our ears opened to hear of new dishes we’ve yet to try. This year I heard about one from my life-long friend and hair stylist, Rose.

Her Mama is full-blooded Italian and every Christmas she makes Braciole, pronounced “bras-chee-ow-lay”—a flank steak pounded flat and layered with garlic, parsley and other herbs, garlic, pine nuts, Parmesan and Romano cheeses and more garlic. I added panko bread crumbs to help soak up the basil San Mariano tomato sauce. It did its job too. Once the layers are in place you roll it up roulade-style and secure with butchers twine. Sear them and place in the tomato sauce to cook in a slow oven for a couple of hours. Yum!

This is a time consuming process, but well worth it. I had Tom’s help and our friends who were staying with us for our traditional New Year’s Eve celebration. Our hands were all working so I have only a few photos of the night, but I’ll never forget the experience.

There are eight of us who have traveled the world together since 2007, when we first visited Spain, France and then took a Mediterranean cruise. We called it the trip of a lifetime, and it was. All of our lives changed considerably after this trip, yet we’ve managed to stay close even with one couple moving to another state.

In April we are going on our 2nd European trip, this time to Tuscany and Lake Como in Italy and then to Lake Lucerne in Switzerland. We planned to enjoy a good Italian dinner to ring in the new year in anticipation of this vacation.

We had such a great night. The food, the wine, the friendships and the words of gratefulness that we’re learning to not leave unsaid. It was a special night for us all.

Now for the recipe. It’s easiest to share the link so you have access to all the tips and photos. Let me know what you think if you give it a try.

What traditional recipes do you prepare over the holidays?