Bad Manners and Brimstone

Yay!  Glad you found it! 

Quote from: NyaChan on June 28, 2018, 02:42:11 pm

Mel, did you catch a Kangaskhan?? I’m so jealous! The US regional Pokémon are not nearly as cool

Hee, yup. They’re everywhere here, and they don’t evolve, so after you’ve got a couple of good ones there isn’t much point in catching more.

Oooo, jealous! 

If I wasn't up to my neck in laundry and about to head out to do errands, I'd totally offer to jump in.  I have a mid-level Lifey that would be perfect. 

Best of luck with it!  Maybe we'll try to meet up sometime in Wizard City. 

Just piping in to say that I also did this once, many years ago, and it's led to an annual tradition of Friendsgivings that I've hosted for many years. 

It started because the friend I was sharing Thanksgiving with was dating a soldier, and he had asked if one or two of his buddies who were far from home and sick of mess-hall chow could also come over.  We pooled resources, cooked a huge turkey and a ham, and ended up with about five hungry soldiers mingled in with the rest of our guests, and we had a wonderful time!

Time marched on.  The base closed, I remarried and I moved a few times, but the tradition has lingered on.  Now that my parents are both gone, Friendsgiving is more important to me than ever.  I generally seat about 12-15 people every year, and I take the whole week off of work to prep and cook.  It's the highlight of my holiday season. 

I've made a point of letting friends know that, if they do have family obligations, they can escape afterwards and come by for pie, coffee, and a few rounds of Apples to Apples to end the holiday on a happier note.  I get a LOT of those quick visits at the end of the evening. 

I'm so sorry to hear about your mom.  Sending gentle virtual hugs, and wishing you peace.

Quote from: Usernamehere on May 16, 2018, 07:10:37 pm

I’ve just realised that while my idea of a Christmas menu can be broad, it is still apparently very traditional.

I was reading through Amara’s menu (which is full of tasty things I’d like to eat) and my brain just balked at the idea of steak for Christmas dinner. I love steak, but it just feels so wrong for Christmas! Is it just me?

You're not alone in having a set of expectations.  Our office held a potluck near either Thanksgiving or Christmas and I was the only one who brought anything remotely American traditional.  There was lasagna, and curry, and Vietnamese spring rolls, and a bunch of other stuff - none of which I tend to associate with Thanksgiving/Christmas dinner. 

That said, my friends have celebrated Christmas at a steakhouse venue often enough that I don't have a response to the idea of steak at Christmas.

Oh man, I love those potlucks!  You get things like har gow dumplings, and lumpia, and flan, and samosas...  *happy moan*

For T-day and Xmas, though, I am all about the turkey, for sure. 

Oh wow, this is a topic I really need right now!

This year, I want to make fruitcake.  Because there's nothing so awesome as good fruitcake.  But -- I hate those little glace cherries and candied citron and that sort of thing.  I want to do it all with dried fruits.  I can substitute out the fruits, no problem, but I desperately need a base recipe to start with.

Does anyone have a tried-and-true good fruitcake recipe?  Preferably something handed down for a few generations and involving copious amounts of liquor?

I have done a substantial amount of research and Googling for "old-fashioned" fruitcake recipes, but I really want something that I know has a good track record, so I don't waste six months anticipating something that's going to turn out to be crap.

Thanks in advance!