Seriously, Christmas dinner here is the day after when my husband gets home. We eat at dinner time (5 or 6 pm). If you do show up (it is an invitation, after all), be prepared for a rude awakening as the dining room table is full of brug cuttings. You will have to sit in the living room & balance your plate on your lap. Doing this puts it at the perfect nose-height for a 150 lb Newfie (who drools & will steal shamelessly). We consider cat hair extra insulation for the winter & it is applied liberally to every available surface. You will be taking a free sample with you when you leave. Those of you who are "pee shy" had better "go" before you leave home & be prepared to hold it. We have 10 cats (I do fostering & will be encouraged to take one with you when you leave) & no one gets privacy (picture all those cats watching your every move). Also please be aware that homemade means there's hair in it (& possibly worse). In other words, you were warned. LOL Linda

Here is the "Original Nilla Wafers Banana Pudding." I still have this recipe that I cut from the back of the box of wafers many years ago. NILLA WAFERS ORIGINAL BANANA PUDDING 3/4 c. granulated sugar 1/3 c. all-purpose flour Dash of salt 4 eggs, separated, at room temperature 2 c. milk 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract 35 to 45 Nilla Wafers 5 to 6 med. size fully ripe bananas, sliced (reserve 1 banana and 10-12 wafers for garnish*.) Combine 1/2 cup sugar, flour and salt in top of double boiler. Stir in 4 egg yolks and milk; blend well. Cook, uncovered, over boiling water, stirring constantly until thickened. Reduce heat and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Remove from heat; add vanilla. Spread small amount on bottom of 1 1/2 quart casserole; cover with layer of Nilla Wafers. Top with layer of sliced bananas. Pour about 1/3 of the custard over bananas. Continue to layer wafers, bananas and custard to make 3 layers each, ending with custard. Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry; gradually add remaining 1/4 cup sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Spoon on top of pudding, spreading to cover entire surface and sealing well to edges. Bake at 425 degrees for 5 minutes or until delicately browned. Cool slightly or chill. If you have some kind of new sauce pan you can probably cook the pudding okay, but it will scorch easily. Better to use a double boiler. *I don't do the garnish, and I think the pudding is not complete without the meringue. Instant pudding ... no way! This is a classic dessert and should not be tampered with. Sue

I'm still laughing! Well, the dinner party went just fine. Thanks to all of you, I was able to relax and enjoy it all. There was no talk about dieting or that he was on a diet. I couldn't wait to tell you about what happened with the food, though. You know what's coming, don't you? Of course you do. Before dinner, I really didn't pay attention to whether "Cuthbert" ate the blintzes or not or if he ate nuts (I decided against serving the salmon spread), and I did overhear him choosing vodka rocks (as lindac predicted). At dinner, I decided just to serve him the same peanut soup as everyone else. He ate it (admirably slowly), although I noticed when I cleared the bowls that he left the coconut/scallion garnish. He was seated at the other end of the table from me, so I don't know whether he took any vegetables. I put that chicken breast on the table near his end of the table, without any comment. Someone else asked about it, and I just said something like, "Oh, that's just if someone wants something plainer." I served that chicken/pastry/mushroom/artichoke/rice dish individually, and Cuthbert did take a piece. Not only did he eat every bite, he later asked if there was enough chicken left for him to have another helping. He finished that one, too. No dessert for him, not even the meringues. My only comment when I served dessert was in answer to "What are those?": "These are sugarless cinnamon meringues; they're an Atkins recipe." "Mrs. Cuthbert" ate those and no pie. She was seated right next to me, so I couldn't help but notice that, and also that she ate all the chicken dish EXCEPT the chicken. Maybe she has become a vegetarian? I did not ask or comment, of course. The dog and cat were delighted, though! So look at all I learned. I worried about entirely the wrong things. Mrs. C had said, "He finds the diet much easier if he just never deviates. But evidently, he was ready to take a night off. I only hope he didn't think *I* was trying to get him to stick to his diet or commenting on his weight! Thank you all again from the bottom of my heart. You were great. I really wasn't as spazzed out as I seemed -- but I still really, really appreciated your support, sympathy, and suggestions. Oh, and by the way, the youth group didn't end up congregating here anyway; their program was cancelled due to the weather, even though it wasn't bad enough to delay our guests. To thank you all, I want to share that peanut soup recipe with you. It is SO delicious, and really easy and fast -- and always gets "Wow, this is amazing!" from guests. I cut it out of the newspaper 2 years ago; it's by J.M. Hirsch, who writes a vegetarian cooking column. (He and his mom have a cookbook out; I've loved his recipes from the paper so much that I plan to buy it.) I hope you all enjoy it, too. I always double this recipe, which serves only about 4-5. Polynesian Peanut Soup 1/4 cup sweetened flaked coconut (I had shredded, so I used that) 1 T canola oil 1 c finely chopped onion 1/4 c finely chopped fresh ginger 4 garlic cloves, minced 1 14-oz. can light coconut milk 3/4 c vegetable stock 3/4 c smooth natural peanut butter 1/4 c mango chutney 1 T minced fresh jalapeno chili, or to taste salt to taste 1/4 c finely chopped green onions 2 T minced fresh cilantro [I omit this, as we are "tasters"] sesame oil, for garnish In a small dry skillet, toast the coconut over medium heat, stirring constantly, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes (took less for me). Transfer to a plate and cool. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat.* Add the onion, ginger, and garlic . Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion and ginger are very tender, about 10 minutes. Transfer the onion mixture to a blender or food processor. Add the coconut milk, vegetable stock, peanut butter, chutney, and jalapeno [I chopped the jalapeno in there first and then added the rest]. Puree until smooth (anticipate a little leakage if you're doubling the recipe!). If the peanut butter is too thick, it might be necessary to add more stock (I like it thick, though). Transfer the soup to the Dutch oven and cook over medium heat until heated through. Season with salt to taste. Meanwhile, toss the coconut with the green onions and cilantro, if using. To serve, drizzle each bowl with some sesame oil and top with a mound of the coconut mixture. *I found that the onions stuck too much, even though I stirred almost constantly, so I ended up using another pot after pureeing. Next time, I will use a nonstick pan first to toast the coconut, then use the same one to cook the onions, ginger, and garlic, and not use the soup pot (Dutch oven) until after pureeing. Still a total of 2 pans to wash.

A couple of comments are in order here: First, I think my concept of a "pressure cooker" needs to be updated. I guess I was recalling the "pressure CANNER" that was my total experience with pressure pans of any sort, until I got a long handled pressure pan as a wedding present way back in 1958. And the TIMELY MANOR....what a great name for a house! You caught it yourself, MamaGoose, and then you tracked it down in that other naming thread. It is a truly inspired name. With hints of British humor, much like Fawlty Arms. It could be a TV series. Also, because of THIS THREAD, I cruised by the small appliances in my trip to the WalMart pharmacy yesterday. I saw the KitchenAid mixer, sitting there in all its glory. Everything else cost under a hundred bucks, but the KA cost $199.99 so they are still proud of it. Any thoughts I had of buying it must wait until I get the kitchen done. I sure did like the looks of the stainless bowl and the heavy duty blades. It is a design which has endured. I also looked at other small appliances. You know, they make so many different shapes in SLOW COOKERS....what I used to call the CROCK POT is actually a BRAND NAME, like saying I want a COKE when I want a SODA POP. I have a "slow cooker" now which can bake cornbread or otherwise act as a tiny lidded oven. It really can get confusing if what you want to do is take all day to cook something and avoid burning it. Some things should not multitask, they should stay the same!