Christmas Eve in Tennessee

This holiday seasonwas like many before it, as far as the fact that I had lots of work to do. After a few years going elsewhere for the holiday, Dad and I decided to do it in Sewanee this year. I flew down Monday night and flew back Thursday, so it was very whirlwind and didn't allow for a lot of socialization. On Christmas Eve, we did have a thing. Cousin H. and his wife C. came by with the fixins for egg nog, the family recipe for which hasn't changed much in quite some time. I tried to take good photographs, but really didn't succeed much. Here are most of the relevant ingredients: sugar, egg whites, egg yolk, rum and bourbon...missing is the...

Whipped cream, to which I believe the liquor is being added? Though H. was quite good at giving me the step-by-step directions at the time, I didn't write them down. I know you need four bowls: three to mix the different ingredients (one for cream, one for egg whites, one for egg yolks, and one for serving) but where the sugar goes is, alas, lost to my brain at the moment.

Et voila, folding it all together into a magic, thick, peaked, wonderland of booze and sugar and glory. A.M.P and her son also joined us, as did C.'s son...but really there was a lot more nog than there were people to drink it.

I did my part by having three glasses. So thick. You could really consume it with a spoon as easily as you could sip it.

These two refused to have a decent photo of themselves be taken.

The house's architecture and relatively unique features are always slightly more impressive when the drapes aren't closed...but in the winter, it's also a much, much colder house when the drapes are open.

Cousin H. also brought a lovely selection of veggies, which he roasted in the kitchen. Asparagus, potatoes, parsnips, and carrots. Good stuff.

And Dad roasted a local leg of lamb, which turned out nice and pink...but not scarily so.

AMP contributed green beans and ham. Altogether a lovely meal.

Oh and AMP also brought flan.

Thanksgiving Dinner in Maryland

Dad and I returned to Maryland for another Thanksgiving dinner with the T.s. I began driving on Thanksgiving day and picked Dad up from the airport in Baltimore. Traffic was generally not bad and we made it to our old neighborhood during the daylight hours. The T.s were our across-the-way neighbors for pretty much my entire life. They and my parents went to Royal Ascot together for quite a number of years, and I really appreciate their ongoing family friendship and their willingness to include us in their holidays. Here is a very cute cream cheese Dorito pumpkin that B. made.

Here is the dinner table.

There were two kinds of turkey this year...I think one was a bourbon glazed variety, grilled...and the other perhaps a more traditional roasted turkey? I feel like this was the first year I really tried stuffing with oysters...I've never been a big stuffing person, but I have to say that particular stuffing (there were about 6 different varieties) really spoke to me.

As in past years, the birthdays of R. and me fall quite near the Thanksgiving holiday...so we each had the opportunity to blow out some candles and sing the 'happy birthday song to one another.

Mmmmmmm. Sweet heavenly dessert.

B. and T.'s nephew and his wife recently had a baby, who did quite well during the entire evening, I would say. Here is a picture of him meeting his cousin-uncle for the first time.

I really am thankful for being able to spend this holiday with a great group of folks whom I have known in one way or another for quite a number of years. I'll have to post some of the photos that B. and D. gave me for my birthday...major throwbacks from childhood, and images I feel like I've never seen or only saw at the time. Very neat.

Drinks, Mistakes and Snacks c/o Morgan's Pier

On Memorial Day I met up with CPM and R. on a bus. Our destination was Morgan's Pier. The outdoor bar/restaurant/club has a little of everything. Two bars, picnic tables and additional seating options, a view of the river, a view of the Benjamin Franklin bridge, games and playground equipment for the young and old, dance parties. You know it's like one of those clubs Stefon on SNL would talk about, except without midgets or terrible things you wouldn't actually want to have anything to do with. When we arrived at some point in the afternoon, it was already full of people. Most tables were already called for and spots at either bar were a bit limited. We mosied over to the smaller of the two bars to get our first round of drinks. On our approach I noticed B., a Bardian whom I don't really know, but with whom I am Facebook friends. He's a food/wine guy and was behind the bar doing something related to such expertise. We've only run into each other once in my time in Philly, but it was a pretty good run in. In any case CPM wanted to try their watermelon beer cocktail while R. and I were immediately drawn to the michelada option on the menu. We placed our orders and when it was time to lay down the cash, the bartender told us that B. had bought our drinks. Thanks B.! Of course we were accidental assholes so excited about getting free drinks that we totally forgot to still tip our bartender. And that is why you don't get nice things CC, because you just don't know how to reciprocate. Dear Bartender, we didn't mean to be assholes.

With drinks in hand we made a more concerted effort to find a spot to sit in the sun. Our timing was impeccable, as one large party was leaving just as we were sidling up to their particular table. We had a nice view of the bridge but less of a view of the river as much as the marina that skirts the entire Morgan's Pier area. I guess it's the pier itself? In any case, after taking a look at the menu I knew I wanted to try the shishito peppers and CPM knew that she wanted to try the really good fries. And that's just what we did. The peppers were nice and crispy tender and the dill dipping sauce was pretty great too...though I kind of wish it had been just an iota thicker or creamier, it would drip off the peppers making the entire process a little messier than it could have been. Fries were also decent and came with a special aioli.

After snacking and having another round of drinks (I tried the shandy), R. and CPM were itching to play some ping pong. It's not a game I'm particularly good at, so I basically just sat on a stool and watched for a while. We didn't get loaded and made our way back to our neighborhood while the sun was still very much in the sky. It was entirely a nice little day trip. The vibe during the day is pretty family friendly, while I know that come night fall things get far more bumpin'. I have every intention of going back again, overtipping whatever bartender I might have as penance, trying a burger and doing a little dancing.

Easter Sunday in Ohio

Easter Sunday for me started with prepping the macaroni and cheese I'd be contributing to my family's Sunday dinner. For most of the rest of the family, it began with church. Different strokes, different folks. Once K. and A. returned from church, we got ourselves together (they took off their fancy church clothes while I put on something other than my pajamas) and headed over to my aunt and uncle's house. A. went and picked up his kids, W. and K. and thus this photograph was possible.

And this one.

And this one, where it almost looks like W. doesn't have a head and is only a body carrying K. around.

M. and A. took control over the marinating and grilling of a number of veggies, which included asparagus, carrots and peppers.

A salad and a lot of fresh fruit were also available.

Not to mention a crock pot roasted turkey breast.

And a ham. And lactose-free potatoes and lactose-full macaroni and cheese (in this version there's a mix of cheddar, fontina, mozzarella, gouda, colby jack and that may be it).

As the family expands so do the tables L. and E. have to pull out so that we can all fit. But we do all fit!

Baby R. with some treat in her mouth I think.

This year was definitely chillier than last year. Fewer flowers had bloomed and jackets were definitely needed to fight off a chill in the air. While that's all true, it wasn't so cold or gloomy that kids couldn't make quick work finding the 64 plastic eggs I hid around the backyard.

And of course there were about a million different tasty sweet treats to choose from for dessert.

Brownies. Sweet potato cookies. Etc.

Another good Easter. We then watched more March madness, including that sad moment for the player with the leg from Louisville.

Disappointing Dim Sum c/o Ocean Harbor

Earlier this month I sent out the call for interested dim sum participants, of which there were a few. You can't really do dim sum without a critical mass of at least two, but really an ideal number is closer to four or six. With the help of BC's more extended social Philly network we got to four. Leave it to me to plan a dim sum outing on the Chinese Lunar New Year. Lines are always an issue with dim sum if you go much past 11, but on a holiday? Pissssssh, the worst. Of course I didn't actually understand it was a holiday until I was walking to Chinatown from Market Street and firecrackers were being lit all over the place. But thwarted I was not going to be. BC had arrived just a bit before I had, and already had a number in hand. Thus began the epic standing in the crushingly full lobby/stairs area waiting for our number to be called. We were joined by BC's friends S. and A. Eventually we got to the top of the stairs and our number was called. I'm not going to lie that I was pretty much entirely non-plussed and totally annoyed that we were then seated at the table immediately at the top of the stairs where a good 50+ people were all waiting for their numbers to be called. This crowd of humanity spilled up to the stairs and into the aisle between our table and another set of tables. Not only did this mean that people were constantly bumping my chair and generally breathing down my neck, but it also resulted in a complete barricade between the carts and our table. None of the cart ladies bothered to push through and we were simply sitting there sipping tea and craning to see what was going on. I get it, it's a holiday, space is at capacity. But seriously, why even have a table if the patrons are going to struggle and grump to get any service? Sigh. Between an arched eyebrow to the manager on C.'s part and my literally getting up and going to carts to get additional snacks and point out our unserviced table, we did ok, but I didn't see a number of my favorite treats. No shrimp dumplings. No sesame balls.

Not as large a variety of dumplings on display. My suspicion is that they were grabbed by folks seated right by the kitchen in the slightly less densely populated areas of the space. If I had been in such a spot I would certainly be pleased with myself.

Chinese broccoli was decent.

I know that this crowded madness was a result of the holiday, but this is the third time I abandoned my generally favored Joy Tsin Lau to give Ocean Harbor a shot and I was simply not impressed. Dim sum is always a pretty cutthroat process - you really gotta work to get those dumplings, or more tea, or a glass of water - and generally that's part of its charm. But this was not charming, holiday or no. That said, I was glad to get a little taste of dim sum after quite a lull. And it was good to see BC and meet some of her buds.

New Year's Eve Oysters, Salad and Champagne c/o McCrossen's

For the last two years I very much enjoyed spending New Year's Eve with M&A and members of their respective families, but this year that was not to be.  I toyed with the idea of doing as I did when I first moved to Philly: pretend that the holiday was not taking place and stay safely at home, acoiding the crowds, the cold, the lack of person to kiss at midnight, and the terrible difficulty of finding a cab. No fanfare. This is an appealing approach in part because the next day is, for me, just another day at work. In other words, New Year's Day isn't a holiday, so one can't enjoy themselves too heartily if they are required to wake up at a decent hour and use their brain in any meaningful way.  While staying in certainly had its merits, I ultimately decided that I'm not getting any younger, and that I'll have plenty of years later in life to enjoy the curmudgeonly and shut-in like tendencies I've described above. So, instead, I joined up with LW and Ak for a different plan. A plan that involved leaving my house and getting a bit dressed up. But it was also a plan that allowed us to skirt some of my least favorite aspects of the holiday. It was in the neighborhood, so no worries about cabs. And we had a reservation, so no worries about finding a place to sit. You probably won't be too terribly surprised to learn that we ended up at McCrossen's. For eating, I chose to try two of their specials: the fried oysters and the salad lyonnaise. The oysters were definitely crispy, but not quite as daintily fried as the oyster that came in the chowder I enjoyed in December.

 I'm a true lover of a good Salad Lyonnais, and this one's egg to frisee ratio was pretty good. I would have actually enjoyed just a smidge more dressing.

 The one thing I'll need to do a bit more research on, is just what champagnes we enjoyed, and the order in which we enjoyed them. Over the course of our evening we consumed three bottles. All of which were good, though the first two were particularly delightful.

 I dressed myself up a bit. That bow is from a gift box. Classy.

 This was ringing in the New Year proper midnight style. You'll note that T. has both the champagne of beers and a glass of champagne. Or wait, is Miller High Life the champagne of beers? So perhaps Coors Light could be, like, the Prosecco of beers?

 Now this is a funny photograph because it seems very much like AK is trying to tell me something, and I am far more intent on a photograph.

Well it was definitely a more boisterous evening than the NYEs I've enjoyed of late. But it was a balance on the whole, or at least in many a way. In other words, I was able to function at work.

Christmas Dinner

After our champagne and cheese hour, it was time for the main event, in which I had no hand. NC Catherine handled the meat and and potatoes, and I think J was responsible for the veggies that graced the table.

Above are the very cheesy scalloped potatoes NCC put together, and a salad that made us feel like we were totally within our rights to take seconds on the cheesy potatoes. The logic there is flawless.

Ah meat, glorious, glorious meat. I forget what this was, but NCC did a great job of making sure there were cuts of nice and rare meat for those of us who gravitate towards the pink, while also ensuring those who prepare their meat more well done could also fare quite well.

I must admit, I kept eating and eating, drinking and drinking. It was hard to stop when everything was so good!

Working to prevent unnecessary double chins, maybe?

Cousins as cousins do.

These were ostensibly to get a sense of the lighting conditions for a group shot of the whole family clan, but it went a little awry.

This terrifying photograph is of J. and myself doing 'Gagnam Style.' Terrrrrifying.

The green belt is a Christmas gift from NCC. I will not tell you what we're laughing about, but we know. Oh, we know.

Then Dad got into the action.

And did his funny weird face.

Eventually the dogs got bored and wanted in as well.

And that was pretty much a wrap for Christmas. We all walked the N.'s back to their house, stayed up a bit more and then poof! holiday times were over.