MPM--Closing In

Ho ho ho! We're in full swing here. Fabu parties, including an amazing one today, which seemed like it was catered except all the amazing and different appetizers were made by the hosts!, fun times for kids, wrapping again left to the last minute...yup, it's Christmastime in MemeGRL's world.

This week:

Monday: leftovers. We have pork or chicken from last week. (The pork was my usual crockpot recipe; the chicken was with apricot and dried plums--formerly known as prunes--from the Dave Lieberman recipe and was super, especially for how easy and quick it was. And it made a lot of chicken!)

Tuesday: Sloppy Joes (with ground turkey--not my favorite but it's what we have and the boys can't tell the difference so I might as well be healthier), applesauce, quinoa pesto (which the boys LOVE)

Wednesday: Seven fishes! Which is really an indulgence for me as no one else in my family likes the fishes as much as I do. And I cheat on the seven: tuna salad on crackers, oysters from a tin on crackers, shrimp cocktail, angels on horseback (scallops with bacon wrapped around, stuck under the broiler), crabcakes (which my five year old adores), lobster tails, and salmon. Or, if I'm running out of time and interest, I'll make Rachael Ray's cioppino, which is amazing and super easy and gets four fishes in one dish (scallops, cod, shrimp, and mussels--but no one here really enjoys mussels, which makes it less appealing). To be really authentic, I'll get a small pizza in the afternoon for the kids to eat while my husband and I have the fish!

Thursday: who knows? I'm in charge of macaroni and cheese (using something based on this recipe but with all sharp cheddar to save fussiness) and the carrot mousse. There are a few other things I might try but those are the biggies. Warning on the mac and cheese: I didn't say it was healthy, and my own children won't touch it. But every teenager in the house has asked me to bring this since, oh, June.

Friday: The Boxing Day event! My husband's family gets together on Boxing Day for gift exchanges, etc., with a casual dinner of "anything from a box." That includes but is not limited to boxes of wine, crackers, KFC, and pizza. I will probably bring some of my world-class collection of frozen hors d'oeuvres from Trader Joe's, the artichoke dip from the same place, chocolate truffles, and some nifty boxed wine I found. It's sad how I stockpile the frozen appetizers as though I live a life of impromptu cocktail parties that would merit such space for a stash in my freezer. But I'm trying to be realistic and whittle it down.

Saturday and Sunday have no plans yet so we'll play it by ear. With people coming in town I'm trying to keep things open; already one of my little groups of friends since elementary school will all be in town this weekend for the first time since the 1990s so I'm thrilled about that. And the rest we'll see.

Most exciting: my husband's sister and her husband got what they really wanted for Christmas: the court date to make their adoption final! Forever Family Day is December 30. Party to follow. The theme for the New Year's Party they were hosting anyway is, of course, "Baby" Food--little hot dogs, mini soft pretzels...you get the idea. Any creative thoughts for mini-food is appreciated!

Wishing everyone the happiest of holidays. And know that if your holidays aren't particularly merry this year, my thoughts are with you especially. I've been there, and it stinks when the world is ready to be cheery and you are not. But a family's gotta eat, right? So here we all are. Thank you for menu planning with me this year--with one more to go, it's been fun!