Bits Of Dust

Archive for December, 2007

I know things have been slow around here for a while, but things are going to pick up again now that the holidays are over.

I hope you and your family had a great holiday season, and more importantly, I hope you all have a wonderful and happy new year!

As southern tradition dictates, we’ll be celebrating with a nice big pot of black-eyed peas. The wife has added the hambone we saved from Thanksgiving, and all should be good with the world.

Happy New Year!

The Birth of Jesus

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

The Shepherds and the Angels

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ[a] the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

I hope you and your family have a wonderful, and very Merry Christmas!

It’s always nice to sit back and relax after wading into the Christmas shopping frenzy just days before Christmas. We did good this year. We bought a lot of the presents early, so we only had a few that we had to actually “brave the crowds” to purchase.

One of the easiest decisions was what to buy for my brother-in-law. He loves everything French, so we always make sure that we purchase something “made in France” for him. This year, we bought him some wine. He travelled to France a couple years ago in college on an exchange program and fell in love with the place.

One site I discovered, Tastevine, really helps in the decision process. By checking a couple boxes, they will help you decide if you want red wine or white wine, and then help you make the purchase.

While it’s always easy to decide what we are getting him for Christmas, I still have trouble deciding between a good merlot or a refreshing chardonnay. Either way, I know he’s usually happy with our decision.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…

Now that the tooth has been pulled, I will be back in full force in no time. Food never tasted this good.

Until this week, when my tooth began to really bother me, my favorite snack of all time was popcorn. It doesn’t matter if it comes from a microwavable bag, a popcorn maker, or if you pop it yourself on the stove, I love the stuff. I can hardly wait for the dentist to fix this tooth next week so I can resume eating my favorite snack.

When I was younger we had a popcorn maker that was awesome. I don’t know what ever happened to it, but I haven’t seen it in years. The other day when we were at the store, I saw one of those old fashioned trolly popcorn makers. I would love to have one of those.

Woke up this morning with a horrible toothache. Got an appointment tomorrow morning, I shall return when I can see straight again.

As I mentioned the other day, our middle son, who is 8, decided to cook dinner for his mom for her birthday.

Here is the “menu” he prepared for her:

Joseph’s Hacienda Grill
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Beverage
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Pomegranate Cocktail

Appetizer
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Grilled Mozzarella & Black Pepper Quesadilla with Prosciutto di Parma

Entree’
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Pan-Seared Steaks with Garlic Butter Sauce
Grilled Bread with Garlic Butter & Fresh Herbs

Vegetables
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Asparagus Milanese
Roasted Seasoned Potato Wedges

Dessert
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White Chocolate – Banana Cream – Coconut Pie

I will post each of the recipes he followed (or created). A couple items were inspired by, or from, Bobby Flay’s cookbook (Bobby Flay is his all-time personal hero), and one was a recipe from Mario Batali (my favorite). One of these days I will get video of him cooking. He’s awesome already, I tell ya.

Are you looking for the perfect recipe for Parmesan Puffs? Check out this really kewl video from Vinny!

This evening, as I watched an episode of Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares on BBC America, I got to wondering about different London Restaurants and after a couple quick searches I ended up at the Harden’s Guide to London Restaurants.

At the Harden’s site you can search by cuisine or by features, but best of all, the results are sorted by price, and they have ratings (for food, service, and ambience) right there where you can see them. Once you choose a restaurant you can use the handy map to find them, and in some cases, you can make your reservation right there from the site.

I wish there were sites like that for cities across the United States. I am so hungry right now, and I would love to know who is open to serve me a really good burger.

Now pardon me while I get back to watching my food shows.

I bet you were wondering, “Now why don’t he write?”

After taking the entire month of November off from blogging here at Bits Of Dust, I’m back.

It was an interesting month that’s for sure. I have several recipes to post here over the next couple weeks, including a full dinner menu my 8 year old son prepared for his mom for her birthday.

One recipe I saw last month that I think people need to see, was Chef John’s roasted chicken.

Just like in the real world, getting under the skin can make all the difference in the world.