Deborah17

The original Pony Corral sat overlooking what is now Bishop Grandin Boulevard. It burned down and moved south on Pembina Highway to Fort Richmond, but is now gone from there too.

I have been lurking off list for a long time but felt compelled to offer at least one story of a botched holiday dinner. My mother, who was seldom a good cook, and often just a passable one, being that she would rather being doing anything outside than in, always required that the siblings attend holiday dinners. Historically, her turkeys were very, very well-done [as was all of her meat]. The mashed potatoes were always milked and whipped with an electric beater to within an inch of their gluey, gooey lives. The turnips were boiled to a pulpy orange puree, mashing not required. The gravy was usually amended with additional poultry seasoning to make it taste more like turkey. The orange jellied salad, with shredded carrot held sway with the canned, jellied cranberry sauce. But is was her pies that stand out. The crusts were...interesting... to say the least. Although how anyone can make a bottom crust so soggy and rubbery it could bounce on the floor without losing its contents [i swear!] and yet have a top crust [for any 2 crusted pies] so hard that they almost defied the fork is beyond me. Canned pie filling was the way to go...cherry and pumpkin...and Sherriff lemon pie filing, from the blue box, was the only lemon pie she ever made. The meringue was always burned during the last hectic minutes before dinner. Except for one year, when it turned out beautifully golden and glossy. Only to have my brother, return it to the broiler and char it with the commetn, "NOw it is really a family Christmas dinner!"

My two best buys ever are my ginger grater...a little ceramic thing from China town about $4 and an apple corer. I core everything with is and it is wonderful. I have even used it for making tubes of fruit for a dessert, with a coulis and mint ina little lincoln log shape The ginger grater is fast, easy to claen, in the dishwasher and you never have to peel the ginger, always a bonus for me because I forget to do it earlier in the prep. Deborah

My cravings are for chips...potato chip...especially Ruffles...a whole entire bag...or torilla chips loaded with extra old cheddar and jars of fireball hot salsa...until I am so full I feel like a whale.... But if I don't eat at least a little...I crave all out and end up eating too much...So I catch the crave early and eat less of it...the longer I wait the worse it is...

I have to admit that I am guilty of many of these things...but my worst/best eats is fried spaghetti, with the sauce mixed in, fried in butter topped with extra old cheddar cheese and Matouk's, a very hot scotch bonnet pepper sauce.... But it is SOOOOO good... um...bad...once in a blue moon now...ok about once a month... Deborah17