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Post by pairesta on Dec 21, 2017 10:49:11 GMT -5
One of my proudest "Achievements in Adulting" all year is always making my Christmas dinner shopping list, arranged in "store order" so that I can breeze right through the whole trip and never have to double-back. Of course, this inevitably fails when Kroger is missing 4-5 basic ingredients I need, but at least that's not my fault. This year they threw an extra challenge at me, because a couple months ago they rearranged the entire store. Produce, meat and dairy are still all in the same place, mostly, but all of the aisles have been either reorganized or just moved completely. I've mostly got it down, but I'm not 100%. Wish me luck. I have an excel spreadsheet, also organized in order and by department in the store, that I just print up every year since the Big Four meals (Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, NYE, NYD) are always the same. I just rearranged it yesterday because I go to a different store now and they have a different order of departments. I am so excited!!!! I went to Target last night because we still needed a few odds and ends (like canola oil!) and honestly, the lines and crowds weren't so bad, but everyone was walking around in a daze like it was night of the living dead. I saw one guy totally ram another guy with his cart because wasn't paying attention. The shelves were a mess. It looked like a small tornado had wandered through the store. I went shopping yesterday and it was a disaster everywhere I went. Every place seemed to just have one person working the register. It took me 30 minutes to return an item at Lowe's. Best Buy was so backed up I just left. The liquor store had two registers open and a line that snaked around the perimeter of the store by the time I left.
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Post by Incense on Dec 21, 2017 10:54:56 GMT -5
I have an excel spreadsheet, also organized in order and by department in the store, that I just print up every year since the Big Four meals (Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, NYE, NYD) are always the same. I just rearranged it yesterday because I go to a different store now and they have a different order of departments. I am so excited!!!! As a (mostly) very well organized Administrative Assistant of some rank, I must bow down to you. That is some organization. (Nothing against the work you're doing, LazBro; that is also awesome and I do the same myself.)
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Post by pairesta on Dec 21, 2017 12:16:27 GMT -5
I have an excel spreadsheet, also organized in order and by department in the store, that I just print up every year since the Big Four meals (Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, NYE, NYD) are always the same. I just rearranged it yesterday because I go to a different store now and they have a different order of departments. I am so excited!!!! As a (mostly) very well organized Administrative Assistant of some rank, I must bow down to you. That is some organization. (Nothing against the work you're doing, LazBro ; that is also awesome and I do the same myself.) This is the only part of my life I'm organized in. I have to have a list when I go to the store or I have a meltdown. Every other part is a disaster.
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Post by pairesta on Dec 24, 2017 15:59:44 GMT -5
Last year my Christmas Eve seafood feast thoroughly kicked my ass and I was sore and tired for days afterwards. This year I pawned one of the courses off on a guest, bought all the stuff yesterday, and started cooking ahead. I'm twitchy about making seafood in advance, but decided which things would be least impacted by making ahead and went on with it. So with "only" two hours of prep today, I'm done until the final push before dinner. Of course I've added back to that labor by having to do some prep for tomorrow's dinner also. Anyways, the seafood menu tonight:
Shrimp in agrodolce Octopus Puttanesca Clams Oreganato Shrimp Scampi (Being brought by someone else) Linguine with Lobster
Happy holidays, gang!
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Post by Powerthirteen on Dec 25, 2017 13:52:56 GMT -5
I have an excel spreadsheet, also organized in order and by department in the store, that I just print up every year since the Big Four meals (Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, NYE, NYD) are always the same. I just rearranged it yesterday because I go to a different store now and they have a different order of departments. I am so excited!!!! Oh, I like you a lot. Let's be spreadsheet friends.
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Post by The Sensational She-Hulk on Dec 25, 2017 15:59:53 GMT -5
Change of plans! I'm poaching lobster in beer and butter to go on top of the penne alla vodka, and my cousin and his fiancee sent us some beautiful exotic mushrooms, so I sauteed them for the pasta as well. (My brother hates mushrooms, or they'd be mixed in.) I'm super excited. Everything's prepped; I just have to boil the water and poach the lobster. I'll let someone else handle the salad.
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LazBro
Prolific Poster
Posts: 10,049
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Post by LazBro on Dec 26, 2017 9:54:44 GMT -5
Since Saturday I've been stricken with some kind of death plague. Like, Captain Trips level stuff. (Okay, it's probably the flu.)
So yesterday was an absolute slog. Ten hours on my feet, with only occasional breaks to do some good shivering before I got back to it. Washing my hands what felt like every 5 minutes. It's ironic then, that by all testimony I absolutely crushed it. After I carved the bird my dad came in to do the typical Quality Control, and he immediately said, "Oh my god, I think that's the best turkey I've ever had. It's got so much flavor." I was pretty proud of it myself. Not a hair overcooked - amazingly, since my Egg was giving me hell that morning - with a pronounced smoke flavor. I would agree it was the best I'd ever made.
The prime rib was the same story. Just awesome. Perfect medium rare, perfectly rendered fat, glistening crust pocked with salt, pepper and herbs. Really a showcase to the power of the ingredient. And all delivered hot and only 15 minutes late.
I ate one plate, then went upstairs and laid in bed for 13 hours. My mom and MIL were nice enough to do the dishes, and Mrs. Snape was nice enough to put both kids to bed.
As with years before, the turkey is gone but for the legs and wings, which I keep and use in soups and stuff, but there was a good bit of prime rib left for us, so good leftover opportunities there.
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Post by Pedantic Editor Type on Dec 26, 2017 12:58:12 GMT -5
So overall everything was fine, the cinnamon rolls were well received, my eggs were a tiny bit overdone to my taste and the sausage I turned the burner up a little high so they were a bit dark and I set off the smoke alarm. But nobody really complained.
I also did potatoes and the only foible there was my MIL insisting I needed two hours to make mashed potatoes which of course were done an hour early.
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Post by Pedantic Editor Type on Dec 27, 2017 12:01:42 GMT -5
A last blast of holiday-related stuff this week: I have pfeffernusse dough in the freezer that I'll bake tonight, along with a batch of Chex Mix (both in honor of my dad's visit tomorrow). I kinda wanted to make more snickerdoodles but I'm not sure if I'll have time or energy for it.
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