Nostalgia

I'm at Mama D's house in Kansas City, cleaning out old boxes of stuff that's been accumulating for more than ten years. Here's the most amusing stuff I've found so far: my 8th grade basketball picture, a New Found Glory sweatshirt (no comment), a greeting card I meant to give someone in 2006, and an old copy of my high school newspaper, the Thomas More Utopian (aptly named?).

A Holiday How-To: So the Oven Broke on Turkey Day...

Well, it's Thanksgiving...which means family, food, and football on TV. Just before the holiday could kick off, however, Mama D's oven broke down. Not to be deterred (and having a turkey large enough to feed a small army), she figured out how to grill out bird on the gas grill, cook the stuffing in a crock pot, and still have dinner on the table by mid-afternoon. Here she is checking out the turkey's progress.

Update, 12:05 pm: Mama D says the turkey takes 4 hours on the grill, and is turning out so brown and lovely that she may grill the turkey every year from now on. You heard it here first, friends: necessity is indeed the mother of delicious invention.

Where have you been?

My cat was waiting for me when I got home to Mama D and Chris' house for Thanksgiving...this is her doing her "I'm so cute and adorable when I stick my paw out, why don't you pet me?" look.

The Family Chef

Mama D is one hell of a cook - while I was at home visiting her and the family this weekend she whipped up a lobster bisque, steak, carrots, and baked potatoes for dinner. She's a pro, and is single-handedly the reason that I cannot cook very well (I'm learning...I only fill the kitchen with smoke about once every two weeks now...quite the accomplishment). Above, she stirs the bisque, and below, stirs up some simmering carrots.

Kansas City Beef

I went to visit Mama D in Kansas City over the weekend. Knowing my obsession for cheeseburgers, she made a smart choice and took me to lunch at J Alexander's, a local restaurant that has delicious well-done fare as well as one of the best burgers in town. Other than wanting to slather ketchup all over it (perhaps a second obsession), I enjoyed it thoroughly. You can see below just how much I enjoyed it...just call me a member of the clean plate club.

Another Buggy Picture

This was really taken on the 1st, but it shows a grasshopper that decided to take up residence in Mama D and Chris' entryway for a few days. As a side-note, I feel like my blog is being overtaken by a preponderance of photos of bugs and food. What does that say about me?

Old School

Looking through an old box of high school nostalgia items, I came across the first cell phone I ever owned. It's as big as a sunglasses case, which is shown at the bottom of the shot.

Tartlette aux Poires

Nothing says dessert better than a Pear Tartlette (tres delicieux!). At Mom's house, dessert is always a production.

Leg Humper

This is my mom's dog Cooper. He's a shameless leg humper.

Mama D's New House

This is a picture of the living room and dining room in my mom's new house. Can I just stress that it's huge? I actually had taken a video tour of the whole house to post here and show you, but the file was so large that Blogger, Google, and YouTube all refused to let me upload it....and that should give you an idea of how big this house is.

Mom will probably be a little put off that I'm posting this, since they aren't unpacked yet, but that's a chance I'll take.