My Triumph

First, an update. I am going to live. I've hugged trees, kissed the ground, waved at complete strangers now that I have a new lease on life. Of course, I've traded my voice for the precious gift of life. But, such is life -- you must make trade offs --- I can learn to point and mime if it means more time to implement the master plan.

Second, I made the most impressive and amazing dessert last night.

The Phenom and I had our annual Christmas with WS Random last night. We drink a bottle of wine, I make a frou-frou meal, and we exchange gifts. It is one of my favorite holiday events each year. We have more fun shopping and thinking up gifts for WS Random -- and watching her open them.

I made two dishes I'd never made before. First, shrimp creole -- from a recipe our friend The Child's mother makes. I notice that several of our favorite dishes she makes have a base of bacon/bacon fat instead of olive oil. Unbelievable the difference in flavor. And, since we are talking holiday foods, I don't feel at all guilty over the extra bad stuff. Anyway, for those who don't know -- shrimp creole is this great stew of tomatoes, peppers, celery, onions, and garlic with shrimp and file stirred in. You can make it mild or very spicy. It is served over white rice. Very tasty.

But, the Triumph I mentioned was the dessert. A friend of mine, Preacher Lady, gave me an autographed copy of an Emeril cookbook. This recipe comes from that book. (drum roll please) I made Emeril's Orange Crepes. I've never made crepes before - but, the instructions were written well enough that a first timer could make them easily and not be totally frustrated with the results. The crepes were a sweetened batter with vanilla -- and the filling was a sweet cream cheese filling with lots of orange zest. Then, the sauce is butter and sugar cooked to almost caramel and pecans added -- then fresh orange juice, more zest, and grand marnier and triple sec liquors. The crepes get a bath in the warm, boozy, orange sauce and then plated. They were light, and creamy, and the orange kept them from being to cloying. It was a very fancy smancy dessert, and I was most impressed.

WS Random gave me the grooviest fuzzy, shiny, bright slippers -- and they fit perfectly over my monkey feet. In fact, they totally disguise the fact I have a thumb on my feet. She also gave me a voodoo doll kit with instruction book. (insert maniacal laughter) She also gave me a beautiful chest in which to store my precious bits. We gave her a down throw for cuddling up on her couch, jewelry, movies, and a stocking stuffed with goodies.