Merry Christmas in May

[bigbearfla58]

:


Merry Christmas Everyone,

My name is Wesley and I live in Delray Beach, FL and even though the calendar says its May I am not thinking about backyard barbeque's, picnics or long road trips out of state instead I'm revising and updating my Christmas Plan of Action calendar that I've kept for many years now to see what all went right and what all went wrong so I can make any needed corrections this year.​

 

[Jeff Westover]

Welcome, bigbearfla58!

 

[Head Elf]

Welcome to the craziness bigbearfla58. It's always nice to meet new people who enjoy the Christmas spirit. Welcome aboard.

 

[Annette]

:welcome:bigbearfla58!

 

[cipalla]

:welcome:

 

[Steven]

:welcome:

 

[Gingerbug]

Welcome...feel free to join the Christmas Planners group...we'd love to hear about your plan of action!!!

 

[Rob]

Welcome !!

::cry:

 

[DoubleA]

Welcome, Merry early Christmas

 

[Maureen]

Hi There!!!

Great to see you - stick around, sit a spell, have an eggnog.....!!
)

 

[santababy2]

welcome

 

[christmascreations]

Welcome you will love it here I am from Ocala FL!!!

 

[Irishsnow]

Hello and Welcome

 

[Chillywilly]

:Welcome and enjoy Christmas with us!

 

[bigbearfla58]

Ge Ready now Because Christmas is now only 141 Days Away!

I'm making my lists and checking them two and three times so that I will absolutely I know who's been naughty and nice from looking at last years lists ( and yes I keep track on my Excel Spreadsheets, several of them) and yes I am one of those hyper-organized people who keeps track of everything and also one who is sensible and flexible enough to have developed his realistic Christmas plan of action and who also uses this plan year in and year out and it never ever fails!

The obvious question is how does he do it? I get this all the time from my highly disorganized, pack rat and hoarding friends who's jaws drop every year when I pull together yet another spectacular and super organized Christmas and make it look so easy (if they only knew I prepare for Christmas all year long!

So here's my plan I too just like every other super organized Christmas fanatic I start planning very early. Early being Dec 26 to get the wrapping paper, ribbons and Christmas cards when they are all on sale and so I can tuck them away for next Christmas. I only get as much as I can actually use and extra is given away to friends who are frantically wrapping presents at midnight on Christmas Eve!~ Go figure!

I have to mention that since I'm a great cook and baker you can imagine that I make all of my Christmas presents instead of going to the crowed corner shopping malls to fight any crowds to get that very expensive and trendy (choke, choke, cough, cough, hack, hack) MUST HAVE PRESENT that Madison Ave swears you just can't live without! Well I can live without all of those things!

So for many years now I make my home made fudge, peanut/cashew brittle, pineapple upside down cake, banana nut breads made with pecans/walnuts and now cashews. And of course Christmas cookies! What would Christmas be without cookies! Unthinkable if you ask me! My white chocolate chunk macadamia nut cookies are legendary. And long before Christmas gets here I already have standing orders for them! Checking my spread sheet I have orders for 38 dozen cookies and counting! And I've already decided that this years new cookie will be a white/dark chocolate chunk cookie combo with walnuts and cashews. I'm also including jars of home made spaghetti sauce and home made jams and jellies that were made during the super hot summer months and while blueberries, strawberries and peaches are in season.

My one guilty pleasures in life is making trips all summer long to my local thrift shops to get baskets for all of my home made Christmas presents and sometimes for as little as $1.00 you can get really great baskets that someone gave away and I also have my eyes out for good mason jars all year long. I also have to confess that I also love the Lucy Rigg bear figurines that I find on EBay and my local Goodwill and just love them and now that I have enough I have stooped collecting them! I warn you now they are cute and you will want all of them!!

I look over all Christmas decorations in July and as I already have at least 200of them I'm once again using my teddy bear theme for my Christmas tree. I also set out Lucy Rigg Bear figurines that I found back in March on Ebay for only $2.99! Was that a score or what!

As for the dinner I will blab "THE SECRET" for the most succulent and juiciest turkey you have ever roasted and I promise once you adopt this method you will never and I mean never have a dried out turkey for the rest of your life.

To ensure juiciness I just pick up the phone and have one of my chef friends come over and ... sorry just kidding! I purchase a frozen Butterball turkey a 20 pound bird every year three days before either Thanksgiving or Christmas and keep the ice box very cold until right before I'm ready to roast it. This helps the turkey keep it's nice round shape while it's roasting. I pour in two cups of Kitchen Basic's Vegetable stick you can use chicken or turkey stock just make sure it's a nice dark stock (recommend Kitchen Basics) Then I slather on my home made herb butter I make with finely chopped sage, Rosemary, thyme and then I wrap the entire roasting pan turkey with heavy duty aluminum foil. The turkey will then steam in the stock for 50% of the roasting time. When you reach the 1/2 way point remove the foil and set aside. During the last hour of roasting you may need to cover the breast and front of the turkey to prevent too much darkening. One more cooking note I have been cooking for many years now and I always make my own home made cornbread stuffing and no one has ever gotten sick! EVER! And they're not going to! The stuffing is made the day before Thanksgiving/Christmas. I cool it off completely and then cover it with aluminum foil and then use it the next day nice and cold right out of the ice box. Culinary warning goes here! DO NOT stuff your bird until right before you're ready to roast it!

Then when the turkey is all roasted and looking dare I say cookbook and Food Network perfect I let the turkey rest covered with the foil for one full hour. And I guarantee you that this will give you the juciest most succulent turkey you have ever roasted! And I the next day be I use the turkey carcass to make my own turkey stock that I keep in quart containers in my freezer to pull out anytime I want to make soup.

Well that should be enough to get you all organized for now and Merry Christmas!

 

[Maureen]

*gulp*

Okay, really intimidated now - how is it possible to be THAT perfect and organised?????!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If I started anything like that, it would be a case of "Who are you and what have you done with Maureen??!!"

Well, more power to your mixer, that's all I can say and seriously, VERY impressed if that's what you do every year

:treeguy:

 

[bigbearfla58]

I'm not that Perfect only Martha Stewart is!

*gulp*

Okay, really intimidated now - how is it possible to be THAT perfect and organized?????!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If I started anything like that, it would be a case of "Who are you and what have you done with Maureen??!!"

Well, more power to your mixer, that's all I can say and seriously, VERY impressed if that's what you do every year

:treeguy:Maureen, I too like Mary Poppins am Practically Perfect in every way and I'm also a cured perfectionist. Now I know not to even expect a perfect Christmas just a GREAT ONE! It also helps that I make all of the important Christmas decisions way ahead of time; put them on my calendar and let it remind me all year long of when to check on ornaments, plan my dinner menu, invite guests, bake cookies/cakes, and purchase wrapping paper on Dec 26 when it's 75% off at Wal-Mart's after Christmas clearance sale.

There is however one item, the FOOD, that has to be perfect, especially the TURKEY! Especially after last years personal triumph in the turkey roasting arena now I'm really feeling the pressure to once again produce this super juicy turkey! Can he do it again! YES! I have all of my turkey and vegetable roasting and corn bread stuffing secrets (and yes there are secrets to roasting great vegetables) on my computer and I will be printing them out on 11/1/08 and reviewing them just to make sure the turkey once again comes out Food Network Perfect!


Merry Christmas!