By Christmas week. The house is filling. Marcus drove from Morehouse Saturday with laundry and a smile. Jasmine flew from Howard Sunday — thinner than I'd like, which I addressed by making enough food to feed the Eastern seaboard. Isaiah arrived Monday carrying a duffel and the GREENS KING apron, packed first. The apron. Before the textbooks.
Four under one roof. The quiet four transformed to chaotic six-plus-Curtis. Marcus and Isaiah arguing basketball. Jasmine and Zoe shrieking about something in Zoe's room. Curtis presiding with benevolent authority.
Christmas Eve: gumbo. My recipe, adapted from Mama's neighbor Miss Louise who was Creole. Dark roux (forty-five minutes stirring), andouille, chicken, shrimp, okra, holy trinity, filé powder, rice. The gumbo is my Christmas Eve tradition — everything goes in the pot. Everything belongs. The sausage and the shrimp. The Jackson and the Mitchell and the Washington. All of it belonging.
Midnight Mass. Zoe and I went. Just us. Church lit by candles, choir singing "O Holy Night." I held Zoe's hand. She let me. Christmas is the exception to the no-hand-holding rule. Christmas and graves. The night was holy and the line held. Through the music. Through the dark. The line.
The gumbo is the heart of our Christmas Eve — it always will be — but when four kids are finally home and Curtis is holding court and nobody can agree on anything except that they’re happy to be there, you need something festive in a pitcher that you can pour without thinking. I made this Grinch Punch for the hours before dinner, while the roux was still darkening and the house was filling up with noise and laundry and basketball arguments — something bright and cold and celebratory that even Zoe could have, something that said: yes, we are all here, and yes, that is exactly the point.
Grinch Punch
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 0 minutes | Total Time: 10 minutes | Servings: 12
Ingredients
- 1 (64 oz) bottle lime sherbet or green sherbet, softened
- 2 liters lemon-lime soda (such as Sprite or 7UP), chilled
- 1 (46 oz) can pineapple juice, chilled
- 1/2 cup lime juice (fresh or bottled)
- 1 cup frozen limeade concentrate, thawed
- Maraschino cherries, for garnish
- Lime slices, for garnish
- Ice, as needed
Instructions
- Combine the base. In a large punch bowl, stir together the pineapple juice, lime juice, and limeade concentrate until combined.
- Add the sherbet. Scoop the softened lime sherbet into the punch bowl and stir gently to partially incorporate, leaving some scoops floating for a festive look.
- Pour in the soda. Slowly pour in the chilled lemon-lime soda and stir gently to combine, being careful not to deflate the carbonation.
- Add ice. Add ice directly to the punch bowl or serve over ice in individual glasses.
- Garnish and serve. Top each glass with a maraschino cherry and a lime slice. Serve immediately while cold and bubbly.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 210 | Protein: 1g | Fat: 2g | Carbs: 50g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 55mg