A Christmas Lasagna: Trisha Yearwood’s Favorite Holiday Traditions
By Movieguide® Contributor
Country singer Trisha Yearwood, wife of singer Garth Brooks, shared her favorite Christmas memories and how a unique breakfast lasagna became part of their family’s holiday traditions.
“I grew up on a farm in the small town of Monticello, Georgia, where Christmas felt like something out of a storybook,” Yearwood wrote. “[My sister], Beth, and I would go with Daddy to chop down the perfect cedar tree in the woods. Without fail, we’d discover we had picked one that was way too tall and we always had to drag the tree back out to the carport to trim it down. I guess measuring would have taken the fun out of the ritual.”
“Our Methodist church had a beautiful Christmas Eve service. In the processional out, we each carried a candle and sang ‘Silent Night’ a capella under the stars,” she shared. “I tried to capture that memory in one of my favorite Christmas cooking episodes. My sister and I made the Christmas Eve meal, and then we cut to a little candlelit church service, where I led the congregation in ‘Silent Night.’ It was just like home. The preacher and his wife came back to the house for dessert, a cranberry pear crumble.”
Yearwood recalled her mother’s Christmas Eve preparations: a casserole for Christmas morning and ham, potato salad, green beans, ambrosia and coconut cake for Christmas Eve dinner.
“Cooking has become a wonderful way to honor our parents’ memories,” Yearwood said.
“Cooking is right up there with singing for me. It’s become a second career. I learned from the best—my mom, Gwendolyn,” she continued. “An elementary teacher by day and cake decorator on the side, she was an excellent cook. Mama and my sister, Beth, and I compiled some of our favorite recipes—hundreds handwritten on index cards, more scrawled on napkins—and shared the stories behind them in our first cookbook.”
Yearwood’s cooking show, TRISHA’S SOUTHERN KITCHEN, has run for 16 seasons on Food Network. In the show, “Trisha shows off her genuine Southern hospitality as she puts together meals with friends and family. Whether they’re for a family reunion, a party for one of her bandmates or just a day hanging out with her girlfriends, Trisha’s recipes are fun and easy to make and always have a story to tell.”
When Yearwood’s husband asked her to make lasagna for breakfast one morning, she said yes without hesitation.
“I got to thinking about Garth’s breakfast lasagna request. This was going to be very different from the casserole my mom served on Christmas morning,” she said.
“Even though she’s gone, my mama is always with me,” Yearwood explained. “As I got to work on Garth’s lasagna, pulling out my pots and pans and writing down measurements, I felt her guidance. The hearty cheese sauce she made for almost everything would stand up well to the breakfast meats Garth liked—sage-flavored sausage and, of course, bacon. Chopped spinach, pimentos and shallots offered a nice counterpoint.”
Yearwood layered the ingredients and popped the lasagna in the oven. A short while later, she called her husband in to take a bite.
“’It smells amazing in here,’ Garth said. I cut a piece of lasagna and slid it onto his plate. He dug in and let out a big mmm…mmm. ‘Miss Yearwood, you did it!’”
“Garth and I decided the lasagna would be our new Christmas morning tradition,” she said. “I put it in the fridge the night before so I’m set to celebrate the day when love seems to come so freely.”
“I hope the kindness we show one another this season is a practice we can all carry throughout the year. Each of us has the essential ingredients to do that, in our own unique way. Love one another,” the singer finished.
Brooks recently bragged about his wife’s culinary skills on Kelly Clarkson’s talk show. Movieguide® reported:
While on THE KELLY CLARKSON SHOW, country singer Garth Brooks revealed that he is most grateful for his marriage to his wife, Trisha Yearwood.
“Yeah, well, when you’re married to one of the greatest cooks on the planet,” he said when Clarkson asked what he is most grateful for. “Well, we’ll talk about how great of a singer she is. That’s probably five and six on her list of top 10 things to do.”
SheKnows put together a list of Yearwood’s “tastiest” holiday recipes. It includes some twists on traditional recipes with dishes like Pecan Sticky Buns with Bacon Caramel, Cheesy Bacon Straws and Fruitcake Cookies.
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