Today was a disaster on so many levels. At the top of the list was the gut-wrenchingly disappointing loss my Snow Monkeys suffered in fantasy football league play. It was an especially bitter loss since all the projections had me winning. As a result, I ended up feeling like a Mitt Romney supporter on election night. Wha – happened?
Just as disastrous was my attempt at making chocolate-covered ice cream sandwiches. I followed the recipe to the letter and ended up with these:
Wha- happened?
Well, unless you’re using an industrial freezer, I don’t know how you can dip frozen ice cream sandwich in hot chocolate without having the ice cream melt out. Or end up with a dauntingly thick chocolate shell.
On the bright side, Ivon provided the main course: slow-cooked pulled pork shoulder tacos. The sole highlight of my day:
I can look forward to spending the rest of my night parked in front of a laptop, trying to finish the third act of this script.
Sigh.
You know what would help? A delicious Thanksgiving dinner. On the one hand, Canada has already celebrated Thanksgiving – in typical Canadian fashion, with maple eggnog and a nice stuffed beaver. On the other hand, I have all of you. So, come this Thursday, I’m inviting myself over to your place. While I’ll be watching football over here, I’ll be enjoying what you’re preparing over there. Post pics (or links to pics) of what you’re serving on the big day. No pressure, but I’ve always wanted to try one of those roasted TurDuChiPheaCorSquaQuail (quail inside a squab inside a cornish game hen inside a pheasant inside a chicken inside a duck inside a turkey).
P.S. I also like a good pecan pie..
Come on over .. I’m only a few hours drive away!
@Joe:
I won’t have any pics until Wednesday at the earliest, but I could post my grandmother’s pecan pie recipe…can you get papershell pecans in Vancouver?
On the chocolate covered ice cream, maybe it would help to lower the melting point of the chocolate (by adding heavy cream maybe?) I haven’t looked at the ingredients on the magic shell stuff, but the chocolate toppings I’ve made flowed better using a little cream.
How do you get the monkeys to act so emo for your pics?
—
You up for flying into Columbus for Thanksgiving? My sister has plenty of room.
Can you stick the ice cream in a dry ice cooler for a bit?
http://www.wellseasonedlife.com/2010/11/pecan-pie-cookies.html
C’mon on down! Bring the dawgs,our Thanksgiving is very traditional,sorry nothing out of the ordianry,just all homemade. Well, maybe not the pumpkin pie, but the banana pudding,well not the pudding part, but everything else.
Thanksgiving at our house will be seafood soup, but you’re welcome to come, as long as Bubba, Luly and Jelly come as well. 🙂
Here’s a pic of Lauren at her baby shower last night.
http://i656.photobucket.com/albums/uu284/pbugsmom/babyshower14.jpg
Glad to read that Dark Matter may make it to the small screen and best wishes for the other projects. 🙂
This is interesting:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-20365355
Sorry about the snow monkeys (nice description). But then I have rooted for the Vi(qu)ings for years. My company plans a lovely traditional Thanksgiving meal for those working that day. We day shifters will get pancakes, hashbrowns w/ sausage and California styled(?) vegetables. Could you save me a slice of pie, oh and maybe some ice cream on the side? Hey, is beaver as good as bbq squirrel?
Speaking of food, I tried your recipe for the perfect pork chop. The cooking technique worked great and will incorporate it into my other dishes. I do enjoy cooking with rosemary.
Just give me a spoon and the ice cream won’t go to waste, looks really good, even if it didn’t gel like you wanted. Ok and Ivon, pulled pork, again looks delicious, are you sharing the how to and what with?? Lulu is sharing the..love…sorry to Lawren on the receipt of the Lulu step~~cracker. owie. Rob is saying, stay away from my plate .and my football picks…
We got some ham and will have mashed and maybe pecan tarts. The menu is still in the planning stages. The grocery will be closed on Thanksgiving so I better get moving. You are welcome to join in., and oh yes, plan on taking a nap. (after dinner) Have a good writing evening!
Well, since I’m in Canada I’m not sure I can help you much. I could probably take a picture of a Lean Cuisine, though.
Who made the blueberry pie? That looks awesome! The ice cream sandwiches were, um, tasty I’m sure.
“Stuffed beaver” – *snicker*
“Lulu registers her displeasure with her patented “nutcracker step”.”
😆 My beagle loves my dad and stomps all over him.
“Lulu showers Ivon with kisses. And some gas.”
😆 Wow, they are really getting serious if Lulu feels comfartable enough to let it fly around Ivon.
How did Cooper’s Cowboys do? I didn’t watch and haven’t heard. I’m guessing they lost.
Okay Joe here is the final menu:
Turkey and 2 hams (one hickory smoked and one brown sugar)
dressing
mashed potatoes
gravy
rolls
broccoli/rice casserole
corn casserole
green beans
cranberry sauce
broccoli salad
orange jello salad
large fruit tray
deviled eggs/veggie tray
Dessert:
Pecan pie
pumpkin pie
apple pie
cheesecake
pistacio chocolate cake
ice cream
Come on down Joe! I’ll have to put you with the kids at the card table, but they are a fun, cute group, so you’ll fit right in.
Sure, Joey…you’re more than welcome to come to our house for Thanksgiving!!
Of course, I don’t cook on Thanksgiving. Traditionally in our house the day is reserved for window cleaning – the screens go up, the storms go down (yeah, I have those crappy type windows with the sliding storms and screens), and all 8 panes of glass per window (two sides of both storms and both sashes) x 6 windows = 48 pieces of glass get polished. That’s not including the 4 windows (8 panes if you count both sides) between the living room and porch, the 5 porch windows (20 panes if you count both sides of each sash), the 3 kitchen windows (12 panes), and the front and back doors, and the utility room window, which – truth be told – I always keep the storm down, and since it’s on the protected side of the house I rarely bother to clean it. Oh, and I also wash and/or vacuum out the frames, and – if the spirit moves me – clean all the curtains and blinds. So make sure you bring some gloves, and mebbe a dust mask…my blinds are pretty dusty this year.
It’s a lot of work and I could really use a second pair of hands. And, since T’giving dinner is really not gluten-free-friendly (stuffing?! biscuits?! PIE??!), I’ll whip up some chicken salad with curry and grapes for dinner. That takes about 15 minutes, which, I fear, is all I can spare. How’s that sound?
das
G’day Joe
Lulu sure gave Ivon some loving.
Sorry in Australia, no Thanksgiving here.
But have one on me to all who celebrate.
@ Sparrow, Tam, and ftloB – Back is doing fine, thanks! Just as fast as the pain came on, it left. My hip is bugging me, but that’s nothing new. I slept on the sofa last night and woke up feeling really good. I’ve come to the conclusion that I have to sleep on the softest, saggiest, mushiest bed possible. 😛 I think that a lifetime of sleeping on bad beds and having bad posture and never sitting in a chair properly (I’m a leg-tucker), that my spine has turned into a corkscrew. I have had back discomfort before, but usually high, right at or just below my shoulder blades. I can live with that even if it is uncomfortable. But this was the first time my lower back just seized up on me to the point where I couldn’t even move. Not fun. But good now!
@ DP – Oh, yeah…that is certainly more my cuppa!! 😀
@ ftloB – Just got back from Skyfall and it was excellent!! Without giving too much away, I just loved the ‘vintage’ stuff, and getting a glimpse into a certain someone’s past. Oh, and the shirtless scenes…those were pretty good, too. 😉 (My friend sitting next to me in theater got to laughing so hard during those scenes – she said I was making growl-y animal noises. If I was they were completely involuntary, I assure you! 😛 )
das
P.S. I also like a good pecan pie..
so does my brother.
we won’t be having anything very interesting for thanksgiving. just a ham (my brother dislikes turkey) stuffing/dressing, possibly mashed potatoes, yam pieces (canned), biscuits, jelled cranberry sauce & pie (possibly pumpkin, almost certainly apple)
@ gforce – Glad to hear mum’s doing better. 🙂
@ Joe, Rob, Ivon, & Lawren – They say to write about what you know. Since you’re always over at Joe’s hanging out and stuff, I think you should write a sitcom about your adventures. You know, a show about a bunch of geeky guys doing what geeky guys do…
Oh, wait. Mr. Das just informed me that there already is a show like that called Big Bang Theory. Let’s see…according to him, you have Sheldon [Rob] Cooper (that was a given!), Leonard [Joey] Hofstadter, ‘ladies’ man’ Howard [Ivon] Wolowitz, Rajesh [Lawren] Koothrappali, and even Penny [Akemi]! You better check your house, Joe – I’m’a thinkin’ there’s bugs and hidden cameras everywhere! 😉
das
You are welcomed for Thanksgiving, pecan, pumpkin and assorted pies, yes. You are on your own for TurDuChiPheaCorSquaQuail . LOL though it does sound interesting.
Joe – Kathode is having a Thanksgiving dinner this Sunday and you would be most welcome (right, Kathode?). Therell be the.usual Thanksgiving fixins’ plus hot tubbing, possibly some guitar hero (the theme of the day is “Electric Boogaloo 2”), a ton of wine and beer (leftover from her wedding) and best if all : a whole whack of geologists. Well, at.least two! 🙂
Joe! If you can wait a week Kathode is having a Thanksgiving dinner at her new digs up in North-ish Van. There’s going to be a ton o’food and drink, plus a hot tub, possible guitar hero, AND some crazy geologists. Oh, and a crazy tree-climbing, fence-jumoing and roof-top exploring dog. Love to have you as a guest! 🙂
Come on down. The ex is cooking (lousy husband, but gormet chef), and only a couple of hours away….
Always room for 2 more and 3 more doggies.
Crap, I misspelled gourmet. I need a decent editor !
We are having a parcooked meal from La Madeleine. They do all the prep, they put it in containers and give a timetable sheet to bake it all. I have 3 dog visits and 2 cat visits that day so no time to be cooking. You always have an open invitation.
And p.s. sorry to hear about the Snow Monkeys.
Seems like 2013 is shaping up to be a great year! I hope Dark Matter finally takes wing, and your other projects as well. Ex-Stargate colleague? Sounds interesting. For some strange reason I’ve been thinking, and worrying a little, about Brad Wright lately. Has he been able to get any projects going?
Thanksgiving was going to be our usual turkey dinner from Marie Callendars. I went to our local one late last Thursday night and picked up the holiday menu. Then found out on Monday that they were no longer Marie Callendars, but some bar and grill joint. Seriously? In three days? We’ve been going to that MC for thirty years, at least! The worst thing is NO MORE PIES! They make great pies, and have been a standard in our family for decades. Much like Twinkies and Hostess cupcakes. What the hell is this world coming to?
So my poor nephew has been drafted into cooking the turkey, which for the rest of our small band is fabulous. He’s a trained chef, with terrific recipes, so it’ll be a great bird. The rest of us will be bringing something to fill out the menu. Dessert just won’t be the same though.
Sorry about your Snow Monkeys, but I’d rather you have good luck on the EKG and blood test tomorrow!
@Ponytail – I could actually visualize Joe sitting with the kids, his knees up near his ears, listening raptly to their little discussions, then telling them that Santa Claus was their mom and dad. (So not cool, Joe! Shame on you!)
@Das – wow! It’s been ages since I did storm windows. Sounds like fun. Can I come over?
@Joe – that Blueberry pie was not a store bought pie, was it? Joe, I swear, next time I’m in Vancouver, I’ll bring you my home-made pie. I have been making pie from scratch for over 20 years, and I’m very good at it. Just promise me that I can sit in on one of your script sessions. I promise I’ll be good. Ivon will vouch for me. 🙂 🙂 🙂
Patricia
Well, you certainly welcome to the FamDamily potluck. Honey has ordered a duck, and I’m bringing assorted booze, cranberry juice, and pumpkin beer. I might cook something unexpected. Maybe some sweet potatoes so I know I’ll get some the way I like them. Or a loaf of bread, or a pie.
I do a terrific pecan pie, I may even have the ingredients on hand. Do you like pecan topped sweet potato pie? And my crusts are nice and flaky. All that takes is fresh butter and a light hand.
The first turkey I ever cooked on my own was for an orphan Turkey Day potluck in Japan. One of the junior officers had a huge beach house out in Zama, with an American style kitchen and a real oven. Big enough for a bird! I’d never done a turkey before, but I had a Fannie Farmer paperback cookbook and a naive sense of confidence. The turkey came out beautifully browned, crisp outside and moist inside. I was one proud sailor!
We all chose the dishes we liked best to create, so I got the sweet potatoes (candied, never whipped) and the bird, and the side of dressing. There was a lot of not so traditional food, including Doritos. Hey, they’re corn. We never did find pearl onions to cream for our east coast buddy. And the poor gal who made a chocolate cake did not shift her flour, the cake had tiny flour lumps all through it. We still ate it, and it was delicious even though it was many ways of wrong.
Sometimes the best holiday feasts happen by accident.
I will take pictures. My children must think I am really really sick because they are all coming. Six children, 3 spouses and 11 grandchildren…plus my Mom & me. I can’t even think of counting everyone at this point. We shop tomorrow.
Three days of kids running around and endless food…you are invited. I will post our daily activities & food consumption. It will be crazy. 😜
They might not have looked great, but I bet the ice-cream sandwiches tasted delicious!
And we don’t do Thanksgiving here, but you’re welcome to Burn’s night. Haggis neeps and tatties followed by cranachan – yum!
Lots of reports about Evangelion 3.0 around online, people having mixed reactions because it goes in a different direction to what they were expecting, fortunately it retains the same quality of the previous ones so thats a good thing, the final Evangelion movie has been confirmed as coming so once that’s done there will be no more Evangelion I guess(Confirmed after the screening).
Speaking of which Joe, no idea if you’ve seen Rozen Maiden, I have ages ago, but the anime recently received a third season announcement, 6 years after the second season ended, seems totally random for any studio to do that, but its coming.
Kinda makes you wonder what other anime shows will get a random sequel announcement years after ending..
I’m following Little Busters at the moment, amongst a few others. It’s a decent series, well worth watching.
Come on down. I’m heading for a day trip to my mom’s house though, so prepare for a drive. Family is stressful and I’m not looking forward to it. Prepare yourself for kids running wild, brothers smoking funny cigarettes on the porch, and the police being called because my SIL violated the restraining order my mom took out on her. I could go on but really, doesn’t that sound stressful enough? 🙄
Das: I’ve had sciatica attacks that are very painful but with exercise they aren’t frequent. I can’t imagine having back pain long term. I hope your back doesn’t act up again.
JeffW: My hubby is one of those fortune people that can fall asleep with ease anywhere. He’s fallen asleep in a dentist chair before. He never worries about time zone adjustments. Lucky dog!
Deni: I loved the FB pictures of the baby shower! Lauren is so beautiful. When is Anakin due?
I bet those ice cream sandwiches tasted good! Give me a bowl and a spoon-they’d be history 😆 . I’m glad you are all having fun. Thanks for the pictures!
@ Patricia Stewart-Bertrand – It’s a deal!! 😀 But I will warn you – I’m a stickler about getting the corners!
@ Tam Dixon – I sure hope the back settles down, too. I tend to have hip issues, but I think that’s because of the way I sleep. I’ve lost a little weight since going gluten-free, so I’m hoping that helps. Old age and added weight isn’t good for the bones. 😛
das
@Joe:
Okay, we finally got the Thanksgiving menu planned, so it’s safe to come over on Thursday…just get on I-90 West from O’hare, cross the the Fox River and turn right…can’t miss us; it’s just a town of 45,000 people. 😉
The menu:
Brined and roasted turkey with sausage, celery, and sage stuffing
Oven roasted sweet potatoes (not yams!) with butter and cinnamon
(although I don’t use cinnamon on my potato)
Garlic mashed potatoes
Green bean and pearl onion casserole
Corn pudding
Cranberry casserole
Pecan pie
Pumpkin pie
Pumpkin cheesecake
The pecan pie and pumpkin cheesecake will be made tonight, with the pumpkin pie being made on Wednesday. Pictures will be Wednesday/Thursday.
@Tam Dixon:
Your husband is blessed to be able to sleep at any time; I’m in my second day of jetlag (which always seems to be worse than the first) and I woke up about two hours earlier than intended, and that’s with taking melatonin. By Wednesday I should be okay, though.
@Tam Dixon: Anakin’s due Dec. 19th! Getting nervous here! (Me, not Lauren) xo
@Deni Dec 19th? Patrick’s birthday is Dec 17. That will be an easy one to remember for me. Having a Christmas baby is so special. Our birth announcements even said, “Our Christmas angel has arrived.”
If you were nearby, you’d be more than welcome to join us for either dinner on Friday night or lunch Saturday, when our tradition is to a second Thanksgiving meal. (It’s easier because we usually go to other family on Thanksgiving itself…)
Is it true that if you let a dog lick a fresh deer antler, the dog has the same reaction as a cat has when you give it cat nip?
And, hey, Michael A. Burstein.