So...whats for dinner?

That turkey looks yam, gravy is overrated.

Ch Sandy, I shall never leave my lobster shell at any restaurant anymore. Btw, how did you managed to take it to US? I remember when the eldest and I went to NYC for the first time, she told me before the flight, mom remember this sort of apples, you stopped buying them, there were so good. So I saw them in the store and bought seven apples to take with us to eat during the flight. Well, DD ate one and then said that she did not wanted anymore and the flight attendant told me I am not allowed to bring with me anything that was not packaged or... that list was long, so I ended up eating five apples and then just left the last one on the plane because, well, I could not see any more apple that day.

I figured out why the gravy didn't turn out so well. It's the pretty much standard 2 "units" butter, 3 "units" flour and 16 "units" of turkey stock. MIL brought over margarine because I had run out of butter and I used the margarine. I tried it again today, using butter and it turned out perfectly. This must be one of the cases where margarine and butter can not be substituted.

For the 'experiment' I(I wanted some gravy for the left over mashed potatoes) I made a small batch of gravy. I used 2 tbsp butter, 3 tbsp flour and 8 ounces of *hot* turkey stock. I stir the mixture the entire time it's on the stove so it doesn't scorch. Melt the butter, stir in the flour until it's very thick and almost dough like, heat on medium heat for about a minute then add the stock, a little at a time, until the thickness is about right, simmer a bit, add salt and pepper to taste and put on the table. It took me about 3-4 minutes to make the gravy.

My mom told me that using cold stock would cause lumpy gravy. Since my stock is in canning jars, I just put what I need in the microwave oven and "push the button".

Eric, butter & margarine are not interchangeable except for fat content. Margarine is polyunsaturated vegetable oil that has been hydrogenated (with nickel as the catalyst) so that it will be solid at room temperature. It is fat and nothing but (except for chemicals). Butter is churned dairy cream, which has milk solids (unless it's been clarified as "ghee," and even then there is a definite flavor from the naturally occuring esters). Butter is saturated fat, which isn't necessarily the dietary villain it used to be; margarine is a "trans" fat--one that has been artificially hydrogenated with none of the nutrients present in butter, and is much worse than originally thought.

I'm so glad I NEVER switched away from butter. Sometimes I even have a bit of bread with my butter!!!

I had a wonderful trip & great meals. More later today.

Just wanted to comment quickly on gravy since no one else seems to use my Mother's tried & true method - the only one I've ever used successfully. Separate the fat out of the drippings. Put the drippings back in the pan and heat to boiling. Add water or broth if need a larger batch. In a small bowl - mix flour & a pinch of salt with enough water to make a medium pourable concoction. (think not too thick milkshake) Stir or whisk until no lumps. (interesting side note - my Mother never had a whisk & only used a fork) Gradually pour into the hot liquid while whisking the entire time. Reduce heat & simmer awhile. Add water or broth or wine if too thick.

Minus, I steam them slightly and put them on after.

I have to be careful to not overheat butter when I'm melting it in a skillet...that makes it taste "weird". The other butter thing I don't like and it's probably not butter at all....is the stale smell in a movie theater....I hate that smell.

A funny poem) my sandwiches are pretty dry too, though I will take mayo over butter, spread cheese is ok, but just some salami on the bread is ok for my, never liked any butter inbetween. I like in in semolina or rice porrige when still hot but when cold I can eat it with jam.

I fry my eggs in butter and put a dab of it on toast (fat helps slow the absorption of carbs and mitigates the insulin spike). I don't like my eggs completely runny but I don't like yolks that are opaque and cooked all the way through. So I heat a cast iron skillet (a 6-incher I use only for eggs) over med-high, throw in a knob of butter & lower the flame to medium. When the foaming starts to subside I add a little olive oil and then the egg. Once the white is set, I cover the pan and take it off the heat--I let it sit covered for the length of time I brew my coffee (K-cup). When I uncover it the yolk is a little bit runny on top while inside it's sort of like a gel. It's less messy (or hazardous) than basting with the fat in the pan, and unlike actually flipping the egg, the yolk doesn't break. So it's essentially the perfect over-easy egg.

I do my grilled cheese sandwiches in a grilled cheese maker so they are dry too, but even when we were on vacation with now gadgets available at the hotel we stayed in, I did them in a dry pan, like this

Lacey, beautiful centerpiece and those comfi chairs, reminds me about I need to buy new to our table. We have been looking for new chairsfor over a year now and cannot find anything our cat would not tear apart in six months. Right now we have soft chairs with cover, they are approx six years old and the cushions you sit are not as elastic they used to be but the this the third set of cover on them. I spent the same amount on those taylored covers as I spent for chairs, the cat just goes crazy on scratching those, nothing helps, had sprayed them before with something from the animal store that smelled very lemony, it wouldn't stop her. And do not want to go for wooden or urin chairs though it seems like the only options left.

This cheese pumpkin was very sweet.

I will have my first EC chemo tomorrow and today my DH brought home some freshly baked bread rolls of different kinds and cardamom and cinnamon ansiktet, a long one, one of my favorits. I told him that some people fast before chemo but he said that I can do it when I will lose my tastebuds, so I indulged myself and had a sourdough roll cut into two halves, one with gravlax and another one with mortadella. No butter. I actually was thinking about our discussion when I saw my DH spreading butter on his roll. Our youngest girl loves butter too but the eldest is just like me, dry sandwiches, butter in her rice, thats it.

I posted and realized that I forgot about telling what's for dinner. I set cassoulet in the oven, again. I believe we ate it last weekend but everybody likes it and I had only cooked it twice do today is the third time and I am doing it with chorizos, we will see.Cherry

Lacey - thanks for the lovely detailed post. Nance - who cares about pretty once you add the ice cream?

Time for me to report on my trip to see my BFF in Arlington (TX). Texas is just big folks. It was a 272 miles each way - so over a four hour drive from Houston to Dallas at a steady 82-85 mph. ( Boston to NYC is only 215 miles or NYC to Washington DC at 226 miles.) I'm glad I went. This may be her retirement place - or not - but it's a lovely 2 bed 2 bath house in a gated community of only 88 homes located next to wild preserve with a creek that flows to the river and lots of grassy paths & benches to sit by the ponds. There's a nice pool and a small club house with an exercise room, a library and a room for community pot luck suppers or meetings.

The first night Pat had one of her new friends over to meet me and we had munchies - crackers & cheese, deviled eggs, chicken salad, relish tray, hot bread, etc - served with Prosecco.

Wednesday we went to the Ft. Worth Botanical Garden. My request was to see the Japanese Garden, and it was lovely & SO peaceful. Japanese maples were 1/2 turned to a bright red and other trees were orange. All were mirrored in the wandering streams & ponds from the Moon Bridge. We also went to the Kimball Art Museum and enjoyed their permanent collections. Early dinner was at Tim Love's Woodshed Smokehouse right on the Trinity River. I expect some of you foodies will know Love, but it was quite an experience. Absolutely everything was smoked in hickory, cherry, apple, etc. I was grateful that my wine was not smoked. They make fresh sausage every day with the "animal of the day". That day was rabbit & rattlesnake; neither of us bit. (pun intended) I had Pork Banh Mi cooked in Maker's Mark Bourbon & Coke & served with Gotija cheese, lime & aioli mayo. It was served with tortillas that were made with half corn & half flour - excellent corn flavor but still soft enough to fold my sandwiches. The side was an excellent Broccolini with lemon & LOTS of garlic. Pat had pulled pork tacos and fried/smoked corn on the cob. The next table ordered delicious looking ribs.

Thursday we went to a lovely restaurant set in two rooms of an old house with silver on the sideboards, old masters on the walls, deep carpet & double white table cloths to the floor. So we put on our dress jeans for a 2pm meal. Both rooms had lots of windows so the rooms were filled with light. Restaurant 506 at The Sanford House. The upper floors are B&B rooms and there are separate cottages across a plaza/patio, in addition to a spa across the street. The special menu follows. Appetizer - Warm Harvest Spinach Salad tossed w/walnuts, pears, feta cheese & warm maple bacon vinaigrette. We didn't select option #2 which was a roasted butternut squash bisque topped with Creme Fraiche. Entree was a choice between four 1) Oven roasted turkey w/sage stuffing (that had carrots) & sides; 2) Triple Pork - pan roasted Pork Loin on a bed of creamy bacon & pork belly Risotto topped w/mushroom ragout; 3) Coco dusted Beef tenderloin cutlets which included White chocolate whipped potatoes & espresso demi; 4) Moroccan Spiced Grilled Salmon served on braised red cabbage. Difficult choices but I don't ever cook turkey so I had that and Pat had the Pork. Both were delicious. Dessert - The Chocolate Stack - cocoa biscuit crust, then dark chocolate mousse, then white chocolate mousse and drizzled ganache over the top - all presented in a lovely circle style w/fresh raspberries. The other option was Pumpkin Cheese Torte.

Whew - as you might imagine, I didn't eat again for 24 hours. And as you can also imagine, I gained 4 pounds. We stayed up too late every night visiting until 2am and drank several bottles of good wine. We've been friends now for 44 years even though we haven't lived in the same town for quite some time, so we never ran out of topics. It was a great trip even considering the drive. (And a bonus - my 2003 car did just fine & even got 34 miles to the gallon)

Dinner tonight will be salad. Food will be minimal this week as I start back to Silver Sneakers and the treadmill & try to get rid of the extra weight before Christmas.

My housekeeper spent the week down with her family in Birmingham, then they all flew to Dallas for the extended family reunion (good) and the Cowboys game (not so good) on T-Day.

On the way home from my mani-pedi I stopped at Stan's Donuts. Goodness, those suckers are huge! Rich, too. One donut can feed three or four. (Chocolate iced buttercream-filled is my fave, but they also have Biscoff-filled--which I will never taste because the guys finished it and I am giving up sweets after the Bar Show is over...okay, after New Year's). Still, nothing can match a KrispyKreme chocolate iced creme-filled. Just the right size to induce guilt, but not too much of it.

Last night we went to Fireside again, this time for the prime rib to share. Though we ordered it medium-rare, it came medium-well-to-well done. But it was still tender. I wish they hadn't finished it by searing on the grill--part of the "prime rib experience" is tucking into that glistening pinky-red slab of yumminess. (Sometime in Dec. we'll go back to Lawry's). Even though we shared, we brought home leftovers (from the calamari app too).

Had a good rehearsal with the band today--took the L both ways. Slightly chilly in the a.m., but by the time we were done it was 48, without wind. Wore my light brown "pleather" moto jacket over a cardigan & tank. Tomorrow night is dress rehearsal and then a move to the theater. I will have just a small suitcase (which is at the Bar Assn. along with my 3 costumes) and tote, so I think I will take the L down, bum a lift to the theater, and then take the L back home afterward. I was considering driving, but that's two expensive parking sessions (near the Bar Assn. & then the theater). I'm in charge of bringing the wine & champagne for Friday night's cast party--which I must miss because Bob wants us and our guests to go for tapas down the block at Mercat a la Planxa (Iron Chef Jose Garces' original restaurant, before he branched out to Vegas and a cruise ship). So I will have to figure out a way to get the wines to the party hosts on Thurs. (they managed to get their building's party room). So will definitely drive Thurs. night (I will have 2-4 guests) so I can do the handoff-de-vin. We'll be staying Fri. & Sat. night at the Hilton, across from the theater--will try to get the package that includes parking (which is otherwise hideously expensive). That way I can help move stuff out of the theater to the storage locker after we close.

Tonight I had my turkey dinner leftovers: dark meat, stuffing, mashed sweet potatoes. Had to fight my cat Happy for it--he kept climbing on my lap and I kept shoving him off. Eventually let him lick the plate when I was done. Tomorrow night after rehearsal I will have my leftovers from Fri. night & last night (unless Gordy gets them first). We are supposed to get up near 60 both tomorrow & Tues. Maybe some rain Thurs., but no cold weather for the entire run of the show.

Actually, Lacey, it's a show--a topical parody musical comedy. 47 lawyers all acting, singing & dancing. This is the 94th year the Chicago Bar Assn. has been doing it, and the proceeds go to charity, We do four performances in a "legitimate" (i.e., B'way style) theater, built 1890--in fact, the same stage on which the Barrymores (not Drew) and Lunt & Fontanne performed nearly a century ago. This year, I play Angela Merkel, a rapping "fake Mike Pence" (hard to explain w/o posting all the lyrics) in a parody of "The Room Where it Happens" from Hamilton, and the lead in a quartet of women disgruntled over their husbands' snoring. It's my 15th year in the cast--the only year sine 2002 I missed was 2015, the autumn of my breast cancer diagnosis & treatment. At the time I had to either commit or bow out, I didn't know the extent of my surgical and adjuvant treatment. I didn't want to have to quit halfway through, nor give a half-assed performance, so that year I wrote some jokes instead. Turns out I probably would have done just fine (two weeks after lumpectomy I was back performing all over IL, WI and IA), but better safe than sorry.

Cherry, sour cherries are nearly impossible to find here too unless you know someone who has a tree and then it's a race with the birds to get enough for a pie. I've managed to find good quality frozen ones at Fresh Thyme (a small market chain not unlike Trader Joe's) as well as at an Amish store near where my DSIL lives. Costco also sells a frozen mixture of sweet and sour cherries that is pretty good, although if I use those I like to add more sour cherries to the mix. When I find them, I tend to stock up. Cherry pie is one of our faves!

Tonight is the last of the turkey leftovers then I'm through with turkey for a good while!

We're off to see dad tomorrow. We'll stay in the city overnight and do some Christmas shopping on the way home.

Minus, it sounds like you had a lovely and delicious trip. What fun.

Tonight I sauteed mushrooms, oregano, onion, a bit of red pepper and garlic...and at the end added Balsamic Vinegar. The mushrooms were served next to skillet cooked pork chops that had been coated in a brown sugar, cumin, coriander, salt, garlic powder and black pepper rub. I also made up a salad.

I think, from start to serve, it took about 30 minutes to do all of this. Fast, but good. I sure do like the new recommended cooking temperatures for pork. Instead of "dry chalk", it's now a nice and tender meat.

Last night I was lazy and did cheesebugers on the grill and made a pasta salad and a regular salad.

I'm getting a new air conditioner installed today. I had the oldest air conditioner the job cost estimators had seen. I'd been keeping it running for a very long time, but decided it was time for a new unit.

The dogs are going crazy when they hear all the banging and sawing noises from the rooftop. :-)