Weekly challeng - Celebrate Good Times Come On! 12/23-12/29

limr · Dec 26, 2017

Here's an old picture but a current tradition for Buzz and I: a drive upstate to have lunch, a pot of tea, and some scones at the Harney and Sons store/cafe. We made our run last weekend.

gk fotografie · Dec 27, 2017

Yesterday it was our 2nd Christmas day (we call it 1e & 2e Kerstdag)
Dinner: rabbit in a red wine/onions/mushroom sauce
It may not look it, but tasted exquisite.
Wine for the evening: Chateauneuf-du-Pape

smoke665 · Dec 27, 2017

gk fotografie said:
Dinner: rabbit in a red wine/onions/mushroom sauce
It may not look it, but tasted exquisite.

My dear wife is an excellent cook, many years ago she tried to surprise me with Hasenpfeffer. To this day, we're still not sure what she did wrong (and she has refused to try it again) but that was the most AWFUL concoction ever. We couldn't eat it.

We both like rabbit, but we stick to the tried and true method, fried and smothered in white gravy with biscuits and mashed potatoes on the side.

CherylL · Dec 27, 2017

SquarePeg said:
Stuffed and ready for the iven

CherylL said:

Table set for tomorrow. The gold trees were my MIL's and using her plates. We are down to 10 people at Christmas. When I hosted the big extended family/friends Christmas, I had many tables set up and have a collection of salt/pepper shakers.

Christmas table by Cheryl, on Flickr

Click to expand...

I also collect Christmas salr and pepper sets. I have about 20 pairs. Almost enough for everyone to have their own tomorrow. I don’t have trees though. Will have to keep an eye out for a set of those.

Wow 20 pairs? I only have 3 Christmas: trees, gift boxes & reindeer. My other sets include one from Turkey, Germany, dogs, dog & house, and misc. silver ones.

CherylL · Dec 27, 2017

smoke665 said:
First Christmas with our Sadie Mae, she has been such a joy to us this year. There was a little reluctance on her part at first as this was an all new experience, but she quickly got into it. Her favorite toy (Mom & Dad's) was the supposedly indestructible ball, that dispenses treats.
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How does she like the ball with treats? I thought about getting one for our pups. This year we bought squeaky toys from the local human society. One was a furry Christmas tree and the star was torn off in less than 5 minutes. They each got a toy, but they all wanted the same one at the same time.

smoke665 · Dec 27, 2017

CherylL said:
How does she like the ball with treats? I thought about getting one for our pups. This year we bought squeaky toys from the local human society. One was a furry Christmas tree and the star was torn off in less than 5 minutes. They each got a toy, but they all wanted the same one at the same time.

She loves the ball, not just for the treats but to play with as well, though she loves playing with balls. She has a soccer ball that she chases all over the house using her front paws and nose. She actually does a good job playing soccer with it, she will use her neck and paws to catch it, then boot it back to you.

gk fotografie · Dec 28, 2017

Filet de Canard de Barbarie

Yesterday we tried to extend Christmas for another day, dinner with Barbarie duck fillet cooked in a homemade onion sauce.

gk fotografie · Dec 28, 2017

smoke665 said:
gk fotografie said:

Dinner: rabbit in a red wine/onions/mushroom sauce
It may not look it, but tasted exquisite.

Click to expand...

My dear wife is an excellent cook, many years ago she tried to surprise me with Hasenpfeffer. To this day, we're still not sure what she did wrong (and she has refused to try it again) but that was the most AWFUL concoction ever. We couldn't eat it.

We both like rabbit, but we stick to the tried and true method, fried and smothered in white gravy with biscuits and mashed potatoes on the side.

Happened to us sometime in the 1980s with a recipe where the meat had to marinate in buttermilk and had to be prepared with orange juice.
Absolutely not to eat and it went right into the bin.
But...there are dozens of recipes for "hazenpeper", a dish also known in the Dutch kitchen, so my wife just picked a different recipe!

If you like rabbit, you should definitely try the national dish of Malta: Fenek (rabbit stew)
We have been several times on holiday to Malta and then this is steady for us, ofcourse you eat rabbit with your hands, even in a restaurant!
See: http://blog.ingredientmatcher.com/recipe-national-dish-of-malta-stuffat-tal-fenek-rabbit-stew/