I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday!
I can’t believe the year’s already drawing to a close. These last couple of months have certainly been a whirlwind of holiday activity with Thanksgiving, visiting my folks, Christmas, and even my birthday. I even forgot to post this yesterday.
It felt like just the other day that I was starting up this blog but it’s been four months already! I’d had reservations about starting a blog in the first place because of questions like “What if I can’t come up with content?”, “How often should I post?”, “Will people like what I write?”, and the dreaded “Does anyone really care?”. I came to the conclusion that if I want to write, I should. If people see my blog and like it, it’ll be a pleasant bonus!
Another issue I had when starting my blog was the direction I would go. I initially planned this blog to be a place to post crochet and knit patterns that I made. However, I haven’t really made any recently. So now, as you know, I’ve been posting food that I make or games I review, and if things go well in 2019, I’ll add some drawings and maybe try to move to a different web host.
Christmas Time!
To get ready for the holiday, I made amaretto fudge (recipe)! I haven’t tried making fudge on the stove before but the final product was extra creamy. I pushed about a cup of leftover chocolate chips into the top, let it set in the fridge, and the Cat cut it into one inch pieces. The two tablespoons of amaretto are subtle but stand out more if you savor each piece or eat more than one.
The Cat made some quick cheeseburgers with red onion, jalapeno, and Roma tomatoes. Looks like we forgot pickles and lettuce this time.
We found out one of the local grocery stores sells fresh mozzarella for cheaper than we usually pay so we snagged some and made mozzarella, Roma tomato, and basil sandwiches with olive oil and balsamic. The mozzarella didn’t disappoint with its buttery cheesiness matched by the savory tomato and the freshness of the basil.
The Cat reheated the leftover curry from last week with a can of coconut milk. Splendid over rice that can soak it up. I think I overate!
On Christmas Eve, the Cat made my current favorite dish: spaghetti and meatballs topped with some Parmesan and mozzarella.
I also had a shot of butterscotch schnapps with a cup of cream soda = instant adult butterbeer! Warning: it’s very sweet. Very, very sweet.
For Christmas, the Cat made a lot of mashed potatoes with roasted garlic (recipe; we only did two heads of garlic), butter, and milk mixed in. I made a key lime pie for dessert.
At my folks’s dinner table, I loaded up my plate with a bit of everything: turkey drumstick, green beans, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes with gizzard gravy, baked ham, and stuffing. I cleaned my plate.
And then came time for presents! For my family, I got a handmade Christmas ornament, some hand lotion, and some snacks. The Cat got a decorative desk plate. I got a baking set, a sweater, a camera easel, and a drawing tablet. I haven’t broken-in the baking set or tablet yet.
And a bit of after-present dessert. My folks gave me most of the pecan pie to bring home in exchange for most of my key lime.
For my birthday, the Cat went the extra mile and fried chicken for me! We used this copycat Chickfila recipe except we skipped the marinade and combined the wet and dry ingredients into a batter. The batter is double-able! I bought two sauces I wanted to try and mixed half of the chicken with each of them. They were fantastic! Served with rice and steamed broccoli. I preferred the Panda Express Beijing sauce which had a good sweetness, strong garlic and ginger flavors, and a surprising amount of kick. The Cat preferred the Tsang General Tso Sauce which strongly reminded me of steak sauce: a bit sweet and ketchup-y with little to no heat.
Can’t have a birthday without a cake! The Cat bought me a simple frosted chocolate cake and it was delicious.
Since I love tacos, the Cat also got me a taco plushie that I’ve named Pachelbel or Paco for short. His long name may or may not be Pachelbel the Tacobel.
No matter how this year was for you, I wish you all a happy new year and I’ll see you in January!
Cheers from both of us,
-Corgi and the Cat ❤