suzilightning

black forest mousse pie keebler chocolate pie shell chocolate pot du creme - made lactose free with chocolate chips, eggs, and strong coffee comstock light cherry pie filling with most of the cherries plucked out of the red goo developed it from stuff johnnybird already liked as self defense from the mil bringing one of her purchased desserts - usually loaded with cream and milk

wow i'm from the east end and don't remember pindar ever having a sparkler. course my favorite from that area - and i can't get it anywhere in northern nj- is from pugilese. it is a sparkling pinot noir which is amazing

i can get the zardetto, argyle and dvx perhaps we can have a handoff on rt. 84 at the border of ny/ct next tuesday when we head for poughkeepsie or maybe we'll have to have a sparkler function and all bring a case or two to swap

yum - pomegranates. just got some coupons for them in last week's papers. if HIMSELF ever gets home or 630 latest(i'm HUNGRY) venison birds(ground venison with herbs and spices baked in the oven) with a hunter's sauce spiked with red wine and the leftover jellied cranberry sauce melted into it - interesting the cranberry sauce does something to the hunter and i think will work really well with the vension. i tasted with my impecibly clean finger - had to make sure it napped a spoon garlic mashed potatoes fresh green beans and yellow squash batons with evoo and kosher salt the last of the vanilla soymilk rice pudding i've been baking most of the afternoon - fudgy bourbon brownies,banana nut bread, cranberry orange coffee cake for parties and gifts and just want my dinner.

an american grill - just for the pleasure of lou's comments and the vegetable strudel thirsty moose(jefferson) - for chicken wings and buffalo or ostrich burgers warehouse grill (jefferson)- for the martinis and turkey burgers krogh's(sparta) - for a burger and a homebrew plaza bistro(sparta) - for just about anything zoe's by the lake - ditto my house of course happy holidays to all

right now i am drinking Opera - about $8 light and just a tiny bit sweet Argyle - about $10 - jason hit it on the head Roederer Estate - just bought a bottle for the mil Mumm DVX - a bit pricier, i got it for $38 a bottle but it is in my cellar for a semispecial occasion, johnnybird bought a bottle for me for our anniversary and it is exquisite Frexinet Carta Nevada - about $8. i use this more in the summer as a base for my white sangrias Rondel Brut Extreme - about $7. this is the other "everyday" sparkler i asked for a bottle of Nicholas Feuillatte Rose as my "big" present from the inlaws - it's about 30; Cuvee Sir Winston Chruchill from the bird boy

ohhhh a man after my own heart but the last time i bought it winebow, the distributor, was charging about $12 per bottle you might like to try bel castel prosecco if you can find it, tommy(katie loeb turned me onto this pour)

wow- when we were kids we always got to open one present christmas eve as well - it was the new nightgown our mom had made us. we watched channel 3 out of hartford where they would have bulletins from NORAD tracking santa on radar(our uncle at that time was in the air force). we were allowed to open our stockings but not disturb our grandparents or mom before 7am. pop always did the cooking - usually eggs and bacon. i remember one year we saw a mouse running along the baseboard - pop wouldn't set a trap - he said everything had a right to enjoy christmas. the next day was another matter. when johnnybird and i married and moved to texas(marital advise - move as far away from both families the first year you are married) we started our own traditions. beginning 1 december we set aside 1/2 hour every day to open our advent calendar and any cards we receive that day. the tree is turned on and we put holiday music on the tape deck. we still do this. since we are the ones furthest away we always travel we don't celebrate our holiday till we are home - usually new year's eve.

after how much wine, tommy?

we don't just look at it - we do eat it. when i use, say, my capers up i bring the spare up from the pantry and put capers on my shopping list. somethings i keep multiples of - tinned tomatoes- but if i buy some i do that time honored grocery store job and rotate the stock-

good tinned tomatoes kosher salt sparkling wine(champagne, prosecco, cava, etc.) tinned crab tinned tuna in oil dried pastas rices(not necessarily white - had to buy that last weekend to make the vanilla soymilk rice pudding) tinned or frozen green beans i buy my meat and fish fresh(except during sept-nov when i live out of my freezer)also the trips to the greengrocer for seasonal veg. if the weather reports hold for tomorrow we will use the turkey broth from the freezer to make soup tomorrow with garlic, tinned white beans, broccoli rabe and ham.

Seth, what kind of beer did you use? I made this last weekend with Guinness and while it was really really good, the beer overpowered the beef a little. heather guiness works better with more than just meat and onions. i use it when i make a beef stew(course we're down to 4 1/2 cases of the big cans right now) - chuck, onions, parsnips, carrots, onions, garlic, rutabaga, some green beans the last 15 - 20 minutes.

leftover wild and long grain rice fortified with the water from reconsitituted porcini that went with the diced tomato, red pepper, onions and thyme salsa over mahi-mahi steaks then topped with lardons of nyman ranch bacon that had been blanched, and baked in a 450 oven(recipe tampered with from the new legal seafoods cookbook) red leaf salad with artichoke hearts and garlic stuffed green onions with italian salad dressing for dessert johnnybird has so far consumed 1/2 pint chocolate cookie crunch toffuti and a chocolate truffle and is heading for the vanilla soymilk rice pudding - or cheese and crackers

sigh today was chicken mcnuggets - and i haven't been to a mcdonald's in about 25 years. resisted the temptation.

our work party was scheduled for friday night but the caterers graciously let us move the date to yesterday. unfortunately that meant the party had to be in the library instead of at someone's home and it was in the middle of the day so no alcohol Grapevine Fine Wines in Rockaway did the catering(second party they have done for us in the last two months).there was plenty of food leftover for lunches today - sandwiches on really nice bread, layered cheese terrines, salads - pasta, antipasto, green; a tray of pasta with peas and mushrooms in a vodka sauce, bread stuffed with herb butter and a tray of cookies. it was ok but i miss the appetizer and dessert parties we always did at this time of year.

pigs in a blanket with honey mustard dip - and i still have an hour to go at work!!

cool, lou. actually my director had the book at lunch the other day and said "don't you eat at this place(american grill)" how 'bout the vegetable strudel recipe next time? that is one of the best things y'all serve

ah, but hillvalley you got jim cantore - we only had mike sidel up here(ignore if you are not weather channel freaks). yesterday was my regular day off and made it to the fish store and pathmark in order to lay in clams, smoked salmon, halibut and turkey breast on sale. had beef bones and ground beef already. made beef and turkey stock yesterday. roasted the turkey breasts and froze one. had baked halibut and stuffed clams with frozen green beans. johnnybirds breakfast today was a smoked salmon and fried egg sandwich. i just had some hot cocoa and headed out to shovel the seven inches that had accumulated. lunch was fish sandwich for john and leftover stuffing with turkey breast, gravy and cranberry relish for lunch. made up a batch of french onion soup with the beef stock. froze two quarts of turkey stock then used third to poach some danish meatballs for a danish meatball soup served over egg noodles(john was craving egg noodles). had that after we came in from the second round of shoveling - 11 inches at that point and it looks like we may have gotten another 1-2 inches. tomorrow will be french toast for breakfast, the onion soup for lunch and i have no idea what will be for dinner.... enjoy the snow(=mark your backyard looks an awful lot like mine!!!)

dvd soooo nice to know that you are using your local library. since i work thursday nights you would not believe the volume of dvd and video rental we do - my only question is : if it is a heavy snow and you lose power how do you watch them? borrow some books!!!!

- when you enter the restaurant there is no one else in it - except for the old guy snoozing on the couch in front of the television - the flowers on the table are all dead - the only drinks available are soda but no ice - the bread is cold, the butter is as well and there is a small green inchworm in it - your waitress turns out to be the person cooking all true in a restaurant in Catskill, NY about 15 years ago. we didn't leave earlier because my friend's mom, who we were treating, kept saying - "it has to get better"

depending on schedule(my boss's visitation schedule with his son - told him i would cover whenever he had visitation rights) johnnybird and i are in.

just watched the top 5 holiday (or something like that) show - i'm doing laundry and i can walk away when necessary a) he's in new hope, pa - need i say more to anyone in ny-nj- pa? b) he must monitor egullet since he had the tower of chocolate moose refer to him as mr. roker - then corrected it

is that for the $99 wedding special ?

but at least as long as we have - as our mothers/grandmothers termed it - "the curse" we are better pretected from heart disease. i do not mind this at all since i lost my nana when she was 52 and she entered menopause 20 years earlier. this is also why i am glorying in the fact i will be 5-0 next year. i am healthier than she was at the same age( i was born when she was 46 when i was born and already had health problems). i'm due next week though i haven't started the chicken wing cravings

you are a wonderful, sweet man saturday - the coq au vin (inspired by varmit's bistro question) is within 20 minutes of service with a baguette and some haricots verte dessert is something i'm trying to see if johnnybird likes it: graham cracker crust, thin sliced apples sauteed with spices, cooled, then combined with a quart of vanilla toffuti and mounded in the shell and refrozen tomorrow will be david rosengarten's recipe for crab imperial again - with enough leftover so we can have it for lunch monday. john keeps telling me all the people he works with love to see what he comes in with...