The Delightful Holiday!

Ryan and I had a splendid holiday in the "Long Island" of Utah, aka Park City. (In Grenada, they don't say vacation, they say holiday like the British do.)

I did have two comical culture shocks:

One; as we left the SLC Airport, I was a little unnerved why no one was looking at me at all... and then I remembered that white people never stare at other white people! :-)

And Two; I almost told my mom about 3 times that she was driving on the incorrect side of the road. Oh boy.


Here are some fabulous pictures of the last 8 weeks or so on and off the island. And yes, I do realize that I am becoming that girl whose pictures widely consist of food and her dog.

"You guyz not leave wi'out me, wight?"

"Somefing's wrong with dis guy."

Where's the Chewey?

Chicken Cordon Bleu with white wine cheese sauce & Grilled Asparagus wrapped in prosciutto.

Baby brothers Spencer (left) and Emerson (right). (Yes, they're both a head taller than me.)

My pretty momma enjoying her Christmas present. And it gets better: I gave her a yoga class before, she took a bubble bath after dinner, and went to bed at 10 pm. Yep, Best Present Award goes to Ryan & Jessi this year!

Yom yom yom!

Amazing Dinner #2 per Chef Ryan: his bday meal. Lovely green Harvest salad! (Avocados were me. Thank you.)

Lobster Bisque (Fat Free, Weight-Loss Enhancing, & Cellulite Reducer, of course!)

What a pretty Tray of Creme Brulees!

Once again, whipped cream, berry, and mint leaf were me. Hair toss, Thank You!

So cute--Ryan teaching Zane how to fetch with Chewey!

Momma with her cute little kindergarteners

Umm... Super pathetic. And awkward. (Yes, he killed his toy lobster and moved on to his rope.)

Mom made Ryan an apple pie for his bday! It was dee-lish! And muy bonita.

Okay, who is the best wife EVER?! My best present to him yet, methinks.

Tah-Daaaahhhh!!! Now I should know everything. (Wait, what?!?!)

My Three Favorite Pictures

I burst out laughing so so so hard at these. I hope you enjoy them. :-)

Cone of Shame

Will someone get this for me?

Aye!

A Grenada Post Office Moment

My sweet Momma sent me a package for my birthday (which was October 12,  about 7 weeks ago). I expected it to get here, oh I dunno, the end of November.

After my birthday, I asked my office-landlady's-assistant-girl which neighborhood post office I should go to if I had a package to pick up. She told me that I wouldn't even have to worry about it: she would get the phone call from the office and she would pick it up for me! Cool!

And November came and went.

Ugh.

Could it be that maybe those jerks kept my package!

So, I finally got fed up and just CALLED the Post Office myself. And the lady's like "Yah! You've got one!"

ACK! If you want something done right, you better do it yourself!

So I bussed over there, terrified of them telling me this package is going to cost $240 or something. I began to feel like I was going to an audition. And all my ex-boyfriends were the judges. Yikes! I took out the big bills of my wallet, just in case I'd have to put on a big show: "Oh, I don't have $50! I only have a $20! That's all I have!" (cue back of hand to forehead)

So I waltzed in there, in my nasty gym clothes (wearing them helps the drunk men sober up enough to recoil) and got the attention of the lady behind the counter. She was actually nice & efficient (by Grenada standards), and it only cost $5.75 EC ($2.14 US)! I got the feeling that the post office folks didn't hate me, but wanted me out of there. Fine by me!

Inside the little box, were Dove chocolates (that were gone two days ago), a birthday card, and a nice, specialized fiber supplement I asked for. I was tickled pink!

Here's the clencher: I think the date of arrival was written on the box: 10-21-11. Sigh.

Thanksgiving Week, Part 3/3. Overall, a successful dinner!

Appetizer - slash - Lunch

Dough that's becoming rolls...

Chicken with minced onion & garlic, pre-cooked

Rolls in the oven, for the dough's third rising

Sigh, all your hard work is making me tired...

Halfway done! :-)

All the way done, and half-way gone

My salad, roll, and chicken breast. Yum!

With butternut squash soup!

Thanksgiving Week, Part Two

Wednesday: Make Pumpkin Pie! Boil potatoes, defrost chicken.

Sigh, the infamous pumpkin pie. I got everything out before I realized I didn't have a rolling pin. Blurg! Or a shortening cutter. Double blurg! I made twice the amount of pie crust that I needed, making plenty of room for error.

Tried the white/green plastic plate as a rolling pin, but no cigar...

... But the potato masher was an incredible shortening cutter!

Here is my invention of a rolling pin: off-brand Pam wrapped in plastic wrap.

 

 

 

Success! Thank you Alton Brown for the plastic wrap idea!

Lots of drama to get to this point. I'm glad I made lot-sa crust!

Almost done! Looks... okay.

After a long time of trying that cool finger-pinching thing my mom does to her pie crusts, I forked it! Ugh, now it looks like a trashy diner's chicken pot pie. Oh well.

Don't tell me nutmeg isn't in the recipe for the pumpkin part! I will not have it! It will be freshly grated in the batter regardless!

My moment of anxiety: Did I halve this recipe? Will all this batter fit in my pie crust?

Oh good! Yes it will!

Pie in the oven, chopped potatoes in the water...

Ugh, here's my non-Moonshine yam. It's supposed to be orange! Blurg.

Finished pie product! I hope it's good tomorrow!

Thanksgiving Week! Part One of... lots more posts

So!!

I decided to make Thanksgiving Dinner for Ryan and me--ALL BY MYSELF! On account of being far away from family, friends, and Momma's stuffing. This is a rare time when a 25-year-old Mormon granddaughter can learn everything and won't be discouraged from participating in the large extended family pot-luck.

And my rule for this series is: I will not proofread-slash-edit-slash-filter my experiences. It will be difficult. I am a Public Relations undergraduate, notwithstanding. Even though this is a fabulous opportunity for me to display to you all how glorious-slash-talented I am in the kitchen. (Oops, that was filtered, I guess.) This series will show my bumps in the Caribbean Road to Thanksgiving.

I figured this can't be too intense: I have an unlimited supply of free time, knowledge of my kitchen  equipment's limits, an easy-going husband, and a neurotic, finish-WELL-in-advance personality.

The Menu:

• Chicken 
• (settle down! A small turkey costs $60-100 EC here. A chicken the same size costs $21)
• Rolls
• Must be part or mostly wheat, requires no bread maker in recipe equipment
• Butternut Squash Soup
• Should be problem-free... I've made it before...
• Candied Yams for me, Mashed Potatoes for Ryan
• Ryan's a potato tramp, so I'm an expert. I've candied yams once, two years ago... yikes!
• Spinach Salad
• a foodie's wet dream: Poppy Seeds in the dressing, and bacon!!
• Stuffing
• Ick. Pillar of Salt. I'm gonna make one serving, then throw it away. If it's not Mom's stuffing, I'm not eating it.
• Pumpkin Pie
• Pie crust from scratch. Never been done before by me. I'm partially terrified. And I have no pastry cutter!
• Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread
• Strictly for friends. I have no self-control with things like this. Meaning, I think I could eat an entire loaf in 1 hour, and not feel that bad about it.

Monday: Organization Day, Splurge Day.  (85% successful)

Tuesday: Prepare salad dressing, butternut squash soup, & pumpkin bread.

Before shaken: looks like Chewey's sick.

After shaken: yummy dressing, permeating in opium.

Squash cooking in oven!

Squash (taken out of the microwave to finish cooking) to be mashed and blended.

Finished product, ready to be stored away! Hopefully letting it sit for so long will increase the spices.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread in oven....

Oh, this picture's much better

My yam! There was also a brand of yam called Moon Shine.
Maybe I should've bought one of those just in case the dinner went for the worst.... ?

Whew! Now off to bed and have visions of pie crusts dancing in my head...