A Sigh of Relief

I have taken a couple of days off after a large Christmas. I think I've recovered. We'll see. I can say that it was the first large meal I've done where everything turned out right. Yay!

After having some meals of leftovers, we've eaten out a little. We went into Greenville yesterday for lupper (lunch/supper), and we'd originally intended to go to Handi (drool), but sadly, they were closed for the afternoon.

Not to be discouraged, we decided to try somewhere new. We went to a place called Cantinflas, which seemed like the food would be good, as it advertised "mexican/vegetarian cuisine." We couldn't get served there. We went in with our toddler, and we had to find our own high chair. We got drinks, but then we waited another 15 or 20 minutes, and we still didn't have our food order taken. The restaurant wasn't busy at all, and we were passed by many times. At that point, we left money for the drinks and went in search of something else.

We finally ended up at Wild Wing Cafe. I'm not much for chains if I can help it, but I understand that they're successful for a reason. I had a decent burger and fries.

With all the eating out, my husband's little eating out neurosis was brought to my attention. He absolutely will not order the same dish as someone else at the table. If we want the same thing, one of us will have to settle for something else. I don't understand it, but I know I have my own quirks. Anybody else with something like that? Just curious.

Aack!

I have had a whirlwind of a day!

It's Christmas Eve, and the rest of the company has arrived.  I started cleaning the house and cooking as soon as I was up with my son at 7, and I haven't stopped until now.

I think if I were to list everything I've cooked and am going to cook for Christmas, it would either look like a) a grocery list, b) a cookbook, or c) something that is way too tedious for the average American.  Instead, I'd like to offer up something I threw together when I didn't want to go to the grocery store and have repeated a couple of times because my husband loved it so much:

On a hamburger bun (whole wheat):
dijon mustard (Publix Greenwise)
extra sharp cheddar sliced (Kerrygold black label imported)
a heated veggie patty (Morningstar veggie or chicken patty)
a fried egg
*If the cheese isn't melted by the heat from the egg and patty, nuke it for about 30 seconds once assembled.

The things in parentheses are just the things that I used.  You can, of course choose your own favorites.  If you decide to experiment with this, I'd love to hear about it.

The Beginning...

About a week ago, my husband and I were eating at a local place in Easley called BTB (Between the Bun) Bistro, where I had a delicious portobello sandwich with broccoli salad.  I ate the entire thing.  In the middle of the meal, I started telling my husband how much I loved to find local places with great food.

After the meal, I simply said to my husband, "I just love food.  That's all.  I should write a food blog.  I could talk about local restaurants to try to help them stay in business.  I could talk about cooking and baking and how everything turns out (or not).  It would be so fun!  Do you think anyone would read something like that?"  He said, "The only thing you can do is try it," so here I am.

I like spicy foods, in general.  My favorite type of food is northern Indian.  Yum, curry!  It's actually hard for me to tame down spices for folks that don't really like a spicy dish, but I try my best.  That is currently my challenge in making Christmas dinner this year.  My grandpa can't stand annnnyyyyything spicy.

I also like simplicity.  If I can find an easier way to do it, I'll do it.  I will not, however, sacrifice taste.  My favorite shortcut for lots of recipes lately is a can of Rotel: no need to chop tomatoes and peppers, add diced onion, cilantro, salt, and lime for quick and easy salsa, throw a couple cans in your favorite chili recipe, and the list goes on.

So, Christmas dinner...
I am in the process of cooking my Christmas dinner in stages.  Yesterday I did my desserts: two pumpkin pies (Grandma R's recipe) and a cherry cobbler (Nannie's recipe), since Mom doesn't like pumpkin pie.  For pies, I don't make my own crust.  I know.  I'm a cheater.  I've tried in the past, and they were always ugly, and I just had to piece them together.  For crust, Marie Callendar is my friend.

Today I'm taking care of sausage balls (Gene's recipe), turnip greens (with advice from a teacher friend), carrots, and bread (yay Breadman).

Here's hoping....