No 'What's for Dinner?' tonight?

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

I admit I have no idea how this is organized, or even if it is organized, but I was really looking forward to posting my 'Chicken parm you taste so good...' comment in tonight's 'WFD', since I almost never actually have chicken parm, but did tonight.

Also getting most of the rest of the holiday tray items together for our vet and her staff, the folks at our local bird food supply store, and a few other local small businesses we frequent. Did the chocolate-dipped strawberries tonight, and finishing baking up a few more batches of cookies to go along with the jam. That finally frees up the kitchen for me to get started on springerle, which mostly go to friends and family. I've been gifted with several new springerle molds to try out this season, so I'm looking forward to doing some non-traditionally flavoured peppermint wreaths, maybe do some in orange or coffee or maple for the sleigh mold.

[bif]

1. I haven't made Chicken Parm in years

Maybe I'll make that tomorrow. Although my oldest daughter has been whining about eating healthy for the next week because it's going to get real decadent around Xmas.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

2. A little decadence once in a blue moon is a good thing

if you can afford it. From a public health standpoint, I like to see people buying and eating 'healthy', but from a human standpoint, I know all too well the allure of 'comfort food'.

[NJCher]

3. funny--chicken parm must be in the ether

'Cuz yesterday I made the most incredible tomato sauce for it. I am so looking forward to using it to make chicken parm tomorrow.

Erich, I thought of you tonight when the RG rolled out some blackberry preserves! What he did with them was nothing short of fabulous. He made a crumb mixture using almond biscotti. This had some of the blackberry preserves mixed in. Then he took honeycrisp apple slices and put a little blackberry mixture on each one. They were arranged so nicely on one of our artsy type dishes, with the crumb mixture on the base and the apple slices in a circle around it.

Anyway, he made the preserves, but he had to buy the blackberries, unlike being able to get them off our own bushes.

Your holiday baking endeavors sound like a dream, especially the peppermint wreathes!

Tonight we had a guest for dinner and the RG fixed three different types of meats: lamb, pork, and steak. In the middle of each dish was zucchini, garlic, and olive oil. We had a bottle of white and two bottles of red.

For dessert, the above-mentioned apples with blackberry mixture.




Cher

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

5. That does sound pretty yummy, and makes me think of a couple of other things I've

been thinking about. First, trying my hand at baking biscotti sometime, and second considering ordering another apple tree. We have a red delicious and a golden delicious out back, but we've got space for one more along that fence, and Seed Savers is offering 40 heritage varieties for sale, one of which has apparently been kept in propagation from Germany in the late 1500s. You have to wait a year to get it after ordering, since they have to graft each one from a splice from their existing trees onto rootstock. I also really need to work on pruning both the apples and the black cherries, they've all sort of gotten away from me, and I need to get them back into shape.

I also can't recall if I've mentioned it in other comments, but I'm looking into planting some saffron crocus, but it looks like I missed the season, they should have been planted in the fall. So I'll have to wait til next year to start on those. Still, growing my own will be far cheaper than buying saffron.

[locks]

8. Just read that Afghanistan farmers are being taught

how to grow saffron; maybe the price will come down! Hope they make more money than growing opium but probably not. It was reasonable in Spain and I enjoyed bringing some home.

[fizzgig]

4. i'm starting with a baked potato

husband didn't leave me any of last night's kinda green chili so i had to punt. i may have a bowl of cereal later, but that depends on how much beer i drink.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

7. I've been doing those for my dogs of late.

The baked potatoes, that is. One of them is starting to show signs of kidney problems, and has been losing a lot of weight, so we're trying to add some extra carbs to his diet. For now we're trying a medium-small baked potato extra each day, to see if he can at least stop losing weight, and hopefully even maybe put a little bit back on.

[PennyK]

6. I know! That commercial...

...when the football guy (don't know who he is) sings to his dinner and then takes that bit - it gets me too.