So...whats for dinner?

Nancy,

So your three must haves... I have no idea what two of them are! Sometimes I just don't have the correct cultural references! A wellington is a very special meal indeed. I love mushrooms with a Wellington. Some roasted mushrooms would be delicious! I would consider a spinach salad. That becomes a play on that steakhouse standard of beef with spinach.

The dessert is gorgeous. No one here would eat the coconut, but I would! I too am counting on Costco having raspberries just before Christmas. We can join forces for Raspberry Hope.

*susan*

Susan, spinach salad is a great idea. Half of the party would not eat it cooked, but everyone will eat it in a salad. The Wellington will have a duxelles of mushrooms and shallots inside the pastry crust. The two picky eaters amongst us will never know.

Carrie, I gave my husband a bike for Christmas once. He was excited as a little kid. I don't think he had ever had his own bike. He is one of 5 kids and always got the older sibling's bike. When we retired we bought new bikes which we take with us on our southern travels. We love them.

Getting ready for my annual holiday party for the family...busy....busy with shopping, etc. This year I will make my signature lasagna with a salad and some eggplant parm for the vegetarians. Not going to be as big a crowd this year...DS and DDIL are not coming as she just miscarried last week and they are too sad to attend the family gathering. It was very early in the pregnancy, but still, they were excited about it.

Finally I have all my gifts purchased and bagged (I now use gift bags from the dollar store) rather than wrapped. It saves time and possibly some money as the bags are only $1.00 each. They also can be reused. Save a tree...lol!

Wishing everyone a very merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Nancy and Susan, your Christmas meals sounds delicious.  Lucky guests at your houses.

I have not done gift wrapping either but it should take me about 5 minutes!  Dh just bought himself an IPad and some new golf wedges and...on and on.  I bought myself a new driver and 3 wood metal either in late Nov. or Dec.  I treated myself to an expensive injection session at the dermatologist.  DH would faint if he knew what that cost!  Plus I want to buy a piece or two of jewelry on our trip to Austrailia and New Zealand in Jan.  So no Christmas presents because we like to buy for ourselves. 

For dinner tonight I'll try cooking the spaghetti squash that has been sitting on the island in the kitchen.  I have some home-made tomato sauce in the freezer.  I should also cook some cauliflower.  And make a salad.  But before all that, I'll have a rye whiskey old-fashioned.  Rye is preferable to bourbon for diabetics (I'm prediabetic) because it isn't made from corn. 

This afternoon I downloaded 7 library books to my Kindle Fire.  All I had to do was access our parish library, look through the huge selection of books and download them.  Amazing how easy and useful technology can be.  I still like reading books printed on paper but it's nice to have all that reading in a convenient-to-carry gadget.

Bedo, I know how to "crotch," too!  I have even crotched Christmas gifts and inflicted them upon people.  One year I made dozens of "retro" pot holders and hot pads.  Anybody want one?  They're cute!  Honest!  I'll post pictures.

This latest A/C tx has thrown me for a loop and I'm sleeping 18-20 hours a day, but I haven't missed reading your posts.  This is one of my favorite threads even though unfortunately food tastes really yucky again - just in time for Christmas.  I'm not cooking much due to lingering smells so meals are weird.  Tonight I had a can of smoked oysters and a glass of Tang.  Trying to eat extra iron & avoid a potential transfusion.

Debbie - so sorry to hear about your lung issues.  I too am hoping the specialist will have some good suggestions.  Laurie - your FL trip sounded fun.  Sorry you had to come home to more colds.  Be sure to get enough rest (ha ha - with little kids).  Bedo - I am so jealous.  Your location sounds gorgeous and there seem to be lots of diversions!!  Susan & Nancy - sigh !!!  How could any of us match your elegant sounding menus.  Carole - I may take you up on the retro crotch stuff.  I love the dish cloths that I've found at craft fairs.  Hi to everyone else & sorry not to write individual responses. 

Nancy,

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Which smoked salmon do you buy at Costco? I have settled on the Norwegian lately.

Dinner tonight was a pork and broccoli stir fry. For whatever reason, it was particularly good tonight. We ate really early. The small soup serving at lunch left us hungry, even then!

*susan*

Dinners will be skimpy around here till the weekend. DH working until about 10:30 at least tonight and tomorrow and until midnight Friday then close to hour drive home. PTL he is off this weekend. I think tonight will be bacon, eggs, biscuits because I can make it here shortly and warm it up for him. I expect tonight/tomorrow he will eat and go right to bed. At least he's not going in early, Friday not until 3:30. The joy of retail.

I get to go to FW on Friday but have to sandwich shopping around 2 doc appts. Albertsons has Butterball turkey breasts buy1/get 1. Our local has it I think same for 1.99/lb. Will have to play one against the other. I think the buy 1/get 1 prob. is better deal. There is an Albertsons just across from 1st doc so I will shop/snoop. I will be taking my Yeti cooler with me but will wait until late in day to buy turkey.

Anyone know of another high end grocery chain that might come to Texas? I don't think it's Whole Foods - they've just put a new one in somewhere out NE. Teaser in business section about new groc. not yet named in a new development truly not far from the Central Mkt/TJs/Sprouts road. Might just be a local venture. Not on a road I travel often just because I'm usually on CM/TJ/S parallel road. Will have to make a point to drive over there in a few weeks time. DH teases me because I read the business sect. with a fine toothed comb. Bestest info found there esp. with headline of "WestBend to have high-end grocery store". Lol.

I think Christmas Day we will have turkey breast, sweet potatoes, ambrosia, maybe sugar snap peas, rolls and I don't know what for dessert. I need to make most ahead so we can eat and DD can scoot home. That or I will flip it and have a brunchy type thing and have the heavier meal for Christmas Eve since I can cook all day.

Hugs to you, Minus.... Isn't it amazing how you and so many of the folks on this thread valiantly manage personal/medical challenges while keeping the kitchen going in wonderful ways for all who rely on that! 

Oh, the only high end store I know of beside Whole Foods is Wegmans but have no idea if they are moving beyond the northeast yet. We are just getting a few here. Hope it is a fun store for you...even if it doesn't qualify as a weekly "go to".

Today after the gym, I went directly to a shopping center for which I held lots of old gift cards, and used them (except for the ones that had already evaporated due to company policies for non-use;).   But basically, I AM NOT REALLY A SHOPPER, especially at the specialty stores I cruised today. Makes me feel like I do not belong in our current consumer world...but at least I got rid of all those gift cards that had been weighing down my handbag for a year.

Tonight we had steak (DSIL sent us Omaha for our holiday gift). DH opened it yesterday and thought he was taking out filet mignon for tonight. Well, when I returned home today and saw what he was about to grill (bless his heart to shovel even more snow to get to the grill), it was clearly top sirloin. So we had that, brussels sprouts, garden salad, and a baguette from Whole Foods. I was tired and hungry and even ate bread tonight.  

Last night I discovered some "solar system" fabric that I had intended to make into a tied quilt for DGS.

Oh dear....more pressure....but I managed to cut it, size it, and cut all the little edge strips that now just need to be knotted.....really easier that making taggies....but still requires time, which I am running out of before they arrive. While working on my creation, I managed to inflict a minor injury on myself, dropping my open rotary cutter on my foot.....it cut right through my thick sneaker, wool sock, and skin. I had no idea why it hurt so badly until I saw the blood coming through the sneaker. It seems better today.

Okay, I think I may try to get some shuteye, so I can be more productive and less accident prone tomorrow.

Luv & Lacey - thanks for the hugs & prayers. 

Luv - here's a quote from the new stores opened this year in the ritzy areas in Houston.  I haven't been to one yet.   Fresh Market is mainly focused on perishables.  They go heavy
on produce, meat, seafood, fresh deli and prepared foods, he said, with
minimal dry groceries.  And wow - a Whole Foods.

Lacey - What a freak accident.  Take care of your wound.

Susan - do let us know how the Alaskan wild smoked salmon works out.

Fresh Market makes Whole Foods seem affordable! When we were in Columbus GA last Spring, we had a choice between Winn Dixie [nasty story], Publix, and Fresh Market. The Publix wasn't all that bad, but we did one trip to the Fresh Market. It is a fairly new store in town, and the selection was actually fairly special. But, we could not afford that as a day-to-day store. We did find some nice olive oil, bread, vinegar, and fresh pasta. Since we still seem to own that house [don't get me started] I may have to make one more trip.

Lacey, I know exactly which kind of rotary cutter you have. Just got one this summer and man are they sharp! Hope that your foot heals quickly, and that you get these projects done before the grands arrive.

Minus, it will get better.... but you have to get to the other side. Sorry that you are having such a hard time with treatments right now.

Client meetings today so I have to actually leave the house. Since I won't get home until about 5:30, Mr. 02143 has requested that this be a pizza night. I didn't argue. If only we could get a great pizza!

*susan*

Oh.....and speaking of NY food, DH decided to send each of our transplanted relatives a whole salami and mustard from the revered Katz's deli in NYC (and famous for the scene in When Harry Met Sally). Well, the orders, which he had sent here for us to wrap and mail, kept getting screwed up, and Katz's kept sending more items, so we now have salami galore! Ha! 

Oh well....back to the store to buy more food....seems that everyone that said they could not come to the family party is now coming.  At least they let me know ahead of time instead of just showing up.

I'm still fighting off this cold that I caught just before Thanksgiving....I thought I licked it but now it seems to be coming back in the way of sinus infection and sore throat.  Last night I thought it was going to be full blown again, but feel better this morning after some nightquil. Don't need this during the holidays with all the little ones around.  It's a great testament to falling off my diet and exercise program.  When I was religious about my diet and exercise I never got sick for two years...now this.  Time for a New Year's resolution!

DGS's birthday is Friday...he wants to go to Outback for dinner...lol!  Guess the McDonald days are long gone!  He wanted a new ski jacket (Spyder of course) so I found one online that wasn't too over the top expensive.

Wishing everyone a happy season!

This is an excellent recipe for cabbage and noodles.  I don't have buckwheat noodles (except for soba) and just use pappardelle. You could use wide egg noodles too. I don't expect it's very low cal. It's a company dish for sure.

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/pizzoccheri-gratin

thank you auntinance....sounds wonderful.  I have always wanted to make something with pappardelle noodles!

Ran into a lady in grocery today who bought 6 cartons 18 count eggs. Says she's making lots of pies with 6 eggs apiece. Whoo!

Anyone have a good hot chocolate recipe? I bought both heavy cream and 1/2-1/2 to make something special with it. I can get special stuff tomorrow in FW. DB sent 4 deep dish "Taste of Chicago" pizzas. I love him.

Susan - I couldn't afford to do reg. shopping in any of these spec. grocers but I do see many who seem to do just that. Our local is a chain out of East Texas but I really like what they do. Carole has Winn-Dixie in La. which is what we had b4 they left Texas.

The cabbage dish sounds good Nancy.