[Sca-cooks] 2013 Happy Holidays and Santa Stuff

[Kathleen Roberts]

Another snowless holiday in Albuquerque, but happy-happy anyway.

Continuing my years long tradition of wearing myself out before the holidays with overtime at work and cookie baking, my grand plans for holiday dinner went kershplooie.   Cocoa crinkles, peppermint cocoa crinkles, gingersnaps, decorated sugar cookies, oatmeal treasures (apricot, candied ginger, golden raisins, cranberries, currants, pecans) and white chocolate/dried cherry/pistachio chips.   All very well received.  Those not at work the week before the holidays will be getting green chili cheese scones when we all get back.

I attended our Midwinter on the 21st (a rather plain feast - hesitate to use the word feast - but it was what the autocrat wanted) and had fun seeing everyone after not attending much for a couple of years.   It was here that the husband-monster swears I caught that opportunistic bug that laid me low by Christmas a.m.   

I made my feast of the four and a half fishes Christmas eve (rather than trad oyster stew), based on Nadia G's recipe (four and a half since I used baby lobster tails, shrimp, crab legs and four (count 'em! four!) scallops and a talapia fillet.   White wine, garlic, parsley... really, really good.

The roast beef (3.69 a lb for a strip steak roast - delicious), creamed spinach, harvard beets, sauted mushies and scalloped potatoes turned into roast beef, mashed potatoes, sauteed spinach and sauted mushies.  Much less labor intensive, but easier on the sneezing cook.

New Year dinner will be roast fresh ham (haven't seen one in years!), mashed sweets, spiced apples and something green.   Easier on the eater... now the husband-monster is sick.  Ain't it the way?

Foodie present?   The Director at Admissions gave me a fantastic bottle of blackberry-ginger balsamic and a good olive oil.  The Assoc Director gave me a bottle of Irish Whiskey (she  knows me so well).   Other than that, buying popcorn at a matinee of Desolation of Smaug was probably the most expensive present. ;)

Time to go back to work tomorrow.  What fun.  After being off since the 20th (UNM perk), I think I am ready for another adventure...

Cailte

Kathleen Roberts

Supervisor, Student Records

Office of Admissions

Division of Enrollment Management

University of New Mexico

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"Being Irish, he had an abiding sense of tragedy, which sustained him through temporary periods of joy."  W.B. Yeats



"The hand that rocks the ladle rules the world."  Nadia G.

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