Thanksgiving 2024 - Bloody Mary Time

Thursday, November 28, 2024

At 8:30 I turned on the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and mixed up a Bloody Mary.

Kowalski's makes a great Bloody Mary mix. My unopened bottle's been sitting on the counter since last Christmas. It had settled quite a bit so it required a LOT of shaking. In fact, after shaking it up and giving it an initial pour I realized I needed to dump a little out to make a little more shaking space in the bottle. 

Anyway,  it all turned out great. I garnished it with a pickle,  an olive, and a couple of pearl onions.

Delicious. And by the way,  as a second career I think I might have some potential as a food and drink stylist.

Brunch at Creekside

Sunday, September 16, 2023

Brunch at Creekside after church this morning.  It was a lovely morning and this is the first time we've sat outside. 

We were fortunate to have Rebecca as our server. She's always a delight. I ordered the prime rib scramble and when she brought me my knife she told me I'd be needing it because there's a lot at steak (get it?). She mentioned that her jokes are like UFOs. They're far out there and they never really land. 

While being seated Dale decided to run off to the restroom and the host told him to enjoy the Patrick Swayze shrine. I told him we were well aware of said shrine and mentioned that one of the last times we were here we sent a spy (we'll call her Jenny) into the ladies room to see if there was anything comparable but that the only thing of note was a chair. The host said he's been pushing for a Molly Ringwald theme. 

Brunch at Creekside

Sunday, September 3, 2023

Brunch at Creekside this morning. 

I got the prime rib hash and Dale got the basic breakfast. I also had a Bloody Mary. 

Sometime we'll have to try sitting outside. 

Brunch at Creekside

Sunday, August 6, 2023

Creekside is now offering brunch on Saturday and Sunday.

We were pleased to find this out. 

I started with a Bloody Mary with a beer chaser. They make a good one. Dale had coffee.

We ordered some coffee cake. Quite good. 

I got the prime rib scramble and Dale got the salmon scramble. Also good!

Glad they're offering brunch now. 

Brunch at Jax

Sunday, May 7, 2023

Decided to head up to Jax for brunch on this nice spring day. 

I started with a Bloody Mary. I think they use a Polish vodka. 

We sat by the window overlooking the patio. Dale ordered and omelette and I had the prime rib hash. 

When finished we stepped out on to the patio check things out.

We checked out the trout stream for Captain Jack but didn't see him because he is very elusive. 

The daffodils on the patio looked great.

And so did the tulips in the parking lot.  So glad to see signs of spring. 

Fun to be back at Jax. It's been a while. 

Thanksgiving 2022

Thursday, November 24, 2022

Dale made the cranberry sauce at around 9:30 a.m. It's the item that makes the most sense to make ahead of dinner since it can just sit in the fridge. 

We follow the Nigella Lawson turkey recipe from her book Feast. It's on page. 

Dale gave the turkey a bath around 11:30. 

We pulled out the giblets and saved them for making the gravy. 

Post bath.

I dried the turkey off.

Between cleaning and food prep I'd check in on the parade once in a while. 

And sip on my Bloody Mary. 

Turkey was in the roaster just a little before 1:00.

Dale buttered it...

...and had it in the oven by 1:06. For the first half hour the oven was set at 4:00.

After the turkey was in the oven Dale had the giblets ready to boil then simmer. 

The turkey got basted with white wine after its first half hour in the oven. The oven temp was turned down to 350 and the turkey's next hour of baking. 

I got started on the sweet potato casserole at 1:50. The recipe I used is the same one I used last time. I drained the yams a little better this go-round. It turned out pretty well overall. Although I halved the recipe I didn't do so with all ingredients. Next time I'd recommend trying to be more precise overall. That said it still turned out pretty well.  

The turkey after an hour and a half in the oven...

...which is when we flipped it over. It went back in for another half hour. Upon removal we tented it with aluminum foil and let it rest for an hour before I cut it. I did the cutting which is my usual duty. I generally do a hack job but it all ends up okay. At some point I should look up the official way to do it. 

When the sweet potatoes were done we put them in the oven warmer until we were ready to serve up Dale's awesome Brussels sprouts. The Stove-Top stuffing was made right at the very end. Getting everything in serving dishes and on the table was quite busy but pain-free. 

Mom and Noel came over around 3 p.m. For hors d'oeuvres we had olives, pickled herring, crackers, and wasabi peas. Dinner was on the table at 4:37 p.m!

Mom brought an apple pie her friend Joanne made for her and Noel brought over a pumpkin pie from Mrs. Kowalski's. 

I had meant to make fruit salad but got distracted the last hour of prep. For next time I think the only things a might add would be corn and maybe dinner rolls. However, that said, what we had was more than enough. 

Brunch at Red Stag

Sunday, May 30, 2021

Dale and I hit the Red Stag for brunch again. I started with a Bloody Mary. 

I got the corned beef hash and Dale got the vegetable hash. So delicious. 

We talked about school winding down for me and him gearing up to go to the Island. It's such a hard time for both of us and it feels like it's on steroids this year due to the exhaustion where experiencing from the pandemic.