en the hotel's continental breakfast that came with the room. No matter that it is not that great, by God we're going to eat it since it comes with the room! When we get there, there is a sign saying to enter through the back, where we find long tables pitched under tents, a very good sign. The smells of food wafting through the chilly air. There we encounter tray after tray of heaping piles of food. BBQ meats, chicken, sausages, hot dogs, salads and dips and salsa (very hot and very tasty), chips and chili and of course cookies, cakes, and candies. Here I surreptitiously give the mother of the clan a pie we brought from Marie Callender's, chocolate cream. That was the hand off, now let the feasting begin and in earnest! Instead of plates, they have those cute paper baskets like the ones fish and chips come in, good idea, wouldn't want my food falling off regular plates. Here I heap a sampling of all the meats. Loved the bbq chicken and hot links the best. Next it's on to the chili and chips and dips. I sit at one of the tables, the only one in the sun, gratefully warm and in a food grazer's paradise. After that it's on to seconds and sweets. People keep coming in, with bottles of booze and beer and food (that would never happen at the Jewish soiree). After that it was into the living room where my dad is seated on the couch watching the USC game. During halftime, the kids break out the WII guitar hero and on cue, my dad is up dancing and rocking out.
Outside there is a big jumping house for the kids to play in. No one has to supervise these kids, they know how to entertain themselves. And so the afternoon went and a New Year was initiated. I guess it's lucky for my brother to have married into a large Mexican clan. For us, we take ourselves home and once there, it is sweet comfort and peace I find there no matter how small our family is. May 2009 bring you peace of mind, lots of laughs and good health and great eats! -Single D
Friday, January 2, 2009
You Know What the Difference Between a Mexican New Year's Party and a Jewish One Is?
FOOD! Thankfully as we all breath a sigh of relief that the holidays are over, I was thinking in the car on my way back to Las Vegas from California, that the New Year's Day party at my sister-in-law's sister's house was really something. Needless to say, we were having an awkward moment (at my brother's and sister-in-laws house), when we show up at their house on New Year's Eve, bearing only a bottle of champagne, while under their fake pre-lit all year around Christmas tree there were presents beneath it with suspicious tags that looked like our names. Yikes! I can remember Christmas's past when I have sent them presents, not being able to visit and all. Like the year I sent my dad a Harry and David gift basket with goodies and fruit. Did I receive a phone call saying that he received it? No! Sometime later he did mention that the pears were hard. I'd expect that out of him since he was never one to dole out complements or thank yous. How I learned manners mystifies me, but that's another story. As I drove home, I realized, do you know what the difference between a Mexican party and one thrown by white folks is? FOOD! My husband's family, bless their souls, namely his uncle's side of the family, the rich Jewish lawyer from Beverly Hills (I married into the wrong side of the family), threw a birthday party for Grandma Lily, her eighth birthday. I can remember sitting around a long table where the twelve guest were seated, sedate plates of bland colored food being passed around and a plate of 11 bagels. Of course when the bagel plate reached my end of the table, nothing left but crumbs. Maybe they thought that Asian girl, she no eat bagels, oye vey, what would she know of bagels? And so it went the entire day, with not much of anything to eat. I quietly went into the kitchen to look for scraps of leftovers only to find the maid stuffing her mouth with the meager remains.
Now let me tell you of the spread that my sister-in-law's sister put out this New Year's Day. We arrive at 1:30, didn't want to show up too early showing that we were hungry or anything. We had only eat
en the hotel's continental breakfast that came with the room. No matter that it is not that great, by God we're going to eat it since it comes with the room! When we get there, there is a sign saying to enter through the back, where we find long tables pitched under tents, a very good sign. The smells of food wafting through the chilly air. There we encounter tray after tray of heaping piles of food. BBQ meats, chicken, sausages, hot dogs, salads and dips and salsa (very hot and very tasty), chips and chili and of course cookies, cakes, and candies. Here I surreptitiously give the mother of the clan a pie we brought from Marie Callender's, chocolate cream. That was the hand off, now let the feasting begin and in earnest! Instead of plates, they have those cute paper baskets like the ones fish and chips come in, good idea, wouldn't want my food falling off regular plates. Here I heap a sampling of all the meats. Loved the bbq chicken and hot links the best. Next it's on to the chili and chips and dips. I sit at one of the tables, the only one in the sun, gratefully warm and in a food grazer's paradise. After that it's on to seconds and sweets. People keep coming in, with bottles of booze and beer and food (that would never happen at the Jewish soiree). After that it was into the living room where my dad is seated on the couch watching the USC game. During halftime, the kids break out the WII guitar hero and on cue, my dad is up dancing and rocking out.
Outside there is a big jumping house for the kids to play in. No one has to supervise these kids, they know how to entertain themselves. And so the afternoon went and a New Year was initiated. I guess it's lucky for my brother to have married into a large Mexican clan. For us, we take ourselves home and once there, it is sweet comfort and peace I find there no matter how small our family is. May 2009 bring you peace of mind, lots of laughs and good health and great eats! -Single D
en the hotel's continental breakfast that came with the room. No matter that it is not that great, by God we're going to eat it since it comes with the room! When we get there, there is a sign saying to enter through the back, where we find long tables pitched under tents, a very good sign. The smells of food wafting through the chilly air. There we encounter tray after tray of heaping piles of food. BBQ meats, chicken, sausages, hot dogs, salads and dips and salsa (very hot and very tasty), chips and chili and of course cookies, cakes, and candies. Here I surreptitiously give the mother of the clan a pie we brought from Marie Callender's, chocolate cream. That was the hand off, now let the feasting begin and in earnest! Instead of plates, they have those cute paper baskets like the ones fish and chips come in, good idea, wouldn't want my food falling off regular plates. Here I heap a sampling of all the meats. Loved the bbq chicken and hot links the best. Next it's on to the chili and chips and dips. I sit at one of the tables, the only one in the sun, gratefully warm and in a food grazer's paradise. After that it's on to seconds and sweets. People keep coming in, with bottles of booze and beer and food (that would never happen at the Jewish soiree). After that it was into the living room where my dad is seated on the couch watching the USC game. During halftime, the kids break out the WII guitar hero and on cue, my dad is up dancing and rocking out.
Outside there is a big jumping house for the kids to play in. No one has to supervise these kids, they know how to entertain themselves. And so the afternoon went and a New Year was initiated. I guess it's lucky for my brother to have married into a large Mexican clan. For us, we take ourselves home and once there, it is sweet comfort and peace I find there no matter how small our family is. May 2009 bring you peace of mind, lots of laughs and good health and great eats! -Single D
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