So...whats for dinner?

Happy Boxing Day!

It all went well in the end. Christmas Eve dinner was delicious, though my mother and sister didn't arrive until 8:45pm so we were HUNGRY. Since the four of us were enjoying some wine, I did serve the mushrooms, eggs and cheese before they arrived. Just can't drink wine on an empty stomach, and boy was my stomach empty. After mother and sister left at 11:30, I got to work on the Sticky Buns, rolling and shaping. Those go into the fridge to slowly rise overnight. And then I finished my wrapping. And then I got to play SusanSanta. Finally crawled into bed around 3am. Husband got up at 4am to pull the sticky buns and loaf of bread from the fridge, and then we were both up at 7am to start prepping the rest of the breakfast. Miracle of miracles, the doughs had risen just the right amount by my 8am deadline for throwing them in the oven. We all opened our stockings and then I got back to work. The bacon cooked a bit too quickly, and the sausage was perfect. Scrambled eggs for 5 and fried eggs for one. [I am becoming a short order cook around here!] A few tree gifts and then we all just sat around to chat. And then, in a whirlwind, they were all off and it was just the two of us again.

My stomach couldn't handle more of this Christmas food so I made a Turkish red lentil soup for supper which I enjoyed with a couple of the leftover spanikopita. Husband did the same, with the addition of two of the lamb ribs.

The lemon marmalade is terrific! My mother had a jar to take home, so she is happy. Now I need to make a bunch more over the next few days, before the lemons get too old. I have more spanikopita filling that I need to put inside phyllo. But what I really need to do is knock out some significant client work. Lots and lots of client work.

These holidays are a lot of work, I must say. Good thing that there are really only two big ones a year. It would be nice if they were not quite so close together.

*susan*

Next large batch of marmalade is doing its 24-hour-hang-in-the-wter bit. Lunch was the rest of the lentil soup with a bit of pita and the leftover deviled eggs. Sounds like a strange lunch but it was really good. There is a Haiku for Fun board? I will have to find it to read your thoughts Moon.

*susan*

Susan, it sounds as if your Christmas was a happy one.  I know the food was delicious. 

Eric, that's an interesting story about your grandmother's soda bread and your figuring out the name.  Did it turn out good this Christmas?

I'm enjoying a quiet afternoon after playing golf this morning.  I really did NOT want to get up this morning at 7 am but I was obligated to show up at 9 am.  And it turned out to be a nice day for golf.  The high was in the 60's and the sun was in and out.  I enjoyed being outside.

The last two days were rather intense with all the cooking.  Then dh and I had to transport multiple dishes to my sister's house.  A couple of nephews, one with wife and daughter, showed up with no forewarning.  I felt bad that I didn't have a gift for them.  DH is into wood turning these days and he had made beautiful wooden ball point pens for all the adults in my family who were expected to be present.  You buy the "innards" and turn the body of the pens out of different kinds of wood. 

I am so happy that Thanksgiving and Christmas have come and gone.  No holiday blues for me. 

Nancy, I'm looking forward to hearing about your NOLA reveillon dinner. 

Susan, my soon to be 92-yr-old mother (birthday tomorrow) got an I-Pad for Christmas, a gift from my youngest brother.  She has never used a computer so it will be interesting to see if she can learn to operate the I-Pad.  She's very motivated.  It will be a hoot if she can keep up with what is being posted on Facebook by her "friends." 

auntie - I wish I was too, but I'm not. I did a lot yesterday and I'm paying today - have spent the day in bed. I am very congested and now starting to cough, ugh! Thanks for the good wishes though - I appreciate it.

Special - I can't imagine anything worse than being sick at Christmas. Hope you've turned the corner.

I went to my niece's house and it's just far enough away (3//12 hours) that I didn't cook any dishes to contribute. I did take wine and a loaf of home made raisin bread for breakfast that a friend had baked. The niece is 8+ months pregnant but absolutely doesn't worry about anything. Wish I could be that way. Dinner was to have been at 5pm Christmas night. At 7pm I'm shaking flatware at people who showed up & haven't decided if they are going to stay for dinner or not. Ended up w/10 for dinner instead of 7 - Honey Baked Ham, mashed sweet potatoes, fresh asparagus, some homemade cranberry thing, No body but me was worried that there were no rolls (my own Mother's specialty). Gluten free cherry pie for dessert, as well as Edwards chocolate & key lime. Dishwasher started w/one load last night.

When we assembled for breakfast, which was leftovers, my niece in law emptied the dishwasher & my nephew loaded the huge pile of dishes that had been soaking in the sink all night. So breakfast - I had chocolate pie & home made jerkey, my pregnant niece had yogurt & leftover yams, my niece in law had warmed over chili con-queso from Central Market & raisin bread, my BIL picked at cold ham from a zip lock bag, my nehew in law had gone to work, my SIL has Celiac disease so who knows what she ate. Definitely a relaxed Christmas. Like I said - I wish I could be that way & it was thoroughly enjoyable but I'm probably too old to change.

Thanks to all of you for your friendship. It's always special logging on to this thread to see what's new.

Thanks everyone! Just talked to my DS who works in the ER - he said they had about 100 cases of flu last night (he worked overnight) and he said it will take about two weeks until I feel better - I'm a week in, so I'm half way. It has been years since I have had an upper resp deal like this. Ugh! I'm watching cooking shows I recorded and leafing through magazines.

Special, UGH is right. Maybe even $*#*$#! ...sigh..... Being sick over the holidays just plain sucks.

Yes, the zimmet kuchen came out very well. My brother fondly remembers it as well, so it was kind a memory lane trip for him. I gave the recipe and notes to his wife. She said she had not seen him so "nostalgic" over a recipe in a very long time and was hoping she could make it as well.

susan - I think there is a difference between tradition and being old fashioned. There was just DH, DD and me but you better believe we had great food on Christmas plates, with damask napkins! I think sometimes our kids need time to see the comfort and continuity in tradition.

eric - the good news is that it looks like we are doing our Christmas next weekend - presents and another dinner and breakfast, when DS comes, so I will have an opportunity for a re-do and hopefully be healthy!

I had a moment of distress the day before Christmas. I was making the brioche dough and the mixer started to smell like overheated oil, and it made horrid noises, and then it simply stopped running. Thank goodness the kid's mixer was in the basement, so we swapped them out, and I finished up the dough. This is the third mixer I have owned, same model. This is the wimpiest of them all, and yet, is the one that has lived the longest. Technically, I have a lifetime warranty on this thing at my local shop, but I plugged it in today and it does run again. However, I will never trust it to make bagels, pretzels, or brioche again. To be honest, I had hoped mine had totally died so I could get a new one by exchange, in a fancy box, sell it, and use the proceeds to fund a new one.

Here is the thing. I like bagels. I like pretzels. My family loves Christmas brioche. I hate tools that aren't reliable. So, I own the KitchenAid Professional 610 [red if anyone cares] and am starting to consider what I would buy to replace.

There is this model, which seems to have a larger capacity, but lower wattage. Good warranty and I could continue to use the attachments I already own: http://www.webstaurantstore.com/kitchenaid-ksmc895...

The Cuisinart, which I haven't found many reviews for. The attachment options are fairly limited. http://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-SM-70-7-Quart-12-S...

Ummmm.... sits on the floor at 62 lbs! I don't think attachments are an option. In fact, this might be a bit over the top unless I removed the first floor half bath. http://www.everythingkitchens.com/globe_commercial...

And finally, this KitchenAid. I don't understand the difference between this one and the first one, though the attachment hub is described differently: http://www.webstaurantstore.com/kitchenaid-ksm8990...

What do you guys own? And would you buy it again? And do you make dense doughs?

*susan*

Susan, the 610 is the one I had that got killed by the power surge a year or so ago. I replaced it with the cuisinart 5.5 quart I love the cuisinart but I'm not sure you would. It's very much lighter than the KA, one of the reasons I chose it. It has handled everything I've thrown in it, but it does seem to struggle some with a whole batch of bagels. I've found things work better if I split the batch in two. I've made other sticky or dense doughs in it with no problem. I'm assuming it's the volume. The larger model may not have that issue. A couple of things I don't like about it are it doesn't whip cream nearly as quickly as the KA (minor), and the pasta attachments suck (major). They got returned to the store. I've never had it threaten to quit on me, unlike two previous KAs that actually DID quit, which is how I ended up with the 610. I love the timer, how easy it is to clean and the weight. Also it's overall performance.

I waffled and stewed about a replacement. I feel your pain.

Haha, you snuck in there while I was typing on this beast, Nancy.

I hate it when stuff is "X number of watts" or "Y number of amps". Those numbers give a kinda-sorta-somewhat-glimpse of what it will do if pushed to the absolute limit, but the real question to ask is, "How long will it work at that level before it overheats or gives up?" and no one will ever give a straight answer to that question.

My mom had a Hobart mixer that I think could have doubled as a cement mixer. It dimmed the lights when it was turned on. I had no room for the thing (wished I did have the room), so they sold it a bakery right before they moved over here.

The hobart is my third link.... looks like one hell of a machine!

Lacey,

Have you read the Site Thread? Lots of people have problems with their iPad on this site.... might not be your iPad.

The Globe seems extravagant, and then I would have to buy a pasta machine and a meat grinder. Damn this is a large question!

*susan*

susan...I'd better check that out....but the pad is not behaving well overall, just that this is the worst place to try to type....incredibly unstable.

Now I am getting a kick out of an image of a new giant mixer owning the downstairs "throne" in your house.What a surprise for guests!