Oh boy - I said thanks again this morning, earlier, but it looks like it never made it to the thread, so I'll say it again. ;-) Thank you, guys! I really appreciate how well almost all of us work together to help the folks that need help & to share our experiences with each other so we can all learn and have fun. You all make it a LOT of fun to share, and I do soo appreciate the birthday wishes. Thank you again for your kindness - I'm a pretty sentimental guy, so your expressions do mean a lot to me. AL

Well, dinner was mixed, I thought. DH had Caesar salad & hanger steak, DD had asparagus tempura, which was excellent, & the Italian sausage & fusilli. I had the smoked chicken with macaroni & cheese, & think I agree with Annie. The flavors just didn't seem to meld. However, I brought at least half of it home & will have it for lunch tomorrow to give it a second chance. For a surprise, DD made that $44 Crack Pie that I posted about a few weeks ago. Boy, is it sweet. The cookie crust is great, but the filling is so sugary to my taste. Pretty good, but not worth $44, we thought. Annie, I think of you every time I open the pantry & see the bay leaves lying around. DH finally asked if there is a reason for them to be there. :) Thanks again to all of you for your good wishes! Nice to have a birthday on the weekend, isn't it, Kathleenli? Here is a link that might be useful: Momofuku's Crack Pie

Hi kids! Wow - you made my day! Thank you for the warm wishes. I had a lovely birthday. My daughter took me to lunch and then for a 'day of beauty'. ;) Celebrated with family on Sunday and shared the day with my fil and niece. Nancy -- when I asked my fil what he wanted for his birthday, he said, 'those venison pasties you made for deer camp'. He just loves them! He's so hard to buy for, so from now on, that's going to be the go-to present. Thanks again, everyone!

What a nice surprise! Thank you, everyone! I had a lovely day yesterday and tonight we just got home from my niece's birthday party where my sil surprised me with a German Chocolate cake -- my favorite! Thank you again! Tamara