What are You Doing for Christmas?

Did you say you were inviting us all over? Oh, you didn't. Oh.



Have a great one! You sound like a fantastic cook.

Okay, here's our story. We've been Lakeside only six weeks and will be missing our family dearly on Christmas Day. Don't get me wrong..... we love it here, but need to find some new traditions to incorporate into our new lifestyle. Today we decided to stroll downtown Chapala in search of inexpensive toys to share with the little ones in our community on Christmas Day. We'll be the two gringo's strolling up & down the streets looking to bring smiles to the little faces we meet along the way!

Feliz Navidad to everyone!!

jeano.gal wrote:Okay, here's our story. We've been Lakeside only six weeks and will be missing our family dearly on Christmas Day. Don't get me wrong..... we love it here, but need to find some new traditions to incorporate into our new lifestyle. Today we decided to stroll downtown Chapala in search of inexpensive toys to share with the little ones in our community on Christmas Day. We'll be the two gringo's strolling up & down the streets looking to bring smiles to the little faces we meet along the way!

Feliz Navidad to everyone!!

That's the the spirit!.The kids will love it,the parents will notice and before you know it your'e part of the community.
Chris

We will be having our traditional appetizers (Crab Rangoon for Kathy and sushi for me) followed by cheese fondue on Christmas Eve. Christmas Day meal will be Beef Wellington w/Bearnaise Sauce, asparagus and Caesar Salad. Nice quiet day at home with a fire in the fireplace. For us, it can't get any better than that!

raqueteer wrote:"DaveP"


What more can you want

Uhhh Dave, how about MyHomeSweetHome in the kitchen to cook it all and wash up afterwards. Just a suggestion.

Dave's meal is sounding pretty foodie to me ;o) I'm wonder what the wasabi is for, being that I've only eaten it w/sushi? Creamy horseradish and beef are a ok with me. Did you make your pickle's Dave? I'm interested in making refrigerator pickles.

em, does that wash up come with a nice foot massage for the servant? What a stinker you are raq! As if I don't have enough on my plate! You want coal in your stocking??? lol

We are going to Mcdonalds for the Turkey Mcnuggets then off for some Xmas karaokee at the Rusty Spur for their 2 for 1 tequila special.

Gosh Neil, sounds tempting. Too bad Volaris is not offering a sale on seats over the holidays, otherwise a few, including myself, might be turning up on your doorstep.

Merry X-mas,
raq

Ahhh, we have heard from Ms. Martha Stewart herself. No I'm not a stinker, just tired. We're actually having the same thing as the foodie, and wasabi sounds like a good addition.

raqueteer wrote:
Merry X-mas,
raq

Ahhh, we have heard from Ms. Martha Stewart herself. No I'm not a stinker, just tired. We're actually having the same thing as the foodie, and wasabi sounds like a good addition.

I think my mother is too...

Martha Stewart...I did try her candy cane recipe but not sure if she's a step or down...let's see, pull up a chair raq...it all started when I was 19. My neighbor said Betty Crocker had moved into the neighborhood, later that same neighbor said my pies were as good as Maria Calendars!(that was not a complement being it's "store bought," but hey, I appreciated that it didn't taste so bad you shouldn't buy it if it were frozen. I'm sitting here, nearly 12 a.m. and why? Because I'm at this stage making croissants:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIFq1kLJ2IY&feature=endscreen&NR=1

once those babies are rolled/cut/& rising I'm out but since I've got 30 min yet to spare till the roll/cut & rising phase, I think I'll clean up the kitchen a bit, have a spoon full of minced garlic downed w/a glass of water w/fresh squeeze lemon, drink a hot cup of tea w/honey(just so I don't get sick from lack of sleep)...maybe even take a hot bath before crawling into a nice feather bed.

CanuckBob wrote:We are going to Mcdonalds for the Turkey Mcnuggets then off for some Xmas karaokee at the Rusty Spur for their 2 for 1 tequila special.

You can't be that good to your "1/2 of orange!"(that's Mexican for better 1/2)

Jajaja.....actually we are laying quite low this Xmas, since we are holed up at our cousin's (and she is gone away for Xmas) awaiting our big move we are having our kids over for traditional dinner tonight then going to my sister's for dinner tomorrow. We have asked that no one buys us any gifts since we are heading down to Mexico with only our luggage. We suggested they all save their money to come and visit us next year instead.

MyHomeSweetHome wrote:

raqueteer wrote:"DaveP"


What more can you want

Uhhh Dave, how about MyHomeSweetHome in the kitchen to cook it all and wash up afterwards. Just a suggestion.

Dave's meal is sounding pretty foodie to me ;o) I'm wonder what the wasabi is for, being that I've only eaten it w/sushi? Creamy horseradish and beef are a ok with me. Did you make your pickle's Dave? I'm interested in making refrigerator pickles.

em, does that wash up come with a nice foot massage for the servant? What a stinker you are raq! As if I don't have enough on my plate! You want coal in your stocking??? lol

Refrigerator pickles are at this link. It takes no time to make them and they are delicious. I used the smallest cucumbers I could find but would like to try it with seedless cukes. I made pickled beets also, forgot those on my original post, we have them in the fridge all the time. The pepper jelly is homemade also.

http://www.almanac.com/blog/blogs/then-out-pickle?utm_source=Almanac+Companion&utm_campaign=1d635ce655-Companion_Sep_6_2011&utm_medium=email&mc_cid=1d635ce655&mc_eid=d02a9d9474

Wasabi horseradish is better for your roast beef than the insipid horseradish sauce we get here. I get it at Superlake. I wish we could by the horseradish root and grow it here. Nothing like fresh H sauce

Dave, how did you age that beef, wet method or dry. TIA.

raqueteer wrote:Dave, how did you age that beef, wet method or dry. TIA.

I buy from a small butcher who ages all his meat 2-3 weeks. Picked it up on Thursday

CheenaGringo wrote:We will be having our traditional appetizers (Crab Rangoon for Kathy and sushi for me) followed by cheese fondue on Christmas Eve. Christmas Day meal will be Beef Wellington w/Bearnaise Sauce, asparagus and Caesar Salad. Nice quiet day at home with a fire in the fireplace. For us, it can't get any better than that!

We used to do a cheese and dungeness crab fondue on Christmas Eve up in OR.

David:

Due to my extreme allergy to all types of shellfish, we have to modify our menu. Needless to say, my sushi will be tuna variety.

raqueteer wrote:Sooooo, MyHomeSweetHome would you mind sending me a P.M. with your address, and a map?

TIA,
raq

BTW This kinda makes my non traditional Christmas spam roll seem a little dull
.

My thoughts exactly! I wonder if HomeSweetHome is interested in adopting a 58 year old man. I could be the odd Nephew they never wanted....I even do dishes! (no windows though)

After her description, she'd have about twenty adoptees. Some might do windows.

SenorDorky wrote:

raqueteer wrote:Sooooo, MyHomeSweetHome would you mind sending me a P.M. with your address, and a map?

TIA,
raq

BTW This kinda makes my non traditional Christmas spam roll seem a little dull
.

My thoughts exactly! I wonder if HomeSweetHome is interested in adopting a 58 year old man. I could be the odd Nephew they never wanted....I even do dishes! (no windows though)

lol, i'm so sorry, i didn't see these comments until now, nor did I comprehend the spam roll comment until just now. Had I known you do dishes, I might have saved mine!!!! WHAHHHH!!!! I wrote about it in Christmas Disasters :(

Raq, are you serious? no, you had beef wellington w/horseradish, right?

After her description, she'd have about twenty adoptees. Some might do windows.

And Gringal, don't make me feel guilty. It was a lot of work & thank God it made 3 full dinners & hopefully 1-2 more days w/turkey croissant sandwiches for lunch. It sounds like most everyone went for the beef this Christmas. A few had ham. Speaking of ham, curious John, did you buy that $1000 USA ham at Costco? Anyone notice that????? Anyone know why that imported from the US ham was so expensive? Who would buy it? Ham tastes good but it's not even good for you!

My HomeSweetHome - Why are you dissing me about a Costco Ham when viajero bought the same ham? Why not dis him too? $ 1,000. for a Ham!!! More like $ 26 and a good buy considering what you get out of it. What kind of drugs are you on??? And ham is not good for you! Why is that and who the f&!k cares.

And you had a commonplace Turkey dinner. How was that lousy turkey you get here in Mexico, probably frozen and imported from Chile. And you had sweet potatoes with marshmellows on top. How frigging disgusting looking and tasting is that. We had that at the resort we went to over Thanksgiving week. Isn't that how the Mexicans do sweet potatoes?

johninajijic wrote:My HomeSweetHome - Why are you dissing me about a Costco Ham when viajero bought the same ham? Why not dis him too? $ 1,000. for a Ham!!! More like $ 26 and a good buy considering what you get out of it. What kind of drugs are you on??? And ham is not good for you! Why is that and who the f&!k cares.

And you had a commonplace Turkey dinner. How was that lousy turkey you get here in Mexico, probably frozen and imported from Chile. And you had sweet potatoes with marshmellows on top. How frigging disgusting looking and tasting is that. We had that at the resort we went to over Thanksgiving week. Isn't that how the Mexicans do sweet potatoes?

Are you kidding??? I never said ham didn't taste good and yes, i did enjoy my commonplace Butterball turkey, 2 of them actually. The sweet potatoes are my grandma's recipe, tradition, marinaded over night in melted butter, brown sugar & the juice of 1 orange. I made the marshmallows, broiled toasty brown on top before serving. Tasty but too rich really. It's an acquired taste. How the Mexicans prepare it, I'm unsure. It's fixed like a sweet thing and not refrigerated, not NOB style. It's more like a candy, I think, not a side dish but I could be wrong. Probably good with ham though.

I don't use any drugs, except coffee and tea if that counts. Maybe an Advil if I have cramps. I'm a bit of a health nut really.

Being ham is processed, so I thought, I couldn't imagine it's good for you but if you're on your last leg, by all means enjoy. Ok, so teach me something. I googled ham health benefits and come to find out: http://www.spanish-hams.co.uk/Types_of_jamon.html I take it, this is the reason for the pricey ham in Costco? Maybe it wasn't from the US but Spain??? Very different from the lunch/deli meat called jamon which is processed & couldn't be good for you. If the ham is an aged ham, it's a ok? Makes me want to get a pig now. Ok, viajero, do you know anything about the expensive ham in Costco?

John, did you have a nice childhood?

Too busy the last 2 days with parties and get to gethers 3 on Sunday and 2 on Monday, thank God we have a little break this week.
Exercise here I come.
Colder in Phoenix than here lately and my parents in Wyo. have had snow for weeks.

MyHomeSweetHome - Why do you continue to call it an expensive ham? What do you consider expensive for an 8 3/4 lb ham? Per kilo price? I don't understand. Please clarify. Apparently you don't know what a Spiral Cut Ham is! The Kirkland (Costco) Ham is made by Smithfield in the US. It's delicious, totally different from the processed ham at the deli counter which is full of nitrites, as is bacon. Both are bad for you.

How much did you pay for your Butterball turkey here, per kilo or per pound? It's a really great Turkey. When I was young, many years ago, my dad used to buy them in the States when he couldn't get a fresh killed Turkey at the Turkey farm.

I don't think $25 for a very tasty spiral cut ham is that expensive.Makes great sandwiches too.
Chris

My ham was $ 26. USD. It fed 7 people, all of whom were full. We cut up the rest and packaged it into 4 additional dinners. We cut more for friends for a dinner and for ham salad. We have some to add to our pea soup to be made with the ham bone.

MyHomeSweetHome, hope you have recovered from that monumental effort. No I didn't make a spam roll, just a joke.

We had standing prime rib, for eight. There wasn't enough left to make any other meals. Every doggy left at home got a bit and two got bones. Our dog knows exactly who will slip her a few goodies off their plates, she was so stuffed after dinner she passed out.

Looks like the ham was by far the best deal. Luckily, it looks like I'm off the hook for a while for which I will be eternally grateful.

As for success, that Costco beef was excellent, the yorkshire pudding didn't puff up as much as hoped, but tasted great anyway. But the biggest satisfaction, from my standpoint was the classic moulded and steamed date pudding. That puppy just magically dropped out of that stinking victorian mould with no extra persuasion whatsoever. Note: This has never happened before, so was a true Christmas miracle.

We were feasted on Christmas Eve by a Canadian and two Brit friends, at which time I got my first ever taste of Christmas pudding. This batch had been going a loooong time and had hard sauce. Definitely an acquired taste, but not bad at all. Enough brandy involved to ruin any teetotaler. Beautiful roast beast, fresh turkey and all that any happy gluttons could wish for.

Next year, it will probably be my turn.......OMIGOD. Can't even come close to the above, but if the world actually ends on Dec. 21st, I won't have to worry about it, will I? Or not.