Bendy-Friendies V.3 - Food & Booze Lovers Unite!!!

[hmgray95]

Briarmom, I would use resume paper and Brenda's trick for straight lines. I'm glad you posted about this because it supports my insistence that dd learn to write neatly in cursive. The schools here don't care much about it after it's taught in 3rd grade and that makes me crazy. It's odd that you have to do a handwritten letter but I'm glad to see that handwriting is not totally out the window!

Heather, your buche de noel looks great! I watched Tyler Florence on Iron Chef the other night and his turned out horribly! (the one where the secret ingredient was sugar) Kudos to you!

Tink, I"m sorry you're sick, too. I found an old bottle of children's Motrin cold with real pseudophedrine in it this morning. Wow, what a difference it made so I'm rationing it til dh can get to the drugstore and see if they still sell it behind the counter. I felt like my head was going to explode.

Jamie, do you know I actually heard a report the other day about a school system that was going to stop teaching cursive completely? Their reasoning was that with computers, no one today does anything in cursive except write their signature. So if you don't teach cursive, how are they supposed to know how to write their signature?

And what kind of secret ingredient is sugar?!?!

 

[Briarmom]

Heather, your buche de noel looks great! I watched Tyler Florence on Iron Chef the other night and his turned out horribly! (the one where the secret ingredient was sugar) Kudos to you!

Yeah, that thing looked really...not good.

Jamie, do you know I actually heard a report the other day about a school system that was going to stop teaching cursive completely? Their reasoning was that with computers, no one today does anything in cursive except write their signature. So if you don't teach cursive, how are they supposed to know how to write their signature?

I'm pretty sure that this is going on all over. Kids never have to write their reports, they type them. DS is in fifth grade and really hasn't used cursive since he was in first grade.

 

[whogirl'smom]

Yeah, that thing looked really...not good.



I'm pretty sure that this is going on all over. Kids never have to write their reports, they type them. DS is in fifth grade and really hasn't used cursive since he was in first grade.

I was worried that the school here hadn't started cursive yet last year, so I bought a workbook and had dd start learning. We also worked on it during the summer. I'm just old fashioned, I guess. I want her to know how to write if nothing more than an "art" form. I figure it will be like piano; she won't appreciate me making her practice till she's grown!

I worry about them not really teaching how to type either. They did a few weeks of it and dd was catching on very quickly and then they just stopped. I don't want her to do the hunt and peck method like dh does. Now that I think of it, I don't know what they're putting emphasis on in school--everything seems rushed.

I have to go now, the decongestant is kicking in and my fingers (and eyes) are getting tangled up....

 

[eliz991]

I read letters from citizens at my job and we hate the handwritten ones, so I don't know that handwritten letters carry more weight. A handwritten personal note, maybe, but a business letter? Nope. And the neatest handwriting seems to come from prisoners. Some of them seem to measure every letter out with a ruler or something.

The Marlboro Man did pay you a compliment, Brenda - wow, a woman who drinks scotch. Kind of like a woman who watches football. Some men think that's the bomb. PS the Redskins play tonight so I'm watching for awhile anyway. They're gonna lose.

I review legal petitions - the handwritten ones from prisoners are very neat, some of them are almost so neat you can't read them if that makes sense. I think because they don't have access to typewriters or computers and have a lot of time on their hands they try to make them look as nice as possible. They must spend an hour per paragraph.

I'll be watching football tonight too - and if my Cowboys can beat the Saints, anything is possible!

Heather, your buche de noel looks great! I watched Tyler Florence on Iron Chef the other night and his turned out horribly! (the one where the secret ingredient was sugar) Kudos to you!

Agreed - his looked terrible!

Well there is no way I could 'write' the letter. I had to print it. My cursive is just laughable. I know printing looks childish, but I did what I had to do.

I would have had to do the same thing - my normal "writing" is sort of half-printed, half-cursive and looks awful.

 

[TDC Nala]

I remember Tyler's bomb de noel, he didn't do well with that at all. He ended up turning it into a frosted sheet cake to try and hide the mess he made. Maybe he was drinking his own wine before he tried making it.

The new Ipod is playing a reggae version of "O Holy Night" - most of my 166 Christmas songs are kind of weird (or at least just nontraditional)

 

[TigerKat]

Hey y'all! Didn't want y'all to think I'm not here any longer, just kinda lurking around. The holidays are tough for me, really miss my parents. All the food and booze porn looks great! Happy Holidays to all.

 

[Me&3]

Hi I wanted to say hi and hope everyone is enjoying the prep for the holidays. I am here in WDW with my family we got here on 12/19 to celebrate my older DS's 10th birthday it was 12/20. We went to MK and stayed till 2:00am for extra magic we had a great time. We check out on 12/24 and head to my parents house for Christmas. The weather is chilly here for WDW it is 57 degrees right now. I'm sure it is still warmer then most of you are. Stay warm and have a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to All!!! I will check back if anyone wants to know anything I will do my best to check on things.

 

[TDC Nala]

If anyone's familiar with the Darlene Love song "Marshmallow World" I swear she is singing "The world is a snowball, just for a song, get out and mow the lawn."

I looked it up and she is singing "roll it along." I do know it wouldn't make much sense to mow the lawn if it's snowing. should have put that song on the CD I sent.

One of this year's downloads is Daryl Hall and John Oates singing "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear" and whichever one of them starts with the vocal clearly says "It came upon the midnight clear/That glorious song of mold." Was he drinking or is that just the way it came out?

Hadn't thought about misheard Christmas lyrics before. I do know people must have heard of "Round John Virgin." Oh and by the way try a shot of rum in heated spiced apple cider.

 

[fadingnebula]

Hello everyone. I'm relatively new to posting, but I've been reading and drooling over your posts for some time! So, in the spirit of Christmas, I'll share a recipe of what I WISH I were having for Christmas dinner, rather than the scrumptious (phew! I spell checked that to make sure, and I DID spell it right! Yay me!) dinner I'm sure to have at my aunt's house. It never fails that we have lukewarm ham topped with pineapple, partially raw "scalloped" potatoes, and neon green beans cooked from a frozen state that are not quite cooked....

But I digress... here is the recipe:

(From the Silver Palate Cookbook)

CHICKEN MARBELLA


Ingredients

* 2 chickens, 2 1/2 lbs each, quartered, bone-in, skin-on
(I use boneless, skinless tenderloins)
* 1/2 head of garlic, peeled and finely puréed
* 2 Tbsp dried oregano
* Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
* 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
* 1/4 cup olive oil
* 1/2 cup pitted prunes
* 1/4 cup pitted Spanish green olives
* 1/4 cup capers with a bit of juice
* 3 bay leaves
* 1/2 cup brown sugar
* 1/2 cup white wine
* 2 Tbsp fresh Italian parsley or cilantro, finely chopped

Method

1 In a large bowl combine garlic, oregano, salt and pepper to taste, vinegar, olive oil, prunes, olives, capers with caper juice, and bay leaves. Add the chicken pieces and coat completely with the marinade. Cover and let marinate, refrigerated, several hours or overnight.

2 Preheat oven to 350°F.

3 Arrange chicken in a single layer in one or two large, shallow baking pans and spoon marinade over it evenly. Sprinkle chicken pieces with brown sugar and pour white wine around them.

4 Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, basting frequently with the pan juices. Chicken is done when thigh pieces, pricked with a fork at their thickest point, yield clear yellow juice (not pink).

5 With a slotted spoon, transfer chicken, prunes, olives, and capers to a serving platter. Add some of the pan juices and sprinkle generously with parsley or cilantro. Serve remaining juice in a gravy boat.

Serves 5.


TIP: The marinading overnight is EXTREMELY important. It really enhances the flavor of the dish!!!

This is wonderful served over a bed of couscous. And Brenda, don't be scared of all of the "stuff" in the dish. If you're really adverse to prunes, just eat around them. They infuse their flavor into the juices, which the couscous really soaks up!

 

[BriarRosie]

I'm still among the Plague sufferers. Sorry Michelle if you caught it from me.

I was surprised to see Jaime ask about my cruise. It's not for a year! Next December.

And the chicken recipe sounds terrific. Can't go wrong with olives and capers.

 

[Tink rules]

Hey Lori...

Sorry you are still amongst us sickies too...

I've finally decided it's the flu... wish I could have gotten a flu shot, but I didn't "qualify" for the short supply when they had it here... (luckily mom did...)

how do I know it's the flu???

I got help this morning while laying almost motionless in bed watching the Doctors... when the topic was "how do you know you have the flu"...

Mom has made it to Tx with only a few delays (went through Baltimore) and I have a WONDERFUL neighbor, Joyce, who has volunteered to go to the store for me for extra juice, etc.

I'm afraid Xmas '09 is going to be like the rest of the year... plain weird... so lets hope that '10 is MUCH better!!!

 

[Tink rules]

& WELCOME FADINGNEBULA!!!

You will find we are a crazy, wacky, funny and VERY friendly group to be amongst...

 

[dizneykid]

Hello everyone. I'm relatively new to posting, but I've been reading and drooling over your posts for some time! So, in the spirit of Christmas, I'll share a recipe of what I WISH I were having for Christmas dinner, rather than the scrumptious (phew! I spell checked that to make sure, and I DID spell it right! Yay me!) dinner I'm sure to have at my aunt's house. It never fails that we have lukewarm ham topped with pineapple, partially raw "scalloped" potatoes, and neon green beans cooked from a frozen state that are not quite cooked....

Welcome!! And, your dinner at your Aunt's house sounds a lot like dinner at my mother in laws.

 

[dizneykid]

Stay warm everyone that is snowed in & having to drive in it!

Briarmom - I would type it out and print it on some nice looking resume paper.


This weekend I embarked on baking oh 500+ cookies for various groups like my husband's coworkers, my co-workers & my hourly employees - each group receiving a different size container.

I made the following kinds:
Peanut Butter w/ Chocolate
Chocolate Chip
Sugar
Snickerdoodles
Peppermint Puffs
Candy Cane Twist
Crackled Spiced Cookies

& my photos misses the following:
Nutella Crunch (Recipe From Sweet Sundays)
Chocolate Covered Pretzels

(These were taken with my iphone so forgive the quality)
Everything on the island:

Freshly baked peanut butter cookies & the one I moved too quickly

Mostly Assembled Box

Hi there, would you mind giving the Nutella Crunch recipe to us? Pretty please.

 

[dizneykid]

Well, the only food porn I have for you guys is a shot of my buche de noel....we arrived about 15 minutes after the party started, and the buffet couldn't even be seen for all the people crowded around it.

If you are wondering why there is so much "snow" on the cake, it would be because the top came off of my powdered sugar sifter and dumped about a cup full on top of it.

We still had around 150 people come....although we had a lot of last minute cancellations thanks to the weather...and those who came left pretty early. Since I don't have pics, I'll list out our buffet items:

Pad Thai
Chicken Basil
Spring Rolls
Chik-Fil-A strip platters (ostensibly for the kids, but the adults always seem to hoover them as well)
NC style BBQ pork shoulder with hush puppies and slaw
Shrimp cocktail
Hawaiian meatballs (and I have no idea what makes them Hawaiian)
Assorted sushi rolls
Sopressata and marinated olives
Cheese board...Danish blue, Stilton, Brie and white cheddar with cranberries
Assorted dips and crackers and chips
White chocolate peppermint cake
Apple cake
Buche de noel
Assorted cookies, brownies and candies

And thus starts my two week binge....

What a great looking Yule Log!!! Good job. Your menus sounded wonderful.

 

[dizneykid]

If I’m the one who put them together I can list them.

1. Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) / U2
2. Christmas/Sarajevo 12/24/ Trans-Siberian Orchestra
3. Christmas Time Is Here (Charlie Brown)/ Vince Guaraldi Trio
4. Cool Yule/ Brian Setzer Orchestra
5. Elf’s Lament/ Barenaked Ladies and Michael Buble
6. Frosty the Bluesman/ Heywood Banks
7. Gettin’ In The Mood (For Christmas)/ Brian Setzer Orchestra
8. The Goose Is Getting Fat / Jon Kennedy
9. Happy Holiday (Beef Wellington Remix)/ Bing Crosby
10.Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas/ Frank Sinatra
11.Holly Jolly Christmas/ Burl Ives
12.The Island of Misfit Toys/ (Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer)
13.It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year/ Johnny Mathis
14.Jingle Bell Rock (Q-Burns Abstract Message Remix)/ Bobby Helms
15.Jingle Bells (Swinging Mix)/ (I no longer know this one)
16.Last Night (I Went Out With Santa Claus)/ Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
17.The Merriest (Thunderball Mix)/ June Christy
18.Mr. Heat Miser/ Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
19.Santa’s Got a Brand New Bag/ SheDaisy
20.(There’s No Place Like) Home for the Holidays/ Barry Manilow
21.We Need A Little Christmas/ Johnny Mathis
22.What Will Santa Claus Say When He Finds Everybody Swinging?/ Louis Prima
23.Winter Wonderland/ Etta James
24.You’re A Mean One (Mr. Grinch)/ Thurl Ravenscroft

Catherine,

What a great line up! Marcel and I love the CD, thank you so much. It's so much fun to listen to.

 

[dizneykid]

Wishing you all wellness!! Hope all who are not feeling well, get better soon.

 

[whogirl'smom]

Hey y'all! Didn't want y'all to think I'm not here any longer, just kinda lurking around. The holidays are tough for me, really miss my parents. All the food and booze porn looks great! Happy Holidays to all.

I'm right there with you, Kat. I really miss my dad and my mom is having an awful time right now.

If anyone's familiar with the Darlene Love song "Marshmallow World" I swear she is singing "The world is a snowball, just for a song, get out and mow the lawn."

I looked it up and she is singing "roll it along." I do know it wouldn't make much sense to mow the lawn if it's snowing. should have put that song on the CD I sent.

One of this year's downloads is Daryl Hall and John Oates singing "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear" and whichever one of them starts with the vocal clearly says "It came upon the midnight clear/That glorious song of mold." Was he drinking or is that just the way it came out?

Hadn't thought about misheard Christmas lyrics before. I do know people must have heard of "Round John Virgin." Oh and by the way try a shot of rum in heated spiced apple cider.

The worst Christmas songs ever were when I was going to Curves. Can you imagine all the traditional songs to a disco beat?

I'm still among the Plague sufferers. Sorry Michelle if you caught it from me.

I don't think I'm ever going to get better...

Hey Lori...

Sorry you are still amongst us sickies too...

I've finally decided it's the flu... wish I could have gotten a flu shot, but I didn't "qualify" for the short supply when they had it here... (luckily mom did...)

how do I know it's the flu???

I got help this morning while laying almost motionless in bed watching the Doctors... when the topic was "how do you know you have the flu"...

Mom has made it to Tx with only a few delays (went through Baltimore) and I have a WONDERFUL neighbor, Joyce, who has volunteered to go to the store for me for extra juice, etc.

I'm afraid Xmas '09 is going to be like the rest of the year... plain weird... so lets hope that '10 is MUCH better!!!

Go to the doctor, Michelle! When dh called the VA for an appointment, the nurse went through all of his symptoms and said, yep, sounds like the flu. Well the flu test was negative and they dx him with an upper respiratory infection (which he promptly passed on to me). It started with a cough (not cold symptoms), wheezing, fever second day, sinus stuff third day, cold sweats, back to wheezy cough today. He is two days ahead of me and still is coughing, sweating, feels awful. I finished a z-pack yesterday and can't tell if it did any good.

The best thing is I can still get liquid children's Sudafed from behind the counter. Nothing else will break it up.

Hope you feel better soon!

 

[dizneykid]

Hey y'all! Didn't want y'all to think I'm not here any longer, just kinda lurking around. The holidays are tough for me, really miss my parents. All the food and booze porn looks great! Happy Holidays to all.

I'm right there with you, Kat. I really miss my dad and my mom is having an awful time right now.

I know how you feel, my mom died a week before Thanksgiving 1996 and my dad died on December 21, 2005. Both right around the Holidays. Been really missing my mom lately. So many things I would share with her. Hugs to you!!

 

[hmgray95]

Hope the sickies all get better soon!

Welcome fadingnebula! The recipe sounds great!

Kat and Jamie, I know how you feel about missing your parents around the holidays.....I always end up shedding tears while I decorate the tree because the ornaments always remind me of them.