"Well done Pig, well done."

Oof, I am stuffed.  Everything has finally settled and I'm a pleasant, satiated kind of full.  We dined like kings and queens tonight; everything was absolutely delicious and worth every splurge-a-rific bite.  Here's a little re-cap of the party:

Georgie D. playing some holiday jingle:

What's a party without a little champagne?

Daddy-O passionately guarding the shallot/endive/anchovy tart:

One of my oldest friends Niki:

Niki, who made said tart... très parisienne.

Appetizer spread:

Blurry appetizers (crudités, sliver of tart, marinated green & white asparagus):

Mama in her pretty green Christmas blouse:

These caviar/potato puffs come with Karen every year, and we all anxiously await their arrival.  They are the bane of our existences, I tell you.

Almost everything my dad made tonight came from this Marcus Samuelsson cookbook.   These tasty little items were curry-spiced chapatis with a layer of puréed eggplant and seared sushi-grade tuna, drizzled with black olive oil sauce.  These were amazing.  I had more than my fair share...

Happy Chanukah!

Shot of Armenian lentil soup:

Clockwise from bottom: couscous, molasses-glazed carrots, quince peanut salad.

Shot of another Moosewood soup, but I've forgotten the name.  It was made with sour cream, and tasted a lot like the paprika sauces that are all over Hungarian cuisine.

Now for the dessert! Here's the cake my mama and I made (chocolate gingerbread coffee bundt with hazelnut poached pear and coffee whipped cream):

Coconut tapioca over a lemongrass tangerine reduction, topped with a great big blackberry:

And, although I was positively stuffed, I just had to try one of Trying to Heal/ Rainforestgurl's cashew butter chocolate dipped cookies.  Oh my sweet lordy, I have died and gone to heaven.  This was the perfect ending to a delicious night. 

I'm off to see if the boy will watch A Nightmare on Elm Street with me... chances are slim, but I can always hope!

I picked up this protein powder on the way home... am I the only person who didn't know that Kashi made it?

Bonne nuit!

Gobble Gobble

Well hello! I hope that anyone and everyone who is reading this is pleasantly stuffed and has had a wonderful time with family and friends. We had a really nice dinner this evening, as usual. Instead of saying what we were thankful for this year, my dad asked what everyone's last meal would be. They were pretty interesting! I said sushi if I was going out, and if I was making it myself, probably sweet potato, tofu and chocolate. I don't know if that's truly what I'd want, but that's the first thing that came to my head.

Mommy Dearest holding my Jack on the rocks:


The Thanksgiving table:


Crudité, one cracker with three cheeses (sharp cheddar, roquefort, camembert), and an olive that I ate before taking this:


I've decided to throw my vanity to the wind and post only horrible pictures of me. But everyone else looks very nice!


Judy oh so skillfully carving the turkey:


From left to right: sticky bun, rutabaga, sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts, vegetarian stuffing, steamed green beans, Georgie D's famous mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce (that I mixed with pretty much everything). Missing is corn pudding, that I added right after the picture was taken.


Seconds on Brussels sprouts:


The pie spread! Pecans, maple cream, punkin'.


I had two little slivers of pie: pecan and maple cream. I cut the top crusts off; with a regular sized piece of pie, you can shave off about 100 calories by chopping off the crust. I ended up having three little pieces, so that probably equaled out to a normal sized piece.


Another sliver of pecan... I don't know what it is, I never used to like this! It's Ari's favorite, so maybe that's why I enjoy it now.


Daddy-o and George:



The Thanksgiving gang. I don't know what's going on with my sassy smile, but this was the only one that turned out.


I'm pooped! Enjoy the rest of your holiday weekends!

Whose woods these are, I think I know...

It's a particularly frosty night here, and the Robert Frost poem ("Stopping By The Woods On A Snowy Evening") just popped into my head.

Sarah, Joe, Carlye and I had a late dinner at Cafe Latte this evening. I used to go there a lot with my grandparents, before we started going to their club. They have killer (as in to die for!) cakes, but I resisted and had this veggie sandwich instead:


I didn't know that the almond asparagus "spread" filling would translate into "cream cheese," but it actually wasn't too bad. I did end up wiping a bit of it out on the second half of my sandwich. It also came with a side salad with balsamic vinaigrette:


We stopped at Blockbuster to pick up Mad Men (for later) and I couldn't resist the giant gumball machine...


I made a strange concoction of a finger of gin with applesauce (!) and water. It wasn't terrible, but I don't know if I would have had it again had I had other options!


Hot cocoa with vanilla, marshmallows, cinnamon and a side of Blue:


Cinnamon toast (B&B, sugar, cinnamon on fiber bread):


Off to bed! I'm going to a coffee shop bright and early to get some work done. Bonne nuit!