Thanksgiving 2013!

This past summer, on a visit to Miami, my mother gave me a stack of boxes to take home. The boxes contained her china. I'm just holding them for safekeeping, until my nephew is ready for holiday tables with his own family. Until then, I will be all too happy to store them and occasionally use them.

This is not her original china, that one was left behind in Cuba. This one was purchased at Wieboldt's over 40 years ago. I remember that we used it at Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter as I was growing up. There was a lot of pork, rice, and beans served and enjoyed on those dishes. But the best part was the people who shared the holiday meals, my grandmother, uncle Armando, and brother in law Arsenio - unfortunately they are no longer with us, but are part of such great memories. Then there were other family members and friends. 

For this Thanksgiving, it was my pleasure to cook for my sister, nephew, and husband, and to use those dishes again. I've paired them with simple, inexpensive glasses from a dollar store - the color was perfect! The aubergine crystal vase is not the best match for the table, but part of my husband's family memories and I wanted him to see something that brought him great memories. 

I won't bore you with the menu, but it was tasty, even if I say so myself.

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

I will be joining Tablescape Thursday for the first time - use this link to see amazing tablescapes by very talented people!

http://betweennapsontheporch.net

Healthier dinner with friends...

Weekday dinners are easy. No pressure of a big weekend event, regardless of how many people. For us, it's almost always with the same couple. Their schedule is very flexible, so whatever day I'm off, we can usually cook up something to do.

Tonight, it was a healthier dinner - all fresh ingredients from Caputo's market: salad with grapes and Gorgonzola, grilled chicken that barely took 15 minutes to make, green beans, and mashed sweet potatoes with garlic. No bread! Not a single crumb of it... That's really big for this group, and I didn't even miss it.

I tried a summery table with patterned dishes in light colors, but it looked so bland... Then, I added a strip of beach looking fabric, and it's almost like sitting at the edge of the ocean. Almost, but the real thing is so much better.

Arroz con Pollo

This was never one of my favorite dishes, especially when Mami made it with whole pieces of chicken. Never liked dealing with the bones and skin. Eventually, she switched to lean pieces of chicken breast, almost shredded, and my love for Arroz con Pollo grew. Like most Cuban dishes, I get to enjoy this only when my mom cooks it. But I could make it myself, right?! Not usually... I'm not that ambitious, or that talented, in the kitchen. Yet some times, I even surprise myself. 

After returning from a trip to Miami, I find myself craving Cuban food more often. This happens after every trip. I try to be good and not gorge during the trip, but in reality, I want to eat pastries with guava, ham croquettes, and 'Moros' every day until the cravings wear off. 

Our last stop before coming home was a beautiful evening and morning visiting Charleston, SC. In Charleston, I bought a bag of over-priced yellow rice and a rice serving spoon. I believe one must buy some souvenir at every city, regardless of practicality or cost. Two weeks later, the spoon is still in the gift box, the rice unopened, but "yellow rice" consumed my mind and waiting taste buds. In a Cuban household, yellow rice is not really yellow, it's white rice, made yellow thru spices and can be made with an array of meats or vegetables.

This past Thursday, I made yellow rice, my version was pretty close to 'Arroz con Pollo', and came from a food website recipe and what I think my mother puts in her rice. Real Cubans would probably find all sorts of things wrong with my version, but quite frankly, I made it for me, and shared with my husband and good friends. Soon, I will try guava pastries...

Road trip with Nick

Well, it's almost summer and we've already been on the road and back. And this post is going to be about places I remember and new memories made.

 It 's absolutely my favorite thing to do... Get in the car and drive. Well, actually, Nick drives almost all the way there, and I spend most of the time playing games, dosing off, and reading a map - yes, I mean a real map! Although the GPS makes things rather brainless, nothing builds the excitement of what's around the corner better than a map. For us, the ultimate destination is often the same, but along the way, I try to make things interesting, and just a little different from last time.

May 2013 took us back to Florida. Miami, to be exact, by way of Tampa. We were out 13 days, my longest vacation in 16 years. Hesitant to even request so much time off together, I was pleased to see my boss just said ok, and have a good vacation!

We started out late as usual. Nick always says we're leaving at 4am, but I set the alarm for 5, and we leave at about 6. After a couple of weeks of working too many nights in a row, and making and checking list after list for work and home, and the trip, I finally get to relax on the road.

Our first stop was Nashville, TN. I had heard of a full size replica of the Parthenon. I expected it to be in Athens, GA, and we almost went out of our way to see it a couple of years ago, but it would have been a waste of time. Nashville's Parthenon is in a beautiful park, with mature trees, and old swings, and jogging paths. It houses the statues believed to have been in the original prior to pillaging and theft by  Barbaric tribes and not so barbaric Brits. Museums in Britain have a greater collection of Greek statues and pieces of architecture, than Greece - but that 's part of another story.

We missed seeing the inside, arriving about 15 minutes after closing, but now we'll have something for next trip. We've been to the real Parthenon, stole a little bag of the white rocky soil, and took countless pictures, trying to avoid even more countless tourists. That trip was full of wow! and ah! and OMG! yet somehow, maybe because our expectations were more reserved, this Parthenon's setting was more calming, and left more opportunity to reflect on what it would have been like, to be there amongst the gods, thousands of years ago...

Tax Day come and gone

Another day off and reason to celebrate! Taxes are done, done, done! One more of those things I put off over and over. Then, I finally start, get in the right mindset, and don't stop till I'm done. Uncle Sam will get just a bit more off our hard earned money, but he'll get it on time, with all the correct detailed forms, and in return, we hold on to a box full of perfect little receipts and logs.
So, that task done, no time to cook (as if I ever planned to today, LOL), and Nick is all to willing to go out for dinner. But next week... Next week I'll cook, set a nice table and share again.
For Maria, I'll post the potato leak recipe soon.

Thursday dinner with good friends.

I had the day off last Thursday. Large pot of minestrone and salad. Sounds simple, but it's hardy and filling, especially if you add some French bread and italian sausages. Then along the way I though cream of potato and leek soup would also be nice. So I made that too. Turned out to be one of my best soups. Here are pics of the table setting. From now on, my friends will get a properly set table... It was so much fun to do.

Procrastination will rule the nation

Something my husband would say in disdain. He who pays the bills before the envelopes are recycled, has no patience or understanding for my "I can do it later" attitude. Yet he is so right about me. All these great ideas and intentions stored away for later with no results. Almost 2 years after I was going to start a blog, I am finally posting my second entry. Who would follow a blog like that? Only a very faithful friend, if only I had gotten around to tell any of them about it. :|
Haven't quite decided what this blog will be about; wouldn't it be more interesting if it had a theme? I'll think about this for a while and let you now what I decide. After all, in the words of  Scarlett O'Hara, "Tomorrow is another day".