What a difference a year makes! Here’s the annual reprint of the annual history of New Years Eves… If my mom ever cooked anything special for the new year, I really don’t remember it. The first time I recall hearing about good luck New Year’s foods was when I was in the Navy. Working with lots of guys… Continue reading Hello 2021!
Category: Holidaze
Easter 2019
Another day of fun times and fun food! We started off with drinks and appetizers. Naturally. Appetizers: Uncle Rudy’s Easter Pie Sweet and Spicy Shrimp Date and Pecan Pesto with Homemade Ricotta Along with Brie, Hummus, chips an pitas… And then we moved on to the Main Event: Ham with Apricot Mustard Glaze Baked Cod… Continue reading Easter 2019
‘Twas The Night Before Christmas …
… and more Ghosts of Christmases past have surfaced. Coming from a large family, Christmas was anything but quiet. When it was merely the six kids, it was chaos and pandemonium. Imagine six kids attacking the tree looking for gifts with their name on it. A finite amount of space didn’t stop us. At some… Continue reading ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas …
Ghosts of Christmases Past
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Christmas, 1956 was the year I saw Santa Claus. In our living room! We were living on 19th Avenue in San Francisco – Mike, Judy, and me. Mom was pregnant with Arlene and Eileen. Phoebe wasn’t yet a twinkle in Pop’s eye. Mike and I shared the front bedroom that was right next to the… Continue reading Ghosts of Christmases Past
The Year of the Biscotti
Sometime last Spring, we were talking about Christmas Cookies. I know… Spring and Christmas don’t necessarily go together in most households, but… welcome to ours. I think we had just made a batch of biscotti and thought about how many different variations on a theme there actually were. And then we had one of those… Continue reading The Year of the Biscotti
Talkin’ Turkey
Today is Monday. Thanksgiving is Thursday. It’s the perfect day to cook a turkey. We’re not hosting, this year, but we still need a turkey of our own for sandwiches, soup, and all of the other fun things one does with leftover turkey. Our tradition is to make soup on Friday while decorating the house… Continue reading Talkin’ Turkey
The Social Security Birthday – and a Four-Day Birthday Weekend
One of the [many] fun things about being retired, is I can take a 4-day birthday weekend and not have to use vacation days! We get to just go. Well… after arranging the Nonna-Sitter, and all… but, you get the idea. It’s totally liberating to just do things when you want to and not have… Continue reading The Social Security Birthday – and a Four-Day Birthday Weekend
Memorial Day 2018
It is dark and bleak outside. The rain is coming down in buckets. I guess it’s kinda fitting for a Memorial Day weekend – the weekend where we’re supposed to honor those who have died defending our country. This isn’t Veteran’s Day weekend – it’s not about people who have served in the military and… Continue reading Memorial Day 2018
Ghosts of Christmases Past
One of my Christmas Traditions every year is to read A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. I love the book, love the story, and love the many movie incarnations. Growing up, we had the 30 volume Complete Works of Dickens and I read A Christmas Carol as a young tyke but the defining Scrooge Moment… Continue reading Ghosts of Christmases Past
Thanksgiving 2017
This Thanksgiving will definitely be one for the Memory Book. November 23rd was our 23rd Anniversary! What better way for the two of us to celebrate an anniversary than with a holiday all about food?!? And food, we had. What – or, rather, who – we didn’t have, was Nonna. She spent the holiday in… Continue reading Thanksgiving 2017
Prime Rib and the Ghosts of Christmas’ Past
The quiet day turned into a quiet night. And a really great dinner. And a great dessert. Prime Rib. Not something I buy often. Nor anything I cook often. Lord knows I cooked enough of them in my early Hyatt days, but not so much, anymore. Granted, it’s one of the easiest pieces of meat… Continue reading Prime Rib and the Ghosts of Christmas’ Past
Christmas Eggnog Cake
It’s a really quiet Christmas Day around here. Almost too quiet. Both of us are used to loud, raucous family gatherings, so it’s a bit strange to be home in a relatively quiet house. Nonna just isn’t up to traveling to North Jersey anymore – she got carsick the last two times she went, so… Continue reading Christmas Eggnog Cake