Jenny McClure

I bought a gift for the daughter. I think everyone did. I'm not sure if it was expeceted. But normally for a childs birthday the guests will bring something for the birthday boy or girl.

The curry thing, the only reason I can think that women should not eat curry is that can as it can induce labour. However maybe that is another one of those old wives tales. A friend of mione did try this as she went into her second week past due date. She eventually had to be induced in hospital. So maybe that says it all.

I just went to a birthday party for my friends daughters 1st birthday. We don't have kids but they siad it was an more of an adult party as a lot of their friends don't have kids yet and its a friday.. It was from 5pm til 9pm. We all rushed after work thinking good excuse for a happy hour. The options were diet coke or water to drink.(they do have a full cooler full of wine not offered) And for food, pretzels and 1 tube of pringles for about 18 adults. That's it!! Needless to say a group of us excused ourselves early and walked into the nearest place were we could get some real food & drink.

What about mussels? One of my favourite pub lunches at home is a big pot of steaming mussels with good chips or wheaten bread to mop up the sauce. All that with a cold beer or glass of white wine. Mussels can be done in a variety of different ways .

Take a 1lb block out the fridge and leave it on top of the Aga to soften so it will be spreadable for toast. Mum wasn't to pleased when she walked into the kitchen an hour later to find melted butter all over the Aga, the kitchen tops and floor.

For apetizer I would go with some sort of smoked salmon dish. Smoked salmon with some fresh prawns & avocado and then as alternate maybe some kind of tomato/basil & gost cheese tart (who doesn't like that combination?) For my wedding we offered a choice of salmon (locally caught) or Filet Mignon. We also had a vegetarian option which was a pasta dish with roasted vegetables. Everybody seemed happy and some even asked for seconds.

Here in Puerto Rico you know Christmas is coming when many of the restaurants give a little glass of coquito after dinner. Coquito is their version of eggnog, made with rum and cream of coconut. Some versions even have a pint of vanilla Haagen Daz in them Morcilla (blood sausage) is served a lot of parties also pasteles.

Thanks for the replies, that pretty much explains it for me. Just to explain what we do for Christmas Dinner. Our trational feast would be: STARTER Platter of cold seafoods like, poached salmon, prawns, smoked salmon & trout served with a marie rose sauce on side and lemon. MAIN Turkey (stuffed in cavity with breadcrumb & sage stuffing) Ham with honey mustard glaze and cloves Roasted and mashed potaotoes Mashed Carrot & parsnips Roasted brussel sprouts Steamed baby carrots and brocoli Cauliflour & cheese sauce Cranberry sauce Bread Sauce Gravy CHEESE Main focus is the entire stilton my Dad buys every year. Passed around and is sccoped out with a spoon. PUDDING Plum pudding with brandy butter or custard Pavlova Some form of Crumble with custard or ice-cream. Later, if your brave enough, we will have turkey & stuffing sandwiches and mince pies along with the ridiculous amount of chocolates we receive every year. That pretty much is it, give or take a few variations. Jenny

OK, I know this might be a silly question and I should know this by now, but, what do you guys eat on Christmas Day? That is, what is the main focus. At home it is tradtionally turkey or goose with all the trimmings. This is what you seem to have for Thanksgiving, so what to you serve on Christmas Day? My husband is from the States but from a Cuban family and they have their big feast on Christmas Eve and serve pig that has been cooked in a pit with rice & beans etc I know this is not the typical American Christmas dinner, so what is? Christmas Dinner is a big deal for us. We don't celebrate Thanksgiving. So what about the States, is Thanksgiving a bigger deal foodwise or is it equal but different traditions? Help, I'm (as you can see ) a little confused. Jenny

Just reading through this thread has reved up my Christmas Spirit, I really can't wait to head back to Ireland for Christmas. We always left mince pies and stout for santa, and some carrots and hay (my grandfather was a farmer) for the reindeers. There was always a bite out of the carrots and mince pies as Santa didn't have time to eat the whole thing. Since we have all gotten older and moved on, the traditions have changed slightly but only because of age. We still all go home to stay with out parents and they still do a stocking for us which is at the end of our beds when we wake up on Christmas morning (now they don't have to worry about waking us due to the vast quantitiies of wine and hot whiskys drunk before bed). Even my husabnd gets a stocking. Breakfast is always my grannie's homemade wheaten bread, with smoked salmon and scrambled eggs. Mimosas of course. Then everyone gets showered and dressed, the fires are lit and we open the presents. Dinner is the full works, usually cold assorted seafood for starters and then turkey etc. then cheeses and port followed by pudding . We too have Christmas crackers, whcih completely baffled my husband the first time. After the final course we head to the living room and play games like charades and pictionary which usually ends up very lively due to the quantities of alcohol that day. Then it's off to bed. Boxing day is the next day and when our home team has a big rugby match. So all the friends and family gather at the rugby club to watch the match and celebrate Christmas some more. Cant' friggin wait!!!

I like mince pies but only if they are hot from the oven with a dollop of cold freshly whipped cream. Every Christams my Dad orders an entire Stilton. It has always been a tradition after dinner to pass the decantor (sp) of port followed by the stilton. I look forward to that part of the meal most. My husband (recently married) had a bit of trouble the first Christmas when he was hit with the aroma of the cheese, but now he loves it as much as the rest of the family.

We always had a couple of mandarin oranges in our stocking too.!! For some reason they were always the sweetest and juiciest. That and a bag of choclate money

We ate in Casa Mono for about $100 which included a bottle of wine. We not have huge appetites mind you.

I have never eaten a Thanksgiving dinner in any of these but I did have a good meal in Prime One Twelve. It was (about this time last year) very popular. We had to wait about 40 mins for a table on a Wednesday nigth, we did not have reservations however. They had a bar to hang out in and have a few drinks in. Also a friend just returned and had the Sunday brunch in NEMO. She said it was great. It's not much help I know, but the Miami forum is dead!

Thanks for both of your responses. Mrbigjas, you are still alive to tell the tale, and what you say makes sense. I'll tell my friend not to worry then. They'll be fine for Thanksgiving. Thanks a million.

Nobody? Or did I just ask a silly question? I did try a search, but with no luck>

Hi I hope I am posting this in the right place, if not, apologies : WShat is the average shelf life for eggs? Do chicken eggs last longer than Quails? I ask because a friend just brought back a ton from a recent trip and thinks they will last another month. I didn't think they would last that long, especially if they are not completely hard boiled . Please help us to clear this up. Thanks in advance. Jenny

I was served spaghetti with baked beans (the UK kind, Heinz with tomato sauce) at my best friends house. That was a struggle. Another was in a restaurant. It was the only place open, it was raining, we were starving, so in we went. I ordered the only thing that sounded kind of appealing, which was Chicken with a mustard sauce. Well, even to look at it you knew it was bad (I don't know how the waitress even served it. Basically it was an overcooked, rubbery chicken breast with that yellow mustard that they put on tables at burger joints. Not only that, it had been sitting for so long that the top of the mustard had formed this nasty brown skin on top. Needless to say , we went hungry that night.

HAve you ever tried Cornflakes with hot milk and lots of sugar. Great in the winter. HAve to be eaten quickly though, as they can get soogy quite fast. Unless, like me, that's the part you like. Weetabis is also good with hot milk.

My Husbands observations. That women can switch from talking about copmlaing abput not loosing weight and diets to an in depth discussion of food all in the space of 15 minutes. Also when we are having lunch we are already discussing dinner for that night and what to have tomorrow.

Thank You all for all the help. It is going to 5 people on tuesday night, will that make a difference on how busy it gets? From what I've read, it seems if they have a problem getting into the Tap they are not too far from other good alternatives.

Hi All My husband is going to be in Philly next week on businees. One of the guys he is travelling with is getting married the next weekend. They want to take out on the last night for a kind of bachelor party I guess. They just really want to take him out to have some beers and good food. Something casual, not too rowdy and not a sit down dinner as such. From what I've read this place sounds perfect. What are your thoughts? Also, where is it located? Thanks in advance. Jenny

My parents did the same with the crusts on bread, except they said if you eat your crusts your hair will go curly (I have very straight hair and always wanted curls). They also said that eating carrots would help you to see in the dark.

Hi Me again. I just remebered the name of that pub in Rathmullen! The Beachcomber. Also, there is a great pub with a really good restaurant in the tiny town of Glen, it's rightly called "The Glen Bar". It gets pretty packed on weekends and they typically have 2 sittings for dinner. It is quite hairy drive there. Lots of typical Donegal roads. It's about 20 mins drive from Ramelton.

Hi Alexia I spent all my summers growing up in Rathmullen and now my Mum lives in Ramelton (small town you will pass through on the way to Rathmullen-about 15-20mins drive). It is not a very big place so the options are limited. In the town there is a restaursant called an bonnan bui sp (my gaelic is not the best). The owners are a couple, the husband Irish, the wife Brazilian. More upscale there is the dining Room at the Rathmullen House Hotel, they also have a more casual restaurant in THe cellar bar. Not far from there, there is also The Fort Royal Hotel, which also has a very nice restaurant. Both hotels are family fun and have beautiful grounds. On the way into Rathmullen there is THe Water's Edge restarant. It is right on the water, and has good food. They were doing renovations, so I'm not sure if they will be completed. As for Pubs there is The White Hart, which is at the beginning of the Pier, it does the best pint of guinness. There are a couple others but the names escape me (I remember them by the family that runs them). Rathmulle House has a nice cellar bar with a fire place if you want to snuggle up and have a night cap. In Ramelton, they have a great pub called the Bridge bar. They often have live music and can get very busy. Upstairs they also have a little restaurant, which looks like someone convertrd their living room. It serves very fresh seafood. There is also a littl wine bar run by James McDaid(quite a character). It has a lot of charm. Fire places, wine by the glasses(limited) alll served with a snack of doritos!!! In Letterkenny, see above thread. I know I know more but am drawing a blank right now. I will get back to you when I think of more. Keep in mind that it is winter and some of the restaurants may be closed.