Lawen

Christmas Eve usually involves a case of champagne which my mother and aunts make short work of, and a fifth of decent scotch shared between my grandfather, my uncle, and myself. My father usually slow smokes a couple pork shoulders and reheats some frozen homemade brunswick stew for dinner. Christmas morning after the children open presents a pot of coffee, a pitcher of mimosas and a pitcher of bloody marys are the first order of business. Then breakfast is made: scrambled eggs, homemade biscuits, sausage, bacon, ham, red eye gravy, grits, and a whole spread of coffee cakes, cinnamon rolls, banana or zuchinni bread. Around three in the afternoon we sit back down for roasted (and occasionally, in recent years, fried) turkey, a smoked ham, and a mass of standard sides (sweet potato souffle, green beans, mashed potatoes, black-eyed peas, english peas, etc.). Then a spread of a dozen+ cakes, pies, and cookies and my mother's ambrosia with fresh whipped cream. Then everyone collapses and naps for several hours. Gotta love holidays in the deep south.

Pyng Ho, probably my favorite Chinese restaurant in Atlanta, has a dish on the menu whose description is: "Sliced chicken breast lightly bothered and fried..."

Sounds like you need a water/dust proof keyboard. I've been playing with a similar idea myself. A keyboard like that with a touchpad or even just a cheap mouse, and an LCD monitor hinge mounted to fold under the cabinets. It's a neat idea if a little over the top.

Ah, Quinces. I recently had quinces for the first time in a couple different formats and really enjoyed them both ways. The first was on my recent trip to Paris where I ate at Christian Constant's Le Violon D'Ingres. He had a (phenomenal) starter of duck foie gras rolled in gingerbread crumbs and seared with "quince perserves" which were actually more akin to "preserved quince" as they were still effectively whole. They kind of reminded me of a spiced pear and went really well with the ginger flavors. After realizing how much I liked quince I bought some jarred quince perserves and have found them to be *really* good on crusty bread with a bit of stilton. So I'd suggest making preserves with them.

9" Chef's knife Fry Pan Saute Pan Cast Iron Skillet Pasta Pot + Strainer Insert Pepper Mill Microplane Grater and Zester Wok I can make 90% of the meals I cook regularly with just those. I don't know if that speaks well or ill of my cooking prowess.