Dispensing Happiness

A good cook is like a sorceress who dispenses happiness.-Elsa Schiapirelli

That's me, the magical good cook.

Borrowing from my friend Dexygus, I've created my own food blog.

Read of my exploits in the kitchen! Salivate over the descriptions of fabulous desserts and savory meals I've concocted!

No, seriously...go ahead. It'll make my day.

Monday, December 26, 2005

Christmas; A Recap in Pictures

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Still exhausted...seven hours cooking and cleaning would wipe anyone out for a good 48 hours. But, I'm conscious and upright, so here comes the promised write-ups.



Our tree, before the tearing of pretty paper.



Christmas Eve; Alex reading a library book with his Aunt Terri. See those red cheeks???!



Christmas Eve again; Alex getting assistance from his Grandmom, opening a really cool block/construction vehicle toy.



Christmas Eve; Alex receives a fabulous 2-disc set of Putumayo hits from Granddad. And check out the box of cardboard bricks in the background! Thanks, Aunt Terri and Uncle Ben.



Still Christmas Eve; a funky flashlight from Uncle Andrew...changeable discs reveal dinasaurs and butterflies!



Christmas morning: Alex's brand-spankin' new kitchen set, complete with all the fake food you can stand.



Including play sushi, tea set, wok and bamboo steamers!



Grammy and Grandpa sent down this cool horse.



A shiny new trike...Radio Flyer, too!



Pretty good haul, for a 2 1/2 year old. Two train sets, paint, paper, crayons, books, an enormous snake...



Matt did well, too. An Indian home cook's cookbook, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman novels, bamboo steamer, the Complete New Yorker collection, and a Pope Innocent III action figure.



I must have been a very good girl this year; mini-cheesecake pans, a deep fryer, silicone glove, Elvira's Box of Horror, a couple Dashiel Hammet novels, the Law & Order game, Hungry Planet, The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern, as well as a reproduction of the very first seal of the city of Dublin, from 1297. I don't think I've had a better Christmas!



Dining room mantle, decorated for Christmas Day dinner. The greenery came from the bushes around the house.



A lovely Salsa-Baked Goat Cheese appetizer, with three kinds of tortilla chips...the red bean and rice are my favorite.



Black Bean and Sausage Soup; I'll find the recipe later. Very simple to make, a bit spicy, and very good.



A Spicy Citrus and Jicama Salad (let me know if you'd like the recipe).



Cheddar-Jalapeno Corn Sticks; lightly spicy, with chopped pickled jalepeno in it.



A dish Alex made for Christmas dinner; Potato and Poblano-Chile Gratin. Lots and lots of Gruyere!



Mole-Spiced Roasted Turkey. Another one you'll have to ask me for, if you'd like the recipe.



Double-Dark Choclate Cake, drizzled with Dulce de Leche. This time, I used Lindt 85%!



And, my cookie platter. I had to cut my planned recipes in half. I just had too much going on.

Starting at 12:00; Chocolate-Pistachio Fingers, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Peanut Butter Cups, Chocolate Kahlua Snowmen, Kolachy filled with Lemon Marmalade and Port Wine Jelly, Chocolate Snow-Topped Cookies, Chocolate Almond Biscotti, Chocolate Caramel Cookies, and Brandy Lace Cookies in the center.

Hope you all had a great day!!


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11 Thoughts for food:

At 1:42 AM, Blogger Culinarily Obsessed said...

well the food all looks like it was delicious!! Looks like you guys had a great Christmas!

Happy Holidays =)

 
At 8:44 AM, Blogger Jeff in NC said...

That has GOT to be the world's most elaborate toy kitchen set-up I'v eever seen! How cool!

Everything looks great - now we start gettign ready for next year, right? =:o

 
At 12:17 PM, Blogger Stephanie said...

CO: the food went over well, though by the time we sat down to dinner, my husband and I are were too tired to eat!!!

I read your profile...I'm curious to know if you have a tried-and-true fried chicken recipe???

 
At 12:19 PM, Blogger Stephanie said...

Jeff...isn't it neat? It came with a bunch of pots and pans, a few pieces of food, and dishware, but we went out and bought three more packs of food...including a sushi set!

As Matt pointed out, it must be genetic. Alex isn't even three yet, but he already has a too-full fridge!

Next year? Oh, please...don't make me think about it! I'll need till New Year's to recover...

 
At 10:09 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

What a fabulous Christmas you had. So many presents and so much great food! I'd love to have that entire cookie platter to myself. :)

 
At 11:27 PM, Blogger Cate said...

Nicholas and his girlfriend have the exact same kitchen and love, love, love it! I'm sure Alex will get tons of enjoyment from it. And from your own haul, it seems I have another cookbook to add to my list...

 
At 12:27 AM, Blogger Stephanie said...

Thank you, Julia...and you helped make it so wonderful!!!

If I thought I could get them to you quickly, I would ship a box out tomorrow.

 
At 12:30 AM, Blogger Stephanie said...

Sweetnicks; Alex is already a busy cook, annoucning 'dinner's ready!' several times a day. We were able to leave him to his own kitchen, for blocks of time, while we were making Christmas dinner...he'd pop into the kitchen now and then provide us with 'tea' and 'burgers' (conveniently leaving out the meat patty in the one he handed me!).

I've only had time to glance through The Last Course, but it looks fabulous.

 
At 10:11 PM, Blogger Randi said...

Every single thing looks so freaking good.

 
At 10:11 PM, Blogger Randi said...

What kind of fryer did you get?

 
At 11:31 PM, Blogger Stephanie said...

Thanks, Randi!

We wanted to go with Mexican-inspired dishes. The flavors of Mexico, without making totally traditional recipes. I like to shake up the menu now and then!

I got a T-FAL Maxi-Fryer. Haven't tried it out yet, but we've stockpiled a bunch of recipes for it!

 

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