Michelle, I had thought about taking pictures but I guess all of that frying wiped my brain smooth. ALso, after seeing that cookingrvc had dinner in nice, civilized courses while ours was more of a fish free for all I realized that our christmas eve dinner probably wouldn't photograph very well :-). Plus the picking that goes on while things are being cooked and who ends up getting smacked with a wooden spoon for trying to sneak a piece of something while it's cooling off. We had (all thrown down on the table at the same time): Baccala, wrapped in dough & fried Alici (anchovies) wrapped in dough & fried fried smelts (dredged in seasoned flour & quick fried) fried calamari (same prep as smelts) Baked baccala & potatoes Baked, stuffed calamari (filled with the same stuffing we use for peppers but not sealed so the bodies shot across the pan away from the stuffing..next year I'm sewing them shut!) fried shrimp (flour, eggs and panko) angel hair with marinara sauce salad (our nod to a green vegetable) Stuffed clams (my SIL's contribution) And I just now realized now that I forgot to make the fried flounder! But nobody even missed it (including me) or asked for it. I'd better let my mom know that it's still in the fridge. The real trick was getting everything to the table hot but I was able to keep some things warm in the oven & saved the shrimp, smelts & calamari for last since they cook so fast. Dessert was a bunch of assorted cookies, hazelnut cream puffs with dulce de leche filling (oh my GOD these are good) and pandoro, cut into layers like a Christmas tree & topped with a candle so that we could sing happy birthday to baby Jesus. No torrone. I had brought a box to my mom about a month ago but apparantly it got eaten. Funny how that happens! Nina

We vacationed once in a beach house in santa barbara that had a huge table in the kitchen.. We loved it. We went with 3 other families who are all foodies and it was great to sit around, prep together, eat together, drink together and play together. I remember a marathon monopoly session with adults and kids playing a cutthroat game for hours. We just put the Cuisinart right on the table to make salsa and aioli. The table was great for setting up assembly lines for raviolis and bruschetta. It was old and wood and nobody cared about staining it etc. The owner told us that she kept meaning to get rid of the table but all of her renters and family love it. The other stuff in the kitchen was a old range which needed detailed instructions to make it work (my advice is to keep the range simple if you wish to rent at all.. You may be willing to deal with the fussiness for the charm but any potential renters may not. But there was no counter per se.. There was another table next to the range that had stainless steel top and open shelves underneath with fiesta ware type of plates and bowls. . The sink was on the same wall as the range and was one of those old shallow double sinks with double drain boards and a wall mounted faucet. The sink had a curtain below and there was a dishwasher under one of the drain boards. The fridge was free standing. There was another wall with a long hutch with dishes and some cabinetry underneath. The floor was easy to mop tiles. Step on trash can was tucked under one of the sink drainboards. And the kitchen was yellow with dark green tile on the wall with the stove and sink. The other walls were white washed boards (kind where you can see the wood grain and distressed patches where there was real distress :) No island please :)

I offered to host this year but our gathering is not very big. My parents usually host when my sister and her family come (every other year) but I know how much work it is. My mother does not really enjoy cooking but my father loves to. It's a lot of work as they are older now. It's not really the cooking but all the prep ahead of time and then the clean up afterward. A couple of years ago I offered to host either Thanksgiving or Christmas to lessen the stress, but for some reason, my kids prefer going to my parents' house for Christmas so that means Thanksgiving falls to me. My sister's family lives 6 hours away, so when they come, they stay for several days with my parents which means she does not make anything to bring. Since my father loves to cook, he has offered to bring two vegetable side dishes which will be some sort of Italian dishes since that is his heritage and cuisine of preference for cooking. My mom likes to bake so she will do three pies - pumpkin, pumpkin chiffon and chocolate. DH will make an apple pie as well. Our menu is what I've always thought traditional (until one year we spent Thanksgiving in Atlanta and discovered they had different traditions). We will have smoked turkey (dh will cook in his smoker), mashed potatoes, bread stuffing (dressing really b/c I won't do it in the turkey but we still call it stuffing), sweet potato casserole (not with marshmallows, mine has a pecan topping), gravy, and two vegetable side dishes from my father. We don't do rolls/bread - enough carbs already on the menu. My niece and nephew are vegetarians, so won't be eating turkey but my sister said not to worry, they will just eat the side dishes. My 18 y/o dd stopped eating meat this summer and has managed to continue to remain vegetarian her first few months away at college. She informed me though that she has decided she will eat turkey on Thanksgiving and may go back to eating poultry as she is tiring of the limited vegetarian offerings at her school. My sister and BIL also stopped eating meat, mainly to eat healthier, but don't consider themselves strict vegetarians and told my mother they will have turkey on Thanksgiving. I'm just breathing a sigh of relief that my brother is spending Thanksgiving with his inlaws b/c SIL and my niece are apparently now vegan so that would have made most of our dishes unsuitable.

I went through my stuff and came up with a list that might satisfy the glampers. :) Pot holders/trivets/oven mitts/bbq mitts--Don't over do, but don't short yourself. Too easy to grab a damp towel and get burned. I like silicone ridged grabbers which can be pot holders, trivets and non-slip pads for bowls and cutting boards, and are flat and easy to store. Scrubbie/sponge/dish cleaning device Dual veg brush, soft and stiff parts Tea towels--bulky. Expect to wash often rather than having more. Silicone mat for work surface Sieve-mesh strainer The flat drum kind (no handle) is the real deal, and easiest to store. You could also make an even lower sided one yourself, or even use a spatter screen, especially if you might want to use it for spatter, as well. Lettuce drier/colander old fashioned fold flat wire. Cutting board + skins for meat, fish, etc. The super thin skin mats on top of a proper cutting board help contain cross contamination while your knives are protected. Not sure if this is a gimmick or great. Nesting prep and mixing bowls--no lids, use plastic wrap or foil. Lids are a mess to deal with, even if they fit inside the nest. Pretty ones that can be used for serving. Collapsible silicone funnel Folding digital scale Frying pan Dutch oven Hotel pan (perhaps two) to fit oven and be sheet pan/ roaster/ lasagna/ brownie/ pie/ bread/ pizza Paddle grater. Some have two sizes of holes on one paddle. There are folding box graters, but they take a lot of room. Do you need a masher? They make fold flat ones. Can (rotary)/bottle opener. Make sure there's a bottle top puller as well as a pointy "church key" can piercer which can also loosen jar lids. Or get a smaller plain can opener and a flat, stamped military style church key. Whisk--I haven't used the kind that twists flat, so I can't guarantee how well it works, but storing a whisk is a pain. Peeler Tongs Rubber (silicone) scraper Solid cooking spoon Slotted spoon Wooden spoon Ladle Turner Cork screw Measuring cup/spoons There are collapsible dry measure cups, but I don't know that they actually save any room, and I'd think they'd be less accurate. I'd probably get an OXO one cup liquid measure jug and use it for everything. Scoop that can be used for ice cream or meatballs. Nesting plastic cutters for biscuits, cookies, ravioli etc. Plastic won't cut the silicone mat. 1" dowel rolling pin. You can roll anything you can fit in your oven with one, and it's easy to store. Papers for muffins/cupcakes/potato puffs, etc. They can be made hotel pan, or silicone "papers", which are easy to store the way a muffin tin is not. Pitcher with lid, pref. rectangular. Bulky, but one always seems to be needed. Parchment Foil Plastic wrap Food storage bags Mop--depending on your storage availability, telescoping may be better, or solid. Broom--ditto Bucket--a good solid, multipurpose bucket is a joy. Stuff can be stored in it. They make collapsible, which may or may not work better (see telescoping mop). Wet sponge etc. holder. The sink is going to be too small to just leave the sponge in, and you'll have more important things to safely store in the sink while traveling. A disposable container is sufficient, but there might be a specific to the task one that you prefer (and is prettier). Chef's knife, paring knife, serrated knife, with edge guards Plates, bowls (cereal size and shape), mugs, tumblers, knives, forks, spoons, chopsticks, for 4. Unbreakable if possible. More guests, use disposable. Wash up after every meal. Mixing bowls and sheet pan, cooking spoons, can double as serving pieces, but if they're all employed in making the dinner you might need to add a few bits.