Happy Thanksgiving

Have a nice Thanksgiving, party people!

In the Foulard household today, we're baking pies and preparing. My mom may or may not be able to join us because it's been snowing like crazy this week, and it was snowing again this morning.

I'm making pumpkin pie, pecan pie, stuffing, and mashed rutabagas. Guy is making brined chicken breast. He was going to make turkey breast, but they were all out.

Edited to add: I forgot to mention, I made Parker House rolls last night too! They turned out really good. It's easy to make bread with a Kitchen-Aid dough hook, then you just need a lot of time to sit around and let it rise. Fast acting yeast is essential too, as it really cuts down on rising time.

Disposable Kindle

Have a difficult-to-shop-for bibliophile on your x-mas list? Consider the Disposable Kindle! It's a pleasing gift, and way cheaper than the Original Kindle. Here are a few of its exciting features:

You can purchase any book you want! One book per Kindle. Then, when you're done reading it, just throw it away!

Short books weigh only 7 or 8 pounds. Longer books weigh more, but you can choose whether to separate it into "volumes" or simply buy one. For example, want to read Anna Karenina? Buy either a large 13-pound Kindle--or three lighter ones!

Disposable Kindle is not recyclable. After reading, just dispose of it conveniently in your neighborhood dumpster.

Convenient cord 14 inches in length. Be sure to move your comfy chair close to the electrical outlet for easy reading.

Hold Disposable Kindle at just the right angle to discern all the words on the screen! (If tilted at the wrong angle, page will be unreadable.)

Emits a high-pitched electronic whine which might give you a headache. Not good for people with sensitive ears.

Merry Christmas!

Caramel Coconut Shortbread

I found this recipe on Rachael Ray's website. It's supposed to taste like Samoa (Girl Scout) cookies. Those are my favorite so it made me want to try this recipe. If it turns out well, I might bake a batch to give out at Christmas:

• 1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 14 ounces soft caramel candies
• 5 tablespoons heavy cream
• 2 cups shredded coconut, toasted
• 1 cup chocolate chips, melted

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Using a mixer, beat the butter and sugar on high speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in the vanilla.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt, then add to the butter mixture. Mix on low speed just until the dough comes together. Press evenly into a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Using a fork, prick the dough at 1-inch intervals. Bake until golden, 20 to 22 minutes.

3. In a medium saucepan, melt the caramels with the cream and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt over medium heat. Stir in the coconut, then spread over the shortbread.

4. Using a spoon, drizzle the chocolate on top. Let cool completely before slicing.

Christmas Is Coming!

I've really been feeling the spirit of getting lately. Here are some things I want:

· Candy Thermometer

· Mens medium pajamas

· Rachael Ray Look & Cook

· Colorful knee length striped socks

· Lush gift box

New season of IT Crowd

Jordan's new autobiography

Red corduroy pants

Psychology Today subscription

Gift certificate for Target

I might not get 'em all, because the purse strings are tight right now, due to splurging on our trip to Hawaii. But that's okay!


What do you want for Christmas?

The Diamond Head Game

I have an 8-year-old pen pal named Alice. I received her first letter yesterday and wrote one back today. It's part of a volunteer/school program designed to help kids practice their letter-writing skills. You exchange letters with your kid for a year and then at the end of the year, you meet each other at a big party. Since my office is all about volunteering, my boss gave me permission to blow off work that day so that I can go to this event--so, whooooooooo, party in a year!

Anyway, as I was writing to Alice today, I thought it would be interesting to tell her about my trip to Hawaii last week. I carefully explained that we went to O'ahu, a Hawaiian island, and that the neighborhood we went to is called Waikiki. Then I began to tell her about how we hiked up Diamond Head and...I was about to explain what Diamond Head is when I realized I don't really know myself. Is it a mountain? Diamond Head Mountain....no, that's not right. Is it a volcano? Sort of, but it still doesn't sound right.

Feeling a greater-than-usual need for accuracy (since my letters to Alice are supposed to be somewhat educational), I looked up Diamond Head on Wikipedia. And here's the definition:

"Diamond Head is part of the complex of cones, vents, and their associated eruption flows that are collectively known to geologists as the Honolulu Volcanic Series, eruptions from the Koʻolau Volcano that took place long after the volcano formed and had gone dormant."

Okay, obviously, I'm not going to attempt explaining that to a third-grader, so I just abandoned the whole sentence and described swimming with giant turtles instead.

However, skimming the rest of the Diamond Head post, I discovered something amazing:

"There was a 1975 televised game show, The Diamond Head Game set at Diamond Head. The host was the game show main-stay, Bob Eubanks. Final contestants could step into a "Money Volcano" and catch flying bills of real money."

Get out!! Why have I never heard of that?? I want to watch it! And Alan Thicke allegedly wrote the "memorable theme song" but I don't know anyone who remembers this...

Anyone?

Nubby

There was a little seabird on our deck, missing one foot. We named him Nubby. He got along just fine. Cute little beggar. We saw him again a few days later.

We went snorkeling and saw giant turtles! I swam up really close to one. It was magical. I could hear his intake of breath, see his bottom row of tiny turtle teeth, and look into his ancient strange adorable murky turtle eyes. He tolerated me for a few moments, then swam off.

This is our last day in Hawaii. We are hiking up Diamond Head today.