Christmas at the Kaye's

For as long as I can remember, my family has had Christmas dinner with the Kaye family. They used to live next door, but even after their move to Ann Arbor, the tradition continues. The Kaye children now have children of their own. So my sister, Beth, Kenn, and I are no longer the hyper, screaming children at the party. Now we have Gabi, Kendra, and baby Gunnar.

Gunnar's dad is a drummer, so my mom couldn't resist this gift. He just learned how to grab things last week, so it won't be long until he's the next Neil Pert. However, I think Gunnar's dad may break in the drum first.

Until Gunnar can enjoy the drum, he can get some use out of this.

The adults had fun too. My father made Spanish Coffees for everyone. I was once again my father's assistant for this process of showmanship and pyrotechnics. Here's a picture of me learning the process.

Let me try and explain the whole process. First you put sugar on the rim of a glass and put a small shot of brandy in it. Then you place the glass over Sterno, spinning the glass to make sure the heat is evenly distributed so you don't break the glass.

Once the 80 proof brandy is warm enough, the flammable alcohol will begin to evaporate. You then pull the glass back to allow the Sterno flame to ignite the alcohol vapors. Once you have a flame inside the glass, you continue to rotate the glass to melt all the sugar.

Next, you add Triple Sec to the flaming concoction.

You fill the glass with coffee, putting out the flame.



Whipped cream is placed on top, which gives it a slight cappuccino look.


Finally, Kahlua is added to give it a nice, adults-only kick.

Add friends and family (and hot chocolate for the kids) to get the infamous Spanish Coffee.