December 30, 2022
Did you know “The Twelve Days of Christmas” is quite a unique song? Besides the fact the singer’s true love gives a lot of very bird-heavy gifts, it has a long and interesting history. The first written documentation of the song was in an English children’s book from 1780 titled Mirth With-Out Mischief and the lyrics were a bit different than they are now. For instance, it originally was Four Colly Birds, not Four Calling Birds. A colly is old English slang for blackbird. It wasn’t until 1909 when Frederic Austin penned the lyrics that we’re all familiar with and the song took on its more permanent version.
At Vitalia Senior Residences at Westlake, we are excited to celebrate “The Twelve Days of Christmas” and look forward to honoring the song through our unique takes on food. It’s a great opportunity to get creative and turn classic recipes on their heads! This is the second year we will be pairing food items with the song. We start on Christmas Day by incorporating pears into our menus to represent the Partridge in a Pear Tree and finish on January 5th by presenting unique breadsticks that represent the Twelve Drummers Drumming.
The day I am most excited about is December 29th, The Fifth Day of Christmas, when we celebrate Five Golden Rings. Our rings for the day will be golden rings of stromboli.
As a New York transplant and former pizzeria owner, I love a good fresh stromboli, but the burnt cheese off the baking pan is the best part. Fresh stromboli for all my residents and lots of burnt bits of cheese for me as I bake. It’s a win-win day.
As the Culinary Director, I’m proud of these offerings and excited to share them! So, consider this my personal invitation for you to stop by on any of the days to give my specials a try.
VITALIA® Westlake in Westlake, OH offers independent living +, assisted living, and memory care with a variety of services and a range of floor plan options. Amenities include restaurant dining, 24-hour bistro, concierge service, housekeeping, events and entertainment, personal care, transportation services, and more. Centrally located near UH St. John Medical Center and Cleveland Clinic Avon with convenient access to major shopping centers and attractions, including Meadowood Golf Course, Crocker Park, Clague Playhouse, Porter Library, Westlake Rec Center, Sibling Revelry Brewery, Bradley Woods Reservation, Huntington Reservation, and White Oaks Restaurant.