Suddenly *Not So* Single Journey

Nog, nosh, and laughter

Author: thenicknick

Yes, that’s my Christmas bush being overshadowed in every way by Kimberly’s present.  It won best in show.  Trust me when I say that the picture doesn’t do it justice.

So, I’m guessing that you want to hear all about my wild and crazy night with the girls, my Bubble Buddies.  Well, to begin with…there was food and nog.  (Keep reading for the recipe.)  I had picked up some Garlic and Herb Boursin, which when paired with Tomato Basil Wheat Thins is one of my favorites snacks.  And I’m sure since you hear about it so often that you may begin to wonder if it is a paid endorsement.  Alas no, but I’m willing to change that if they are.  In addition to making the nog, I also made some Magic Cookie Bars.  As always, the secret ingredient…was love.

Laura went all out.  She brought all beef wieners wrapped in filo dough.  And she brought goat cheese and figs wrapped in filo dough.  And she brought a crab dip and these amazing wafers.  Yum to all of it.  (Okay, my love of cheese and goat cheese in particular made the figtastic combination a standout.)

Laura and I visited and wrapped and noshed for about an hour before Kimberly arrived.  It was fun.  We compared notes, caught up on each other’s life, like how I had decided against doing the Martha Stewart show on blogging in January and how Ed had bought her a Roomba.  I hate talking to people who know me sometimes because I feel like I might be a bit repetitious to them if they are reading the blog.  Sometimes, Laura does.  Only lately she hasn’t had time.

Laura: What do I need to read you for?  I talk to you.  Reading is for people who don’t know you.

Okay.  I understood that reasoning.  She made a valid point.

Then Kimberly arrived.  She walked right in with her big basket of presents, dumped her stuff, and proceeded to commence eating and wrapping.

me: Hey!  You didn’t admire my Christmas bush.

Kimberly: I saw it online.  What do I have to see it in person for?

Really?  So one wants to talk and won’t read me, one reads me and thinks she’s off the hook.  Ha!

Well, Laura and I quickly tired of wrapping presents.  Sorry, kids.  I may just tape the store bags shut…nah! (FIne, I’ll throw a bow on the bag, too.  And that’s my final offer…) We were a tad distracted by Kimberly.  She wrapped…like a professional.  And every time we commented she would say…

Kimberly: I love to wrap!

No, she didn’t just tape the package together to the best of her ability.  There were creases and folds, matching ribbon, not bows, and tags that matched the paper.  It was a bit intimidating.  So, we hoped she’d pace herself and have the time and energy to wrap ours.  Sorry, kids.  Once again, you will recognize my handiwork.  Apparently love can only take you so far.  (The same is true for my really cool wrapping paper cutter.  The gadgets only do so much, I still needed skill.)

Laura has graciously offered to play yenta for me, which by the way, has nothing to do with Barbra Streisand and her movie Yentl.

Laura: I have set lots of people up.  And now they’re happily married.

me: To each other?

Laura: Yes, to each other!  Now what kind of man do you want?

me:  Hmmm.  I seem to be better at finding the kind of man that I don’t want.

And I explained that these days it was a game of process of elimination.  I wanted a man I could talk to.  Couldn’t with J.  Could with Sam.  And then I started breaking down the other basics.  Not an alcoholic.  Preferred non-smoker.  Financially stable.  (I can’t take care of one more person on what I make…)  Live on his own, not mom’s couch.  The reality is that maybe while I know intrinsically what I want, I may not be able to adequately express it at the moment.  I seem to be finding guys that SEEM okay initially, but after a few emails, or chats, or phone calls, or even a few minutes into the date…I know it’s not going to work.  Ah…elimidating at its finest.

So, maybe if I let Laura have at it, she’ll have more luck at this than I will.  She was pondering it for a while.  She claims that I’ll be on the note section of her next bills for the landscaping business.  (Not that this seems very scientific or superior to Craigslist to me…)  If nothing else, it gives me something to write about.

The night grew later and I could feel us fading fast.  We needed…sugar.  So, like the hostess I am, I pulled out the Magic Cookie Bars.  They were a pain to get out of the pan.  When I finally managed to free some and plop them rather unceremoniously on Laura’s plate, she looked at me.

Laura: And this you thought you might serve to Martha?

We were rolling on the floor laughing.  There was some choking on the bars.  And then there was some soda nearly shooting out of nostrils.  It was officially a party.

Laura looked at me.

Laura: You may write about this.

Kimberly: Good luck stopping her.

Laura: I just don’t like my name being out there.

me, inspired by Mir: I could call you notLaura.

Kimberly: She could call you the First Lady of the Bubble.

me: Only I’d shorten it to FLOB.

There was much giggling.

Laura: I don’t want to be referred to as Flob.

She looked at me.

Laura: There better be a ‘p’ ‘h’ in there.

me: Okay, we could call you Phat Flob.

For some reason, Laura liked that idea even less.  So, I guess we’ll just stick with ‘Laura’ for now.  And I sent everyone home with cookie bars which left them complaining that they all would be phat flobs if they ate all that.  There was still some nog left…probably because Kimberly didn’t drink any!

Here’s the recipe.  Hope YOU like it…

Egg Nog

• 1 dozen egg yolks
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 cups whole milk
• 1 Tbl vanilla

Combine egg yolks and sugar in a bowl.  Mix well with wooden spoon.  Set aside.

Pour milk into saucepan.   Cook over medium heat while stirring.  When the milk begins to simmer, spoon two or three ladles of milk into the egg mixture and stir constantly.  This is tempering the mixture and will prevent curdling  of eggs.

Return the yolk mixture to the saucepan and stir over low heat.  The mixture will thicken as the temperature rises.  Shoot for around 160 degrees.  The mixture should be thick enough for a finger streak to be visible on the back of the wooden spoon.

Cool in an ice bath.  (I’m lazy and usually just stick it in the fridge.)  Strain when cooled.  Add vanilla.

Makes approximately 2 quarts.

Enjoy!

This entry was posted on Sunday, December 20th, 2009 at 12:37 am and is filed under Reflections, recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.