Christmas Dinner Buca Style

Ok, I don't think I have ever gone out to dinner on Christmas to a restaurant. That is until this Christmas. Because my daughter couldn't come here, we went there or close to it. We went to Buca de Beppa for Christmas dinner. The place is right in the middle of the big city, complete with all the lights, and hustle and bustle. Except the bustle was not so much on Christmas night. But I digress. The place is authentic Italian food in HUGE helpings. We ordered some things individual servings and others as family style. Yum! And since both my birthday and my daughter's birthday were within 7 days of our time there, we received brownie sundaes, complete with ice cream and whipped topping. But we didn't stop there. We ordered the 28 inch dessert platter with 4 towering desserts. And my oldest daughter ordered her own piece of cake. We didn't eat it all, but we tried. Those left overs will take soooooo good and remind us of the wonderful Christmas dinner we had together. The guilt I was feeling for making the people work on Christmas soon dissipated as we wound our way through all the people waiting for their turn to gorge on the delicious food.

The Original Fruitcake, Did It Taste Better?

My aunt called and asked for my grandmother's fruitcake recipe. After digging through several recipe boxes, I found three of my grandmother Rachel's, and one from a magazine. I remember helping make a table full of fruitcakes for Christmas. We spent all day cutting the 16 cups of fruit and 7 cups of nuts that when into the cakes. Then we poured the heavy batter into tin cans, such as green bean or soup cans, and even coffee cans. Those with a wider diameter had toilet paper rolls placed in the center. The recipe said to bake them 3 hours and 45 minutes. Wow! That's was like baking a large turkey. None of the recipes gave a yield of cakes. I can't remember who my family gave the fruitcakes to, but they were always loved and devoured. Perhaps we have changed in our tastes or maybe good desserts are so available to us that fruitcakes are not appealing. Or maybe the ones mass produced are not really as good. I know that I will NOT be making any from scratch so that I can compare. I wonder if any of grandmother's fruitcake recipients still have a cake or two?

The Highly Anticipated/Dreaded Fall Party

As I arrived at school yesterday, I noticed that the children were a little more alive/out of control. I thought it was because of the Fall Party scheduled for later in the day. As we began class, I asked who had been trick or treating so far? About half of the class raised their hands. Then I asked who had eaten candy? About five admitted to eating candy for breakfast. No wonder they were so hyped. The day zoomed by quickly and their activities and volume escalated to a feverish pitch. At the time I could stand it no more, the party was ready to begin with parents AND siblings. At least half of the children brought something to share, so their plates were overflowing with iced cookies, candy, gum, and SUGAR. There were colored sprinkles all over the new carpet along with green punch spilled. I had to resort to blowing the whistle, literally, when it was time to clean up so that they could hear me over the noise. After the third blow they calmed to a low roar and began stuffing leftover candy, cookies and toys in their bags and prepared to go home. I knew that their parents would be so proud of them and their behavior as they arrived home for the evening. And I did not contribute one bite of sugar.

Covered Bridge Festival, the Ultimate Yard Sale

Have you ever heard of the Covered Bridge Festival? Millions of people trek to Park County, Indiana, to attend the event. It is scattered throughout several little villages, all complete with covered bridges. On the off season, you would not venture into most of the places or even see them as you sped by. But during the festival, people flock from many states away to attend the fall event. Food, junk, junk food, antiques, crafts, junk, knick-knacks, junk, "I can't believe they are selling THAT", spices, food, very old antiques, glass dishes, ice cream, jewelry, shoes, clothing, Christmas decorations, junk, food, junk food, sweatshirts, t-shirts, recycled items, repurposed items, food, junk, socks, purses, signs, equipment, and food are all for sale. On a good day, you can fill you car with your purchases. On a lucky day, you can come home empty-handed. It all depends on how you look at it. I'm going today to see people, eat foods I don't normally eat, and look for that rare item, probably something repurposed that becomes my trophy.

Where's the Beef?

I'm starving. What is for supper? I'd ask hubby to take me out but it is too rainy and cold. Guess I could warm up some soup beans. Does that sound desperate or what?

A Small Serving of Pickled Chicken Feet

Hope this doesn't gross you out. It is just not the same as if you have the smell of the pickling along with the cooked "chicken" in the heat of the day when you are already sick to your stomach from the heat. I was going to try one, but after I watched this man wallow the foot around in his mouth for several minutes, then spit out the bones, I couldn't do it. Makes me want to barf right now just talking about it. But it was worth it, cause my students at school are totally impressed with me after seeing these pictures.

Lunch Date

Monday I had a staff meeting all day at our school as we are preparing to open with kids on Thursday. We broke for lunch at 11:00, several groups going in several different directions. I was joining the group going for pizza when I noticed a sweet little face approaching the school doors. Toots and her dad had come to invite me to lunch. She wanted to take me to her favorite place to eat. So, I went with her. Just as we were finishing our meal, Toots turns to me and thanks me for allowing her to take me to lunch and pay for it. And my heart melted a little. Don't think the staff group would have said that.

Let's Order Mom's Pizzas

Hubby and I entertained two of our children and their spouses for dinner last night. Ally and I made whole wheat crust pizzas. Yum! I could have eaten one entire pizza by myself. Had to give the leftovers away so I wouldn't be tempted to indulge today.

Happy Father's Day, Dad

Father's Day was one of my dad's favorite holidays. It wasn't about the presents or the cards he received. He simply enjoyed the whole family getting together, eating favorite foods, talking, laughing, and telling jokes. As he aged, he participated less each year. But he wouldn't be far from the action, sitting in a comfortable chair, listening intently to all that took place. My dad passed away 18 months ago. He enjoyed a long 88 years and 62 Father's Days.

Easter Enjoyed and Remembered

Easter festivities, church services, food, and the CANDY are just pleasant memories. Well, the candy might have some lasting effects in the way of weight gain. I tried not to eat much by purposely buying candy that I do not like. I tried, that is until my oldest daughter left behind a bagful of chocolates. I think she even put my name on the bag. Thanks, daughter. I'll take it to school for emergencies when I am under so much stress, which could be every day. Thanks to my children, children-in-law, and grandkids for spending Easter with us. We had such a good time hunting eggs, laughing, and enjoying the food together.

Fun with the Girls

I had a great day yesterday! I took my sister, sister-in-law, and granddaughter out to eat at a quaint restaurant, then on to look at flowers in bloom in local garden stores. We talked, laughed, and shared the day away. And with Toots along, there was never a dull moment. Toots sat in the back with my sister and had a playful rough housing (like she has with her dad) while on the way to the eatery. My sis aimed to please and did not realize where the play was headed. Toots pinched my sister's cheek as if she were her daddy. I had to put a stop to it only to have Toots give me some excuse about how my sister liked it. Ha! Don't think that rosie cheek is from make-up. Just hope the cheek doesn't bruise. Maybe Sis should have turned the other cheek so she would have a matching pair.

Just One Dessert Please

We went out to eat to celebrate the birthday of our daughter-in-law. After the meal we ordered only two desserts for five people. The birthday girl needed help from her hubby and dad, but still could not finish the dessert. We couldn't help eat on it because we got the one pictured next.

This is the dessert that I ordered, tiramisu. Hubby helped me eat on it, but we ended up taking more than half of it home. You definitely get your money's worth at this restaurant, but unfortunately, you get your weight's worth too.

More Adventures with Toots

Since my school was cancelled for the second day due to the 12 inches of snow we had received, I kept my granddaughter again overnight and all day. She was up early and began vomiting right after breakfast. Daddy came to bring medicine to see if that would help. She felt better, slept 2 hours and decided she still wanted to go to her favorite restaurant for lunch. I tried to talk her out of it, but was unsuccessful. (You pick your battles with this strong-willed child.) So, we made our way to the Mexican restaurant of her choice. She ordered her favorite, minus the cheese dip. After eating, she turned to me and said, "Mimi, I'm going to throw up!" With those words, she started retching. (I thought one of the gentlemen across the way would let his eyes pop out of his head.) We made it to the restroom where a few more deep retchings occurred. Then she quietly stood one foot from the commode... Okay, I'll stop the blow by blow description, but will close by saying I had to clean the hinge area of the stool thoroughly! By the time mom picked her up to go home, she felt much, much better. In fact, she was bouncing off the walls by bedtime. I'm doing okay, if I don't think about the stool hinges.

Luxury and Tight Quarters

Hubby and I went out to eat with our son and daughter-in-law for her birthday. Her father also went along. We met the son at a parking lot and all got in his vehicle, one of those crossover models. The parents sat in the back of the 5 passenger car. Son took off before we could get our seat belts on. So he had to stop and wait. We had a big laugh because it was such tight quarters that we couldn't put our belts on at the same time. And with the doors closed, there was no where to lean to give the others more room. On our return trip, hubby waited outside the car while her dad buckled, then me in the middle, and finally he got in and buckled. Wonder if that is in the owner's manual?

Christmas Remembered

The excitement is over. The Christmas Eve service at church is done. The food eaten. The gifts all unwrapped. The trash has been carried out. The dishes done. All that remain are decorated trees and memories. And both are beautiful. We had several gifts for our granddaughter to unwrap. Her mission was to unwrap the gifts regardless of what was in the box. When she unwrapped the 4-cup coffee maker, she excitedly said, "I have my own coffee pot." Then she quickly went on to the next gift, not saying anything like, "I don't drink coffee." For all we know, she will awaken one of these mornings and wonder where her coffee pot is! Hubby and I came up with an idea of giving gag gifts with redeemable-for-cash coupons attached. The only stipulation was that the gifts had to be accepted and taken home. Instead of spending more money on "stuff " we found our kids' treasures that they have left behind when they moved out. I never heard them laugh so hard when the gifts revealed used make-up from the early 90s, expired food that the child purchased many years ago and left behind, or a college textbook that seemed untouched. We found these treasures in their old rooms. I think hubby and I had as much fun as they did as we carefully made our selections from the vast array of treasures. One of our children tried to trash one of the items saying that it was so old and not of use any more. We suggested that they come one day and help go through the treasures/trash and dispose of it properly. We were careful not to promise that they would see them as gifts next year.

A Time for Celebration

In celebration of my birthday, we, as a family, went out to eat at Buca de Bepa. We got to eat in the Pope room. Since I am not catholic, I was not intimidated by the bust of the Pope in the middle of our round table or bothered by the consternation on the face of the nun staring over my shoulder. But the naked body parts on the domed ceiling were a bit troubling for the younger ones in the crowd. We laughed a lot, ate too much, and had a very good time. The place is pricey, but then I only have a birthday once a year. One of our children suggested that we also count the meal as a celebration for our anniversary yet to come this month. I'm surprised they didn't include Christmas with it. Sure would have been cheaper for us. Just kidding, children. Remember, we paid for the two bread appetizers and the dessert.

Weiner Roast

Went to a wiener roast last night in the cold and the wind. My brother had built a big fire to help keep us warm and cook our supper. It was a lot of fun sitting and visiting with one another. As kids growing up, we spent many of time doing the same thing for our mid-day meal. We owned an apple orchard and were forever working in it. On the weekends we had to trim and cut limbs and burn the brush. So we had the opportunity to enjoy many wiener roasts. It never gets old or out of style.

I was looking up how many insect parts we eat in peanut butter and came across the book The Eat-A-Bug Cookbook. It was on amazon to be purchased. I read some to the reviews and laughed outloud at the first one. The author has cooked several of the dishes and his family loves them. His son is fond of crickets. He said it has opened a whole new world for them. But the best thing that it has done is he is no longer asked to bring food for a carry-in dinner at work. We had something similar happen when our children were in grade school. They showed goats in the 4-H fair. So one year we had one, the really mean one, ground up into sausage. For more than a year our kids would not eat anything I made that contained meat, unless it was chicken. I don't think they ever tasted how good that goat could really was, deep down, under her skin!

Blue Hairs Special

Our family went out to eat and celebrate the birthday of my husband. We arrived at a famous restaurant and received two menus, one being the Early Bird Special. My husband was impressed at the savings on the meals until we saw that the choices were quite limited. That being said, I ordered a four ounce steak from the Early Bird menu. All the other items such as salad bar came with the discounted meal. I was surprised when the steak arrived to see that it was almost the same size as the steaks of the others in our party and was more than enough meat for me. As you get older, it becomes easier to accept the ammenities offered to the "blue hairs" and not be offended. In fact, we blue hairs become entitled. If you are not understanding this part of my blog, guess you will just have to wait till you are closer to my age. Then you will fully comprehend.

Bullfrogs Eat Butterflies

Can't sleep so decided to get up and get some things done. I've been wanting to know more about our bullfrog or "go frog" as Toots calls him so decided to google. Very interesting information. Did you know that a bullfrog eats just about anything? I watched a video that I can't seem too load (lucky for you) that shows a bullfrog eating a trantula, full-sized bird, snake, and even an small bullfrog. YUCK! I don't want that bullfrog to live out in our pond! No wonder he or she (Did you know that there are female bullfrogs?) came to live in our Koi pond. He has 7 beautiful Koi swimming around, just waiting to be his next meal. They have been so skiddish and understandably so. Hubby has ordered tadpoles. Not a good idea. He, the bullfrog will be so happy when they arrive.