I'm Thankful...

Thanksgiving 2007: James, Jason, Jennifer, Caitlin, Brandon and Carli all came home for dinner. The family really wanted to have this dinner together because we were thankful that we made through another year. It has been a rough year. Mom's stroke turned our lives upside down, yet, we are grateful that WE'RE STILL WHOLE. Sadly, some of our friends and relatives have an empty seat at their Thanksgiving dinner this year. We are so lucky that we are able to celebrate the holiday with our mom and dad and each other.

What's Cooking? No turkey. We had roast pork and seafood paella but the side dishes had the traditional Thanksgiving touch: green bean casserole and brussel sprouts roasted with baby potatoes and apples. We started with prosciutto wrapped mango, salami wrapped candied fruit and cheeses and ended with pumpkin pie and sweet potato pie. Everyone pitched in to make the food but we cheated on desserts. I must have done pretty good because all was gone - no leftovers. Wow!

So another Thanksgiving has come and gone. Life has ups and downs but there is always something to be thankful - health, family and happiness. Treasure the moment now.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Dutch Out, French In

It's Not the Real Thing: Recalled that I was very excited to get my very first Dutch Oven in May. It wasn't the top of the line but I figured a newbie like me did not need the best. Boy, was I wrong! My Dutch oven, the chic-looking all cast iron pot, could not withstand heat! The outside enamel chipped off after the first use and the inside bubbled up after the sixth use.

What's a dutch oven when it can't be used as a dutch oven? A flower pot?

Oolala: I started over. This time, I got the real thing - the $$$ Le Creuset $$$ - and this is a French Oven, boys and girls.

So far, it's good as new after one use. Hopefully, it will hold up for the duration of the warranty - the next 100 years.

Lesson learned: You get what you pay for. Quality does cost money. Can't be stingy if you want the very best.

The beautiful cheap dutch oven wannabe reminded me of the old Chinese saying: a pretty pillow doesn't mean it's a good pillow; it's the stuffing inside the pillow that counts.

So true!!