semi-coherent ramblings and such....

As many people know I am no domestic diva. I have never been admired for my culinary prowess and have, on more occasions than I'd like to admit, made huge fiascoes of seemingly simple dishes. Chef Ramsey would never be proud of me. Last night however, it all turned around....could this be a new leaf or was I just lucky?? In what can only be described as a lapse in sanity, I volunteered to host an early Christmas with T's family. This meant that I had to plan and prepare the requisite turkey dinner. To be honest, as a vegetarian, I don't understand why everyone expects some sort of meat on a bone and all the fixings on special occasions, but I was game to try. And in the spirit of a little healthy (and private) competition, I decided that this could not be the simple dinner of days gone by. No, this dinner had to rival even my own grandma's turkey dinner. Those are some pretty lofty expectations as my grandma could kick Martha's ass in the kitchen. I made a list, went to the store, planned and prepared and in the end, I think I pulled it off. The 18 pound turkey was stuffed and cooked to perfection. Nothing came out of a box, even the salad dressing was made from scratch! I'm sure there are people out there who can recall my very first attempt at making a Christmas dinner in 2001. The poor chicken was so dry that there were concerns that the friction from the carving knife would some how cause it to self ignite. Copious amounts of wine were needed to choke back that meal. I'd love to say that I'm sitting here all pleased with my accomplishment, but to be honest, I'm waiting for someone to call saying they've come down with food poisoning.