The Key to the Davenports' Hearts...

...is definitely through our bellies.

Like so many other families, many of our traditions revolve around food.  Christmas is no different.

My mom's Thanksgiving is a sight to be seen.  I have often posted on Facebook my mom's menu, because it's downright ridiculous.  It doesn't help that she's a great cook and that everyone who comes has their favorite five dishes that they request.  Now that we've added spouses who have their own specialties, the menu has only increased!

Two different years, two awesome tables of deliciousness.

Yes, this post is about Christmas food, not Thanksgiving, but I needed to mention the food dynamics of the holiday the month before to explain our Christmas food.  Honestly, I'm not really sure what Mom makes for Christmas meals.  Is it a ham?  A turkey?  Beats me.  That's because we don't really eat "meals" over Christmas, but rather graze on snack foods every waking hour.  Out of all the food, two things stand out the most -- sausage balls and Hickory Farms.

Sausage Balls.  Oh, how I love these delicious bites of two of my favorite things -- sausage and cheese.  Many a Christmas breakfast (yes, you read that correctly) began with a paper plate of heated sausage balls being passed around the table.  These were our "appetizers" while waiting for Daddy to slice the Hickory Farms summer sausage.

Hickory Farms.  I always looked forward to the first December trip to the mall in Greenville, because that's when we would buy Hickory Farms.  We always bought one (or two!) large summer sausages, a few cheese balls (usually the sharp cheddar and the garden vegetable, sometimes the portwine), and the sweet hot mustard.  I can't begin to think of how many crackers of Hickory Farms I've had in my lifetime.

Jason claims that my love affair with HF is based on memory rather than actual taste.  I disagree, that processed food is delicious!  That isn't to say that some HF is disgusting (avoid ALL of their gift boxes or any cheese that looks like a brick... blech!), but what I remember eating was mighty tasty!

My holiday traditions have changed over the years.  I'm usually not at my parents' house on Christmas morning.  I'm in "people clothes" rather than pj's when I open my presents now.  But some things never change.  When I eat sausage balls at a church party or whimper a bit as I pass the Hickory Farms kiosk in the mall, my mind immediately goes to those Christmas morning breakfasts.... and my stomach growls.