At Molly and Griffin’s insistence, Christmas morning (heck, every morning) starts early—especially at Ebbtide, because they are always anxious to hit the beach. Last year, we had such a mild winter on Tybee, the children went swimming the day after Christmas! We serve this menu whenever we have a crowd gathered in the morning, which is fairly often. Make the casserole the night before and take it out of the fridge at least one hour before baking. Or, if you’d rather, make the Shrimp and Grits instead. The fruit salad can be made the night before, too. Since we all have a sweet tooth, and Christmas calories don’t count (right?), we serve a decadent Cinnamon Roll Bread Pudding, too. And because it’s Christmas, and an old tradition, I have a batch of Red Rooster Cocktails, a fruity, vodka-kissed slushie cocktail, in the freezer, ready to be mixed with ginger ale. Needless to say, we have mandated mid-morning naps for EVERYBODY after all the gifts are opened.
SERVES 6 TO 8