Thursday, December 26, 2013

Racing Toward The New Year

The frenzy of Christmas is over.  The leftovers are in the fridge and in a few days, the naps will commence.  I haven't had time to take one for days.  We had 12 people in attendance for Christmas dinner - an all day event beginning with appetizers.  I made the main course of lasagna, and then we had several desserts - some home made, some store bought.

I have to say, I was seriously disappointed with my lasagna.  Say what??  I know.  WTF?  I made two huge ones.  Well, three really, but I put one in the freezer and cooked two of them.

But I wasn't happy with them.  They looked good, they smelled good, but when I cut into them....cheese explosion.  Normally, lots of cheese is a good thing, right?  But no.  This was a spread of cheese.  Like the movie The Blob.  I should have probably let them sit a little longer to let everything firm up because when they're hot and you cut them, they do tend to spread.  Mine took the cheese spread to a whole new level.

Everyone was polite and didn't make me feel bad.  It wasn't as if it were inedible, it just wasn't great.  I've never had a lasagna disaster in my life.  Ever.  And usually I'm not so hard on myself about something not turning out well, but this was for twelve people.  Twelve hungry people.  I was consoled by everyone, and even those I thought would be the first to point out the cheese avalanche, didn't say a word.

The lasagna certainly firmed up in the fridge overnight, and tomorrow we'll eat the leftovers.  That will be the true test, as everyone knows lasagna is better the second day.  Tonight I made Baked Scallops with Herbed Breadcrumb Topping.  Those came out pretty delicious.  I've made this recipe before and it's essentially foolproof.  I feel a little better about that.  And my guests were happy.

Today I celebrated Boxing Day with Marlaina, my Canadian friend, by hitting a few stores and then getting mani-pedis.  I got a new pair of shoes, eyeballed a red French Connection purse at the Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5th store that I still may go back and buy, and got my toes painted an interesting reddish orange.  And the best part?  Marlaina treated me to my pedicure!!  How awesome is that?

The boys stayed home racing imaginary F1 cars on the computer with the new steering wheel Ed bought, while sipping 12 year old scotch from my mother's fanciest rocks glasses.

Our guests will leave tomorrow, heading to the west coast.  I think we had a great visit - they're the easiest house guests ever - and we'll be seeing them at the end of January again at the event the company we're leased to puts on for its drivers.

I'm hoping from now to the end of the year I'll be relaxing.  I should probably talk to Ed to make sure he's on the same page.

If I can tear him away from the racetrack.



~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2012: I Need A Support Group

2011: No One Mentioned The Elephant In The Room, But The Zebra Was A Big Topic Of Discussion
2010: White Chocolate Melts Away
2009: An Appetizer With Heart
2008: Angelic Eddie Friday
2007: Would You Like A Fried Egg With A Side Of Influenza?
2006: Cerrado
2005: The Best Gift Of All

3 comments:

Marlaina said...

I want to vouch for the lasagne. Awesome. Yes, cheesy, but awesome. We were delighted to receive leftovers.

Everything you created was fantastic.

Thank you for including us in your family celebration.

Mick said...

I notice that you spell it lasagna, and Marlaina spells it lasagne, like we do in the UK (except for the canteen where I used to work who spelled it lasagane!)

The Daily Rant said...

MICK: I did notice that too. Technically, it should be lasagne, I guess, but I think all my life we've referred to it as lasagna, so it's habit, I guess. I'll have to do better since I'm supposed to be all Italian about it. :)