spaghetttti

I was treated to a pre-birthday dim sum lunch at Lucky Three, Bailey's Crossroads, VA and among all the scrumptious small plates, I got the chicken feet. They really pale in comparison to StephenC's (literally and figuratively). But I was very pleasantly surprised that they were quite tasty and flavorful, despite their bland appearance.

On Christmas Eve I made a variation of this dip using tuna and stuffed cucumbers with it.

Thank you so much for the birthday greeting For the tuna filling: 8 oz cream cheese 6 oz tuna packed in water (drained) 1 - 1 1/2 tsp Old Bay seasoning 2 Tbs mayonnaise freshly ground black pepper Fill scooped out cucumbers or top cucumber rounds, garnish with skinny carrot slivers.

I like to think of these as desserts after a lunch of dim sum (yam cha)

For my birthday I just wanted to have some finger foods, so we had: smoked salmon wrapped melon & papaya balls old bay tuna cream cheese & cucumbers chicken cream puffs garden vegetable rondele stuffed belgian endive devilled eggs chocolate dipped strawberries trifle, well this needed spoons doves in a dove Happy Holidays to all!

How about some name brands? I'd be willing to do some taste testing!

Heheh, I got it, I got it! But when I saw Spaghetttti up there 3 times, well ...

This sounds GOOOOOD! What proportion of old bay to cream cheese do you use? I'd like to do the same without overpowering the cc. V ← crinoidgirl, I know what you mean about overpowering tastes, what with the smoked salmon in there as well, but I really eyeballed it. I'd say to 8 oz of cream cheese I might've added 1/4 teaspoon of Old Bay seasoning ( maybe up to a scant 1/2 tsp). If you do make up a batch, please let us know how yours turned out.

Woodburner, I'm away from home for awhile so I can't play show and tell with you. But there are sets of dinnerware that I covet. With my birthday and Christmas coming up, who knows -- hopefully they'll be in Santa's big old bag! Wishlist1 Wishlist2 (such a girly-girl) Wishlist3 You know, I really admire Susan in FL's plates, quite lovely & elegant.

Tana, did my spaghetti make you wooooozy? Very sorry I had leftovers for dinner tonight after a great Lebanese lunch today. I'm going to really study Foodman's eGCI course Introduction to Lebanese Cuisine and hit the books (cookbooks) so I can prepare a homemade version of today's lunch for dinner one of these days.

Thanks to Forum Host, Foodman, and the kind and generous responses/contributions from members of eG, my interest in Middle Eastern food has been truly heightened. Knowing this, my gorgeous baby sister took me to the Lebanese Taverna, Pentagon Row, Arlington, VA for a wonderful lunch today. Wow, I'm loving Lebanese food, and can see myself searching out more places that feature this cuisine. My sister got a shwarma which was deemed quite tasty and "lamby". I chose the Mediterranean Mezza which had a luxurious lebneh, m'saka, baba ghannouge, a meat pie (fatayer?) and a fabulous fattoush. I think I have a new addiction. More, more, more!

Oh, my! Everyone's weekend dinners look superb! And here I am with just plain old school. After these appetizers of old bay'ed cream cheese and smoked salmon on celery and the crunchiest rice crackers (I adore those crackers!), can you guess what we had for dinner tonight? Behemoth, I love your photo, those chips look amazing!

Yum yum yum! Everything looks amazing! Is that ambrosia over there on the upper left? How do you make the poinsettias? (Can they be served "virgin"/non-alcoholic?)

Mooshmouse, I do hope you post here more often. Your dinner looks great, just bursting with color and flavor! Is your avatar the pre-schooler mentioned above? He's absolutely adorable!

Though I hope it has not been applied to me, she's got spaghetti for brains!

My local market has some really gorgeous eggplants. By popular demand, these will be made into the baked Parmesan style and served with pasta. I'm also thinking about baba ghanoush. Do you like eggplants, what are your favorite recipes?

Woodburner, I found these two recipes, they look really good. Thai Fish in Banana Leaves Sticky Rice and Chicken/Lemper

A detailed tour? Certainly! You are cordially invited to join us on the Elsewhere in Asia Forum and the Kuih/Kueh thread that Shiewie started where you'll find more about the pastries of Southeast Asia as well as more photos of the tempting treats of that region. Enjoy!

Percy, Gwaltney makes beef bacon, though I'm sure there are other brands out there that I will continue to search out. I do love my grits and try to have them on the weekend, so this (late) morning -- slow cooked creamy, buttery, cheesy, garlic-y grits with an over easy egg and some turkey sausage, and some OJ. Still sipping my hot mug of good, strong (Indonesian blend) coffee as I type. Malawry, I've seen coffee w/chicory in a Vietnamese supermarket (Eden Center). How does the chicory enhance the flavor/aroma of the coffee? If I'm not mistaken, this is popular in New Orleans with a plate of powdery beignets, yes?

A visual for Packo's marvelous suggestions.

Absolutely breathtaking! Thank you so much, Ellen. Eagerly looking forward to more.

What a great topic, Michael, and quite the coincidence! Just this morning my mother and I were talking about my upcoming birthday and what we were planning to do. I originally wanted to do just small plates, finger food and stuff. But I have a feeling she wants something a little more elaborate, if you know what I mean. Making and serving nasi kuning is a tradition in my family when celebrating birthdays and anniversaries though in the traditional tumpeng or cone shape. I love nasi kuning with all the accoutrements: urap, the vegetable salad with grated coconut, perkedel, tiny meat and potato patties, and so many other delicacies. The Central and East Javanese use kenduri, and my people of West Java usually say hajatan or selamatan. In addition to events celebrating the completion and recital of the Al Qur'an, birthdays, anniversaries, circumcisions, the kenduris are frequently held for a first-time expectant mother at her seventh month where there will be a special ritual of "selling" a fruit salad called rujak buah then later celebrating the first haircut of a 40-day-old infant. A few months ago I attended a kenduri for a book launching where the peak of the tumpeng was cut and presented to someone as a symbol of honor and respect.

While frying some for breakfast, my dad comes bellowing into the kitchen, "you're going to eat bacon, BACON?!??!" Whoa, whoa, I had to calm him down and reassure him that it was indeed beef bacon . Oh well, after all that, it wasn't very good anyhow. But the cheesy grits and egg were quite lovely. I wish I had a biscuit or some toast to go with. Percy, for the crepes I just wing it with milk, eggs, melted butter, flour & salt. The filling was some creamed spinach (leftovers) that I thickened up with bechamel.

I made some turkey sausage rolls for appetizers and have just pulled these out of the oven. Since the oven is still hot, put some cornish hens in an Indonesian sauce in there to roast. We'll have them with glazed carrots, stir-fried string beans and steamed rice.

This morning: the kids had my dad's fried rice, a bowl of steamy, creamy oatmeal for my mom and a savory breakfast crepe for me. OJ all around.