Can you say "Flambe"! This is how I will remember Thanksgiving 2005.
Monday, November 28, 2005
Thanksgiving 2005
Greetings one and all,
Thanksgiving 2005 was spent with Laura and BJ at our place. It was so good having them here. They flew into El Paso on the Monday before Thanksgiving and left on Friday. They brought a cold with them for BJ. He felt miserable the whole time they were here. He was feeling a bit better the day they left.
Since BJ wasn't feeling well we stayed close to home and took it easy. After all of the running around before Thanksgiving taking it easy was nice. I can't really think of much that was memorable really.
Wednesday evening our church worshipped together for Thanksgiving-eve which was followed by a pie social.
Thanksgiving was a wonderful feast BUT it started out a bit differently than I had planned. My job is cooking the turkey. I've done that with great success for years. Most years I roasted the turkey on a Webber charcoal grill which gives you a slightly smokey flavored juicy turkey. When we moved down here I got rid of the Webber and got a gas grill. Last years turkey was great so I expected nothing less than perfection. Well here begins my story...
On tv I've seen ads for Pam spray that is used on grills. That sounded like a great idea since the chicken, hamburgers and turkey I've cooked on the grill have all tended to stick. When we went shopping for the ingredients for our feast we looked for that Pam spray but did not find any. So I decided to do without. While preparing the turkey for grilling I thought about the Pam spray we had in the cupboard. I looked it over and it didn't say anything about not using it on grills so I thought, why not?
I sprayed the grill, placed the 13 pounder on it, turned on the gas and went in the house. A few minutes later I looked out and smoke was billowing up into the sky. I rushed out and threw open the lid to find my turkey on fire. Can you say "flambe"? The picture attached to my story tells it all. My turkey was the Thanksgiving "torch of freedom". It couldn't really be seen for miles but the whole thing was enveloped in flames. I wasn't expecting a blaze so I didn't have water to spray on it so I ran into the garage and grabbed my leather gloves. I then grabbed the bird and got it off the grill. I should have gotten a picture.
Well I didn't really want Cindy to find out but it would have been a bit hard to disquise. It was completely black. I thought about passing it off as a cajun turkey but I knew that wasn't going to fly. I brought it in and put it in the oven. Once it was cooked (the way it was supposed to be cooked) we had a great feast. I took off the skin which isn't supposed to be eaten anyway since it contains so much fat. The inside was moist and very tasty. Maybe I will cook it like this again.
Along with the turkey we had green bean casserole, mashed potatoes and gravy, lefse, stuffing and this and that. We are still eating leftovers and it is Monday now. All-in-all everything turned out fine.
On Thursday evening we celebrated Laura's birthday with a great cake and presents.
On Friday we took the kids to the airport and said our goodbyes. We miss our kids.
On the way home we met up with my brother Don(Phoenix) and my cousin Enid (Atlanta) who were visting my cousin Mary and her husband Al who live in El Paso. We went out to eat at a great Mexican restaurant south of town.
So there you have it. We had a nice THanksgiving.
Oh....I read the ingredients on the can of Pam cooking spray. It contains grain alcohol. Ah!
Take care.
Thanksgiving 2005 was spent with Laura and BJ at our place. It was so good having them here. They flew into El Paso on the Monday before Thanksgiving and left on Friday. They brought a cold with them for BJ. He felt miserable the whole time they were here. He was feeling a bit better the day they left.
Since BJ wasn't feeling well we stayed close to home and took it easy. After all of the running around before Thanksgiving taking it easy was nice. I can't really think of much that was memorable really.
Wednesday evening our church worshipped together for Thanksgiving-eve which was followed by a pie social.
Thanksgiving was a wonderful feast BUT it started out a bit differently than I had planned. My job is cooking the turkey. I've done that with great success for years. Most years I roasted the turkey on a Webber charcoal grill which gives you a slightly smokey flavored juicy turkey. When we moved down here I got rid of the Webber and got a gas grill. Last years turkey was great so I expected nothing less than perfection. Well here begins my story...
On tv I've seen ads for Pam spray that is used on grills. That sounded like a great idea since the chicken, hamburgers and turkey I've cooked on the grill have all tended to stick. When we went shopping for the ingredients for our feast we looked for that Pam spray but did not find any. So I decided to do without. While preparing the turkey for grilling I thought about the Pam spray we had in the cupboard. I looked it over and it didn't say anything about not using it on grills so I thought, why not?
I sprayed the grill, placed the 13 pounder on it, turned on the gas and went in the house. A few minutes later I looked out and smoke was billowing up into the sky. I rushed out and threw open the lid to find my turkey on fire. Can you say "flambe"? The picture attached to my story tells it all. My turkey was the Thanksgiving "torch of freedom". It couldn't really be seen for miles but the whole thing was enveloped in flames. I wasn't expecting a blaze so I didn't have water to spray on it so I ran into the garage and grabbed my leather gloves. I then grabbed the bird and got it off the grill. I should have gotten a picture.
Well I didn't really want Cindy to find out but it would have been a bit hard to disquise. It was completely black. I thought about passing it off as a cajun turkey but I knew that wasn't going to fly. I brought it in and put it in the oven. Once it was cooked (the way it was supposed to be cooked) we had a great feast. I took off the skin which isn't supposed to be eaten anyway since it contains so much fat. The inside was moist and very tasty. Maybe I will cook it like this again.
Along with the turkey we had green bean casserole, mashed potatoes and gravy, lefse, stuffing and this and that. We are still eating leftovers and it is Monday now. All-in-all everything turned out fine.
On Thursday evening we celebrated Laura's birthday with a great cake and presents.
On Friday we took the kids to the airport and said our goodbyes. We miss our kids.
On the way home we met up with my brother Don(Phoenix) and my cousin Enid (Atlanta) who were visting my cousin Mary and her husband Al who live in El Paso. We went out to eat at a great Mexican restaurant south of town.
So there you have it. We had a nice THanksgiving.
Oh....I read the ingredients on the can of Pam cooking spray. It contains grain alcohol. Ah!
Take care.
Friday, November 18, 2005
Dripping Springs of Las Cruces
Last weekend Cindy & I went for a hike to Dripping Springs which is located just a few miles out of Las Cruces on the east flank of the Organ Mountains. The sky was clear and blue and the temperature was in the 70’s. In other words the conditions were perfect.
Once visiting the Visitor Center we took off on our 3 mile hike. We wound our way up the stone strewn path (sort of poetic, huh?) going higher and higher. After what seemed like forever (wah, wah, wah) we reached the 1 mile mark. No sign of buildings or anything yet. Finally after rounding a bend we caught our first glimpse of our destination.
If I remember correctly Dripping Springs was first turned into a “retreat from the life of the city” type of destination in the 1870’s. There was a small hotel, a concert hall and a great view. Guests were brought up via carriage. For a time it was a great success but it eventually fell on hard times. The property was sold to a Doctor who turned it in to a sanitarium for tuberculosis patients. Once again it was a success for a time. Eventually the property was sold to a rancher.
The hike was a fairly easy one, the buildings were interesting so it was a great hike. On the way down Cindy & I sat on a bench and took in the view. It was just a great day.
The weather here in Las Cruces normally turns cool in mid-October. This year it was into November before it turned cool during the day and cold in the night.
It is perfect hot-tub weather.
I hope all of you have a great Thanksgiving.
Once visiting the Visitor Center we took off on our 3 mile hike. We wound our way up the stone strewn path (sort of poetic, huh?) going higher and higher. After what seemed like forever (wah, wah, wah) we reached the 1 mile mark. No sign of buildings or anything yet. Finally after rounding a bend we caught our first glimpse of our destination.
If I remember correctly Dripping Springs was first turned into a “retreat from the life of the city” type of destination in the 1870’s. There was a small hotel, a concert hall and a great view. Guests were brought up via carriage. For a time it was a great success but it eventually fell on hard times. The property was sold to a Doctor who turned it in to a sanitarium for tuberculosis patients. Once again it was a success for a time. Eventually the property was sold to a rancher.
The hike was a fairly easy one, the buildings were interesting so it was a great hike. On the way down Cindy & I sat on a bench and took in the view. It was just a great day.
The weather here in Las Cruces normally turns cool in mid-October. This year it was into November before it turned cool during the day and cold in the night.
It is perfect hot-tub weather.
I hope all of you have a great Thanksgiving.
Monday, November 07, 2005
Puerto Penasco, Mexico
Three “wild and crazy guys” descended upon Puerto Penasco, Mexico on a fact-finding tour last weekend. Puerto Penasco or Rocky Point is south and west of Tucson, Arizona on the Sea of Cortez or Gulf of California. It is a seven hour drive from Las Cruces. Gene, James and I drove over there last Thursday. Gene and I had never been there so we wanted to see if this was a place to vacation. James speaks fluent Spanish so we were set.
Puerto Penasco is a fishing community that is being transformed into a vacation hotspot for gringos. Apparently it has been a spring break location for the college crowd from Phoenix, Tucson, etc. for some time. I can’t tell you how large a community it is. It is sprawled out along the water. Like so many other places big money is buying up prime property and building condo’s resort hotels, eating spots and shopping areas and people are coming.
For a number of years when we lived in Wisconsin I would take my family to Florida during Christmas or Easter break. It was a hard two day drive but then we were in the sun and next to the ocean. Since moving to the high desert here in Las Cruces where the Rio Grande is dry part of the year (irrigation dams siphon it off) we've had the sun but we haven’t been around water and we dearly miss it. For us the south Texas gulf coast is a 12 hour drive east. The San Diego area is 10 to 12 hours west. So when I heard about Puerto Penasco I wanted to see it for myself.
Well the weather was perfect with blue skies and warm breezes.
Thursday night we ate a great seafood late dinner in an open-air restaurant not far from our accommodations. At sunrise Friday morning we were walking the beach which was 75 yards away. After picking up a few shells and generally just relaxing we got ready to see the town.
James drove us to see some developing areas ($350,000 condo’s), the coast line from a different perspective and then to some local shopping areas. It was a bit of a contrast. Everywhere we went the people were warm, friendly and helpful if needed. I didn’t feel ill at ease at all. We rented ATV’s for an hour and scooted around sand dunes in the area. Then we toured a great looking hotel to see what it would be like. Rooms there are only $80 a night. We went on an evening harbor cruise with 40 of “our closest friends” and finally got home mid evening. It was a full day.
Saturday we went shopping again, found a great open-air bbq chicken place to eat and then headed for home.
I wish Cindy could have been with us but it was Symphony weekend so she was working. I know she will enjoy it and we go there sometime. At Christmas I am taking my family (Laura & BJ and Matt) to San Carlos, Mexico which is about the same distance from Las Cruces as Puerto Penasco.
Puerto Penasco is a fishing community that is being transformed into a vacation hotspot for gringos. Apparently it has been a spring break location for the college crowd from Phoenix, Tucson, etc. for some time. I can’t tell you how large a community it is. It is sprawled out along the water. Like so many other places big money is buying up prime property and building condo’s resort hotels, eating spots and shopping areas and people are coming.
For a number of years when we lived in Wisconsin I would take my family to Florida during Christmas or Easter break. It was a hard two day drive but then we were in the sun and next to the ocean. Since moving to the high desert here in Las Cruces where the Rio Grande is dry part of the year (irrigation dams siphon it off) we've had the sun but we haven’t been around water and we dearly miss it. For us the south Texas gulf coast is a 12 hour drive east. The San Diego area is 10 to 12 hours west. So when I heard about Puerto Penasco I wanted to see it for myself.
Well the weather was perfect with blue skies and warm breezes.
Thursday night we ate a great seafood late dinner in an open-air restaurant not far from our accommodations. At sunrise Friday morning we were walking the beach which was 75 yards away. After picking up a few shells and generally just relaxing we got ready to see the town.
James drove us to see some developing areas ($350,000 condo’s), the coast line from a different perspective and then to some local shopping areas. It was a bit of a contrast. Everywhere we went the people were warm, friendly and helpful if needed. I didn’t feel ill at ease at all. We rented ATV’s for an hour and scooted around sand dunes in the area. Then we toured a great looking hotel to see what it would be like. Rooms there are only $80 a night. We went on an evening harbor cruise with 40 of “our closest friends” and finally got home mid evening. It was a full day.
Saturday we went shopping again, found a great open-air bbq chicken place to eat and then headed for home.
I wish Cindy could have been with us but it was Symphony weekend so she was working. I know she will enjoy it and we go there sometime. At Christmas I am taking my family (Laura & BJ and Matt) to San Carlos, Mexico which is about the same distance from Las Cruces as Puerto Penasco.
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
The nephew of John Wesley Hardin the gunfighter. The story goes that John W. Hardin hung up his guns and opened a saloon in El Paso. Someone wanted to make a name for themselves and shot him dead. That shooting took place the same day Hardin's nephew shot an killed someone in the Chloride area. A posse hunted him down and found him hiding in a tree. They shot him out of the tree and buried him backwards in this cemetery.
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