Merry Christmas to all.

I think we are ready. The house is decorated and cleaned up. Presents are
wrapped. The baking is done. We just have to get out to pick up some last
minute things like milk and eggs and some vegetables. I have to drive in to
the city to pick up my son at the bus station at 6:30. Then we come home for
a light dinner..... steak and mushroom pie with a salad , and then head over
to my brother's party. He is also having everyone over for Christmas
dinner.

Yesterday it was a warm 9 degrees (C), with heavy rain and high winds that
melted most of the snow from last week's storm, but last night the
temperature plummeted to -3C and the rain turned to snow so there is a nice
fresh layer of it so we are going to have a white Christmas.

I hope everyone has a great Christmas.

Dave Smith wrote:
> Merry Christmas to all.

Same to you Dave.

We're having roast turkey and all the trimmings tomorrow (we don't have
Turkey-Day here).
Dad's gonna be baking his 'special' apple pie too
--
Cheers
Chatty Cathy

Garlic: the element without which life as we know it would be impossible

On Mon, 24 Dec 2007 09:52:15 -0500, "Dave Smith"
> wrote:

>steak and mushroom pie

Ohhh, yum! Please post the recipe! I ate steak & ale pie in London
and absolutely loved it. The crust was very unusual, so I'll probably
never be able to reproduce that.

--
See return address to reply by email
remove the smiley face first

On Mon, 24 Dec 2007 17:30:35 +0200, ChattyCathy
> wrote:

>Dad's gonna be baking his 'special' apple pie too

Special? Do I detect a hint of alcohol will be involved?

--
See return address to reply by email
remove the smiley face first

sf wrote:
> On Mon, 24 Dec 2007 17:30:35 +0200, ChattyCathy
> > wrote:
>
>> Dad's gonna be baking his 'special' apple pie too
>
> Special? Do I detect a hint of alcohol will be involved?
>
Dunno. It's his 'secret' recipe.

--
Cheers
Chatty Cathy

Garlic: the element without which life as we know it would be impossible

sf wrote:
>
> >Dad's gonna be baking his 'special' apple pie too
>
> Special? Do I detect a hint of alcohol will be involved?

A pie can be baked without drinking alcohol, but it may help to put him in
the Christmas sprit to consume some while baking :-)

sf wrote:
>
> On Mon, 24 Dec 2007 09:52:15 -0500, "Dave Smith"
> > wrote:
>
> >steak and mushroom pie
>
> Ohhh, yum! Please post the recipe! I ate steak & ale pie in London
> and absolutely loved it. The crust was very unusual, so I'll probably
> never be able to reproduce that.

It's my wife's speciality, more of a style that a precise recipe. She
starts by cutting up some sirloin steak and seasoning it with some
Worcestershire sauce and a bit of savory and sets it aside. She sautés
some finely chopped celery, carrot and onion, garlic and button mushrooms.
When they are soft she removes them and browns the meat. When the meat is
nicely browned she removes it, deglaces the pan with wine, adds a bit of
tomato paste and beef broth, brings it to a boil, thickens it with a bit of
Veloutine, returns the meat and vegetables and simmers the works for a
while and then cools it and puts it into the refrigerator over night. It
can be done with a double or single crust, for which we use the Crisco
recipe. Put the cooled braised meat into the shell of a baking dish, cover
and then cook like a pie, cranking the oven up to 425 for 10 minutes and
reducing it to 375 for another 40 minutes or so until nicely browned.

This is one of our usual Christmas Eve meat pies. We have this or Tortiere
with salad and then fruit for dessert. We have to save room for the party
goodies later on.

On Mon, 24 Dec 2007 09:52:15 -0500, "Dave Smith"
> wrote:

>Merry Christmas to all.
>
Same to you Dave. Sounds like it already is a Merry Christmas for you.
koko
---
http://www.kokoscorner.typepad.com
updated 12/16

"There is no love more sincere than the love of food"
George Bernard Shaw

On Mon, 24 Dec 2007 09:52:15 -0500, "Dave Smith"
> wrote:

>Merry Christmas to all.

And a Merry Christmas to all of you!!!

I am one of the "unfortunates" who will be working tonight and
tomorrow night.

However, we are having a potluck at work tonight and will probably
have more snacking at work the next night. This is the time of year
when there are more goodies around at work than anyone can ever eat.

Christine

Christine Dabney wrote:
>
> On Mon, 24 Dec 2007 09:52:15 -0500, "Dave Smith"
> > wrote:
>
> >Merry Christmas to all.
>
> And a Merry Christmas to all of you!!!
>
> I am one of the "unfortunates" who will be working tonight and
> tomorrow night.
>
> However, we are having a potluck at work tonight and will probably
> have more snacking at work the next night. This is the time of year
> when there are more goodies around at work than anyone can ever eat.
>

Bummer. Sorry to hear that you have to work on the holidays while everyone
else is home with their families or out partying. My son almost had to
work Christmas Day, and figured that if he could not get enough time off to
come home that he might as well spend the day with other people who had to
work than to sit at home while all his friends are with their families.
Luckily, his boss offered him a week off so he could come home.

I had to work on Christmas Day 30 years ago. I was working in a highway
maintenance yard and we were scheduled for Christmas Day. I figured that I
could be home by 4:30 and get changed to go to the family dinner. They
were going to eat a little later to accommodate me. Then it started snowing
and we had to go out and plow the snow. As if that wasn't bad enough to
have to work Christmas Day, I ended up having to work over time. Then the
financial reality hit me. We were being paid for the day plus time and a
half for working it so I was making double time and a half to work my 8
hour shift. When we went into overtime it was just time and a half..... I
got paid less for working overtime than I had been making on my regular
hours. Luckily, we finished up by 5 o'clock and I was still able to make
it for dinner.

On Mon, 24 Dec 2007 16:07:01 -0500, Dave Smith
> wrote:


>Bummer. Sorry to hear that you have to work on the holidays while everyone
>else is home with their families or out partying. My son almost had to
>work Christmas Day, and figured that if he could not get enough time off to
>come home that he might as well spend the day with other people who had to
>work than to sit at home while all his friends are with their families.
>Luckily, his boss offered him a week off so he could come home.
>
Well...hospitals don't shut down on holidays, and people keep on
having babies on those holidays... So this nurse has to help man
the trenches, so to speak.

Christine

Christine Dabney wrote:
> On Mon, 24 Dec 2007 16:07:01 -0500, Dave Smith
> > wrote:
>
>
>> Bummer. Sorry to hear that you have to work on the holidays while everyone
>> else is home with their families or out partying. My son almost had to
>> work Christmas Day, and figured that if he could not get enough time off to
>> come home that he might as well spend the day with other people who had to
>> work than to sit at home while all his friends are with their families.
>> Luckily, his boss offered him a week off so he could come home.
>>
> Well...hospitals don't shut down on holidays, and people keep on
> having babies on those holidays... So this nurse has to help man
> the trenches, so to speak.
>
> Christine

I'll be there tomorrow night too, Christine. Sadly, the trauma victims
we get this time of year of often the "out of towners" who are traveling
to distant cities and states when bad things happen. It complicates things.
Wear your seatbelts folks. Travel safe. Godspeed.

Goomba38 wrote:
> Christine Dabney wrote:
>> On Mon, 24 Dec 2007 16:07:01 -0500, Dave Smith
>> > wrote:
>>
>>
>>> Bummer. Sorry to hear that you have to work on the holidays while
>>> everyone else is home with their families or out partying. My son
>>> almost had to work Christmas Day, and figured that if he could not
>>> get enough time off to come home that he might as well spend the
>>> day with other people who had to work than to sit at home while all
>>> his friends are with their families. Luckily, his boss offered him
>>> a week off so he could come home.
>> Well...hospitals don't shut down on holidays, and people keep on
>> having babies on those holidays... So this nurse has to help man
>> the trenches, so to speak.
>>
>> Christine
>
> I'll be there tomorrow night too, Christine. Sadly, the trauma victims
> we get this time of year of often the "out of towners" who are
> traveling to distant cities and states when bad things happen. It
> complicates things. Wear your seatbelts folks. Travel safe. Godspeed.

My wife, Jill, is a pediatric nurse and will be working the night shifts
both today and tomorrow. I always do the holiday meal cooking and she'll be
home for the gift unwrapping, so at least she'll be able to participate in
some of the highlights of the day.

--
Dave
www.davebbq.com

On Mon, 24 Dec 2007 16:17:20 -0500, Goomba38 >
wrote:


>I'll be there tomorrow night too, Christine. Sadly, the trauma victims
>we get this time of year of often the "out of towners" who are traveling
>to distant cities and states when bad things happen. It complicates things.
>Wear your seatbelts folks. Travel safe. Godspeed.

We get the babies from moms who are visiting..not expecting that they
would go into labor early.

We do try to get as many babies as we can, home in time for the
holidays.

I am making a slaw to take into work tonight. I only had one night off
last night, and I was exhausted, so I didn't do any baking that I
wanted to. This was easy enough to put together, and it is festive
looking. It is a recipe from Sara Moulton: I saw this on FoodTV
several years ago, and have made it a few times since. I already had
the ingredients here for it, so it didn't cost me much to make it.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/reci..._17278,00.html

Christine

Dave Bugg wrote:
>
> My wife, Jill, is a pediatric nurse and will be working the night shifts
> both today and tomorrow. I always do the holiday meal cooking and she'll be
> home for the gift unwrapping, so at least she'll be able to participate in
> some of the highlights of the day.
>
Dave, I don't think I knew this before? Or if I had I forgot....
We're glad she'll be "there" with us. A good crew of good folks makes
working the holidays a little less depressing. I'll be bringing some
odds and ends in to share a nosh as the night goes on. Not sure what yet
though? I wanted to make some cherry macarooons. I purchased liquor
filled chocolates (big brand liquors too!) again to gift to the clerks
who work with us. I always wrap it up and tel them they have to open it
at home.... they all seem to look forward to it. Chocolates and real
liquor-how can I go wrong!? LOL

On Tue, 25 Dec 2007 05:40:15 -0500, Goomba38 >
wrote:

>Dave Bugg wrote:
>>
>> My wife, Jill, is a pediatric nurse and will be working the night shifts
>> both today and tomorrow.
>Dave, I don't think I knew this before? Or if I had I forgot....
>We're glad she'll be "there" with us. A good crew of good folks makes
>working the holidays a little less depressing. I'll be bringing some
>odds and ends in to share a nosh as the night goes on. Not sure what yet
>though? I wanted to make some cherry macarooons. I purchased liquor
>filled chocolates (big brand liquors too!) again to gift to the clerks
>who work with us. I always wrap it up and tel them they have to open it
>at home.... they all seem to look forward to it. Chocolates and real
>liquor-how can I go wrong!? LOL

We had a rockin', rowdy crew at work last night, and we laughed all
night, and still worked hard. Some of the parents came in and brought
us food, such as tamales, posole, and the like.
We ate almost all night..we had a good sized potluck at work and there
was still food left over. We stuffed it in the fridge, and decided to
munch on it again tonight...if the day crew doesn't eat it up after
eating all the food they brought!!!

Christine

Goomba38 wrote:
> Dave Bugg wrote:
>>
>> My wife, Jill, is a pediatric nurse and will be working the night
>> shifts both today and tomorrow. I always do the holiday meal cooking
>> and she'll be home for the gift unwrapping, so at least she'll be
>> able to participate in some of the highlights of the day.

> Dave, I don't think I knew this before? Or if I had I forgot....

I don't think I've mentioned it directly before. She received her BSN from
Mankato State U in Minnesota in 1984. When she graduated there were no jobs
around for new grads; she and several of her classmates attended a
recruitment fair for the hospital in Wenatchee that she still works at. She
had only inteded to stay for a year and then return to Minnesota..... but
then her and I met and the rest is history :-)

> We're glad she'll be "there" with us. A good crew of good folks makes
> working the holidays a little less depressing. I'll be bringing some
> odds and ends in to share a nosh as the night goes on. Not sure what
> yet though? I wanted to make some cherry macarooons. I purchased
> liquor filled chocolates (big brand liquors too!) again to gift to
> the clerks who work with us. I always wrap it up and tel them they
> have to open it at home.... they all seem to look forward to it.
> Chocolates and real liquor-how can I go wrong!? LOL

It'll sure keep 'em happy and make for a good working relationship :-)

--
Dave
www.davebbq.com

On Mon, 24 Dec 2007 15:23:20 GMT, "Michael \"Dog3\""
> wrote:
>
>We did not put up any decorations this year. My Snowshoe cat, Ramsey, is
>into everything, all the time. And there is not a place in the house he
>can't get to, including the ceiling. I can't even imagine what would
>happen to a Christmas tree. I know for sure he would climb it.
>Undoubtedly he would eventually knock it down. Maybe next year when he
>settles down and is a bit older.
>

someone at *americablog* told a tale of a tinsel-eating cat. the
strands coming out of his butt a few days later might have been
festive, but probably best avoided.

your pal,
blake

On Mon, 24 Dec 2007 13:51:03 -0700, Christine Dabney
> wrote:

>On Mon, 24 Dec 2007 09:52:15 -0500, "Dave Smith"
> wrote:
>
>>Merry Christmas to all.
>
>And a Merry Christmas to all of you!!!
>
>I am one of the "unfortunates" who will be working tonight and
>tomorrow night.
>
>However, we are having a potluck at work tonight and will probably
>have more snacking at work the next night. This is the time of year
>when there are more goodies around at work than anyone can ever eat.
>
>Christine

i hope you got a pay differential, christine.

your pal,
blake

Christine Dabney wrote:

> We had a rockin', rowdy crew at work last night, and we laughed all
> night, and still worked hard. Some of the parents came in and brought
> us food, such as tamales, posole, and the like.
> We ate almost all night..we had a good sized potluck at work and there
> was still food left over. We stuffed it in the fridge, and decided to
> munch on it again tonight...if the day crew doesn't eat it up after
> eating all the food they brought!!!
>
> Christine

We had four gunshot wounds come in, only one was self inflicted.
Jeeesuz.. what do some of these people *do* on Christmas?!!
2 MVC's with mutiple mangled bones (only 1 of them drunk).
Typical trauma drama holiday. And we ate *entirely* too much candy and
junk...ugh!!

On Wed, 26 Dec 2007 09:36:59 -0500, Goomba38 >
wrote:

>Christine Dabney wrote:
>
>> We had a rockin', rowdy crew at work last night, and we laughed all
>> night, and still worked hard. Some of the parents came in and brought
>> us food, such as tamales, po
>> Christine
>
>We had four gunshot wounds come in, only one was self inflicted.
>Jeeesuz.. what do some of these people *do* on Christmas?!!
>2 MVC's with mutiple mangled bones (only 1 of them drunk).
>Typical trauma drama holiday. And we ate *entirely* too much candy and
>junk...ugh!!

Well..last night was a bit busier... We had a 25 weeker born...a
micro premie. None of us had much time to get something to eat, other
than the cookies that were at the desk... Later in the night, after
it had slowed down a bit, we all decided we were sick of sweet stuff
and we headed back to the fridge in the lounge and found ham and
potatoes and pancit, and salad..plus other goodies. We had a right
royal meal at 4am!!
And after that, we got another premie about an hour or so later, and
when I left this morning, they had just gone to a delivery for another
baby for us.
At least my "area" can be somewhat happier...even though we are busy.
Birth is a normal process, even if the babies are sick or premature.

Christine

On Wed, 26 Dec 2007 15:38:32 GMT, "Michael \"Dog3\""
> wrote:


>That is why I take food up to Steven and his staff all the time. It is
>really appreciated by the doctors, nurses and other staff that work so
>hard.
I gather Steven is a pediatrician, Michael? Or a neonatologist? I am
not sure from reading your posts. Is he head of the unit?

And believe me, we nurses appreciate it!! The food, that is. Did I
say that one set of parents brought us in tamales and posole on
Christmas Eve night?

A recommendation: The savory stuff is much appreciated. Even more so
than the sweet stuff, unless it is chocolate based.

>Thank you Christine for helping to make other people's lives better. I hope
>you have a great New Year.

And you enliven my life too, Michael.. I really miss it when you
aren't posting.

And, thank you, for your thanks.

Christine

Oh pshaw, on Wed 26 Dec 2007 10:46:25a, Michael "Dog3" meant to say...

> Christine Dabney > dropped this
> : in rec.food.cooking
>
>> On Wed, 26 Dec 2007 15:38:32 GMT, "Michael \"Dog3\""
>> > wrote:
>>
>>
>>>That is why I take food up to Steven and his staff all the time. It is
>>>really appreciated by the doctors, nurses and other staff that work so
>>>hard.
>> I gather Steven is a pediatrician, Michael? Or a neonatologist? I am
>> not sure from reading your posts. Is he head of the unit?
>
> Pediatrician specializing in Cardiology. No, he is not the head of the
> unit. He is a surgeon. I didn't know this before but I was reading some
> paperwork he left on the kitchen table. His hands are insured. Are all
> doctor's hands insured?
>
>>
>> And believe me, we nurses appreciate it!! The food, that is. Did I
>> say that one set of parents brought us in tamales and posole on
>> Christmas Eve night?
>
> Ohhhhhh... that sounds wonderful.
>
>>
>> A recommendation: The savory stuff is much appreciated. Even more so
>> than the sweet stuff, unless it is chocolate based.
>
> Oh, I already know this. Barb's brownies are always a huge hit but the
> savory foods is where the nutrition is. For some unknown reason soup is
> always a huge hit. Seems like soup and sandwiches is the best thing to
> take. Maybe a salad.
>
>>
>> And you enliven my life too, Michael.. I really miss it when you
>> aren't posting.
>
> Why thanks. Sometimes my life get real hectic and I don't have time to
> post. Other times I've got lots of free time to post. My free time is
> right around the corner when it gets really cold. I won't be able to
> piddle in the yard and won't be riding quite as much.
>
> Michael
>
>

Not all doctors, but most surgeons. Injure their hands and they're outta
business. I had a friend in Cleveland who was a maxillofacial surgeon
specializing in restoration surgery. His hands were insured for big bucks
by the hospital where he practiced.

--
Wayne Boatwright

*******************************************
Date: Wednesday, 12(XII)/26(XXVI)/07(MMVII)
*******************************************
Today is: Boxing Day (U.K.)
*******************************************
I am in total control, but don't tell
my cat.
*******************************************

On Wed, 26 Dec 2007 17:46:25 GMT, "Michael \"Dog3\""
> wrote:


>
>Oh, I already know this. Barb's brownies are always a huge hit but the
>savory foods is where the nutrition is. For some unknown reason soup is
>always a huge hit. Seems like soup and sandwiches is the best thing to
>take. Maybe a salad.

I can see how that would be. Oftentimes food (if we get any on a very
busy night) is grabbed on the go. Something we can eat with one hand,
while charting with the other hand. Soup you can put in a cup and
eat/drink and a sandwich doesn't require a fork, and two hands to eat.
Something you can take a bite of, and put down easily and go running
to attend to something like a baby trying to take a figurative
nosedive...
Also, things that don't have to be heated up, which is why sandwiches
are good. Things that do well at room temperature... There have
often been times when I just didn't get a break all night to go eat,
cause it would have taken too much time to get food out and heat it up
and then sit down to eat it.

So, for any of you who take in food to hospital staff, for whatever
reason, remember this..

Christine

On Wed, 26 Dec 2007 17:46:25 GMT, "Michael \"Dog3\""
> wrote:
> I won't be able to
>piddle in the yard
>
>Michael

really, michael! what will the neighbors say?

your pal,
blake

blake murphy wrote:
> On Wed, 26 Dec 2007 17:46:25 GMT, "Michael \"Dog3\""
> > wrote:
>> I won't be able to
>> piddle in the yard
>>
>> Michael
>
> really, michael! what will the neighbors say?
>
> your pal,
> blake


Probably "Hey, I wonder what's wrong--Michael isn't piddling in the
yard these days."

;-)

gloria p