Holiday Menus

[serious crayons]

That sounds really good! I went to my ex-husband's family's, as usual. Their custom is to have everyone bring an appetizer. Which would be fine, except everyone treats it like a dinner, lining up with plates and going through the line, then sitting down at tables to eat. I think of appetizers and things you set out for people to graze on throughout the evening. If you're going to treat it like a dinner fine, but then have an actual dinner, because a meal of rich appetizers -- good though they were! -- is a lot. That's my thinking, anyway.    The evening was very fun, though. We played a game where everyone was instructed to bring a food or food-related gift, then pick a number. Which is perfect, because it appeals to people of every age, and the group there ranges from about 18 to 85, plus a couple of small children.

[CellarDweller]

We've done meals like that, but not for the holidays.

There have been times that mom is not in the mood to cook, and no one can decide what to eat, so we'll place an order with a local restaurant, and get maybe 4 or 5 different appetizers, and every one will take some of each, and have it as a meal.

[Front-Ranger]

Today I gathered with my daughter's family for brunch. We had eggs, toast, hash browns, sausage, and avocado. I brought beef barley soup but she didn't serve it. She might serve it tomorrow. The rest of the family is gathering tomorrow for gift opening, going to the museum, and dinner out.

After brunch, we watched the Muppetts Christmas Carol with Michael Caine. Very good, as always.

[serious crayons]

There have been times that mom is not in the mood to cook, and no one can decide what to eat, so we'll place an order with a local restaurant, and get maybe 4 or 5 different appetizers, and every one will take some of each, and have it as a meal.

Yeah, I've done that, too. I'm not sure if restaurant dishes are healthier or maybe just have more cohesive cuisine. Last night everything came from different people: I brought salmon and cream-cheese pinwheels, somebody else brought cheddar jalapeno poppers, someone else stuffed potatoes with what tasted like bacon, someone else brought his classic hamburger dip with Fritos, someone else meatballs and little weinies in a too-sweet sauce, someone else sausage and cheese, someone else five kinds of cookies. All good in their own ways, but none healthy, most rich and some clashing. Or maybe I just eat too much when it's served like a buffet. All I know is I like small plates in restaurants but in a situation like that I end up feeling kind of queasy.