Happy New Year!

I made Pineapple Champagne Sorbet from The Perfect Scoop.



Mmm, fresh pineapple is so delicious! This sorbet is very airy and light. And festive!

Chris and I went skating at Frontier Park this evening. Brrrr, it was cold!!! Now we're eating assorted cheeses and waiting for the new year to begin. The TV is going on and on about the new decade. *rolleyes* I'll celebrate the new decade next year, when it begins.

Dennis's Favorite Fudge

I had some leftover ingredients from our Christmas cookies, so I made the fudge recipe from the Baker's chocolate box, sans nuts because we both prefer our fudge nutless.

Dennis can't stop eating this fudge! It is not as sugary or creamy as the Fantasy Fudge my Grandma always made, but it is about the easiest fudge recipe ever.

Merry Hunting / Chinese Buffet Day

I am still under the weather, but we got up and went hunting this morning anyway. I took an adult dose of Tylenol cold medicine (ew, the orange stuff) right before we went out the door.

Dennis saw a deer as we were walking down the old farm road. I was fully bundled and carrying my seat and bibs at the time, so I didn't think I could shoot. He got the muzzleloader. He walked parallel to the path he'd seen the deer on, and I continued down the road. Of course, that's when I saw deer. If I'd put my stuff down and gotten the rifle ready instead of handing it off, we'd have venison tonight. Oh well, that's hunting!

We sat for a while, but I was too wired from my adult dose of Tylenol cold medicine to sit still for very long. We made it about two hours in total. I realized as I was walking back up the hill that I really did not feel good at all, and questioned coming out into the cold to begin with.

After a nap, we went to Ryce Oriental Buffet for dinner. Their special holiday buffet seemed pretty nice. I had a fever by this time, so I didn't try much in the way of Westernized Chinese food, nor did I venture too far into the more exotic side of the buffet. I mostly ate dim sum dishes from the steam table. They had some jade dumplings that were super tasty. Dennis had some spicy tendon.

Orange Cookies - Florida

Beth's Orange Cookies - opted not to ice them after tasting the cookie alone.

trip to Florida in June.

Work/Party

We had a "rob your neighbor" Christmas party at work today. They also catered Bud Select and White Castles. I am getting a cold just in time for Christmas. I tried to keep off to myself to some extent, because I don't want to get everyone's children and grandparents sick.

I left early and came home to sleep. I hope this doesn't hang on for the whole long weekend! Dennis and I wanted to hunt.

Mexican Wedding Cakes - Shannon's Favorite

These really are my favorite cookies, and I include them in my Christmas cookies every year.

Mexican Wedding Cakes
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease cookie sheets.

Toast, stirring occasionally, in a baking pan until lightly browned, 5 to 8 minutes:
1 c chopped pecans

Set aside to cool completely, then grind until very finely chopped but not powdery or oily.

Beat on medium speed until very fluffy and well blended:
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1/4 t salt
1/2 c powdered sugar
2 t vanilla

Gradually beat the pecans into the butter mixture. Sift over the top and stir in until well blended:
2 c ap flour

Pull off pieces of the dough and roll between your palms into generous 1-inch balls. Space about 1-1/4 inches apart on the sheets. Bake, 1 sheet at a time, until the cookies are faintly tinged with brown, 12 to 15 minutes; rotate the sheet halfway through baking for even browning. Remove the sheet to a rack and let stand until the cookies firm slightly. Transfer the cookies to racks to cool completely. Roll the cookies until coated all over in:

1/3 c powdered sugar

Fifth-life Crisis

My sister is turning twenty tomorrow. Apparently she is experiencing some kind of fifth-life crisis over it. I'd like to try twenty over some time. I don't remember having much fun - I just remember a lot of hard times and hard work.

At any rate, the family came down to St. Charles to celebrate Beth's birthday. We walked past a few places, and finally settled on dinner at Little Hills Winery. It was a fine place to eat. I think there was a little sticker shock over the bill, but in all reality we ate for about $15 per person, which seems reasonable to me.

We got Beth some insulated riding gloves.