A Christmas Eve stroll on historic Canyon Road in Santa Fe is a must. Luminous farolitos – brown paper sacks glowing from a candle within – line the historic, gallery-bedecked street while luminarias or bonfires – beckon carolers, looking to warm up on a cold winter’s night. But nab an invitation to a post-farolito walk party and you’ve won a holiday golden ticket. TABLE contributor Cyndy Tanner invites us along.
A Delicious Post-Farolito Gathering Near Canyon Road
Canyon Road on Christmas Eve is like a scene from a picture book, created by a gingerbread man and dusted in powdered sugar. Even the adobe walls seem as if they could exude enticing aromas of cinnamon, cloves, anise and ginger.
But for locals, there is another tradition: a post-stroll open house for friends and family. Artist and designer Bob Brady and director, actor, writer, and producer Kent Kirkpatrick are renowned for their parties and for bringing together an eclectic group of artists and writers. Brady left his native Chicago in 1985 in search of adventure and happiness and found both in Santa Fe when he met and married Kent Kirkpatrick, a fourth-generation member of a Post, Texas ranching family.
Making a Home by Canyon Road
The duo began renovating homes, eventually finding their forever home. Brady quips, “We bought a $550,000 apricot tree and they threw in the house.”
They took the structure down to the studs. Brady studied the house’s bones and did a sensitive redesign. The result is a serene, hand-trowel plaster sanctuary with a clay studio for Brady and a light-filled office for Kirkpatrick. Nestled into a hillside just off Canyon Road, their finished home is ideal for showcasing Brady’s sculpture, as well as the artwork of their tribe of artist friends.
A Christmas Eve Bash That’s All Smiles
It’s also the perfect party home and the ideal place for a Christmas Eve bash. Guests included theater folk, photographers, a movie location manager, writers and visual artists. A curator from SITE Santa Fe recounted her recent studio visit to glacial optics artist Tristan Duke in LA. A puppeteer came directly from the dress rehearsal for the annual Gustave Baumann Christmas Show. The show even features the New Mexico Museum of Art’s replicas of Baumann’s historic marionettes.
Guests arrived with host gifts, and homemade was the order of the evening. One brought hand-painted, one-of-a-kind watercolor bookmarks; another, a tin of light-as-air pizzelle cookies (a traditional Italian waffle cookie) and, yet another, a platter of chocolate chip cookies.
By mid-December, with Santa Fe’s party season already in full swing, the four food groups seem to be cream, sugar, butter, and alcohol. But Brady and Kirkpatrick’s party injected some seasonal splendor into the proceedings, courtesy of Mother Nature: persimmons, quinces, pomegranates, and clementines. Happily, they can do double duty as festive holiday décor, and as post-party ingredients. These colorful, delectable fruits are, well, décor you can eat!
About the Menu
Of course, the occasion called for a special libation. Guests were welcomed with glasses of chilled Prosecco with a splash of Campari and a sprinkle of pomegranate seeds: the perfect way to get the party rolling (try the recipe here).
Their granite-topped kitchen island was heaving with delectable dishes, including a composed salad boasting colorful, roasted delicata squash, pomegranate seeds, pickled red onion, feta cheese, and red chile-spiced pecans, piled on a chiffonade of raw kale.
Quince made star appearances in membrillo – a firm, sweet, quince paste – in homemade quince chutney, and as table decorations. Perfectly ripened persimmons were sliced razor thin, then served on a bed of arugula. The salad was topped with a zingy lemony vinaigrette and a generous sprinkle of bright green pistachio nuts (try the recipe and learn more about persimmons here).
Traditional New Mexico favorites like Brady’s pozole rounded out the menu alongside banana leaf-wrapped tamales from Café Pasqual’s.
An over-the-top dessert table amazed everyone. From the three-year-old guest wearing red patent leather party shoes to a seventy-something devoted Santa Fean, all were pleased. Center stage was Brady’s legendary olive oil cake. It’s flavored with Campari and finished with a stenciled powdered sugar heart (try the recipe here). Close by was his rosemary cake, studded with piñon nuts and raisins soaked in dessert wine. Mexican wedding cookies that looked like tiny snow globes vied for space. Plus, piles of biscochitos (try the recipe and learn more about biscochitos here) and gold-dusted star cookies join the table. Slivers of fruit cake, jewel-toned jelly candies, sugared cranberries and Lilliputian rosemary-twig Christmas trees added to the magic.
Adding a Personal Touch to the Decor
Part of the joy of the holidays is using the heirloom finery. For Brady and Kirkpatrick, that includes brass candlesticks, sterling silver flatware and delicate champagne flutes from the Kirkpatrick side of the family. Brady’s handmade micaceous pottery cookware and his black clay bowls and plates added another personal touch of beauty to the stove and table.
As guests finished off the last crumbs of cake and sips of Prosecco, they gazed at a 100-year-old apricot tree. There it sat, glowing with farolitos and bringing light to one of the darkest nights of the season. Fittingly, they left with hugs and a jewel-toned jar of Kirkpatrick’s apricot jam. The jam was a sweet reminder of Spring to come, when their tree bursts out in delicate, snowy white flowers.
Story by Cyndy Tanner / Photography by Tira Howard / Styling, Food, and Production by Parasol Productions
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