Halloween has a huge following every year. It may be the most popular holiday after Christmas (according to this somewhat dubious poll I found). I have always been indifferent to the scariest holiday. I like the gatherings of people, but I fairly dislike being dressed up in any fashion, fancy or otherwise. (ask my wife: ). I do know several friends who LOVE the last day in October. I've gotten different answer from each of them. The common answers were "the love of making a costume and getting to wear it" and "decorating the house into something from a movie" (lab, dungeon, etc.). Another interesting was, "being able to change who or what you are for a night." So I was thinking, how or even should I create a second Halloween.
I will start with the should. Should can be a bad word sometimes. Should I wear slippers to the grocery store? Should I marry that person? Should I guess that the turkey is done? Should I try to create another sequel to a beloved holiday? You never know what will happen in these cases, and the back and forth of your brain can drive you nuts. I think that since Christmas has sort of creeped further and further ahead in the calender each year (not something I mind) that maybe a little more love for the scariest holiday would be welcome. You would get 100% more use out of your costume that you spent a lot of time and money on. You might not be stuck with all of that candy. The same friends I mentioned above would get a kick out of a double dose of the horror holiday. I think this is enough evidence to warrant a sequel. I'm sure corporate America would love it.
Now it's time to move on to to The How. This set of brainstorming will be a lot simpler. Originally, I set Thanksgiving 2 after the actual Thanksgiving because there is a lull (for me at least) between my two favorite holidays. I wanted to stay busy and having to do all the preparation for a gathering at the house allows for that. I'm believe something different could be done for Halloween. The shops that carry Halloween related items virtually disappear on Nov 1st. This makes last minute costume shopping kind of difficult, and with the Christmas stuff trading places with the Halloween stuff around that same time, someone may end up going as Santa Clause (I think that would be appropriate, but who's counting) to the gathering. So these facts lead me to think that perhaps a sequel that happens before the actual day would be best. The week before I think would be perfect. 1. Halloween items begin to go on sale. 2. There would still be plenty of traditional costumes available. 3. The average person will not be (hopefully) burned out by then. Well, I have figured out when would be best, but what to do during the event. Costumes would be mandatory (even though I dislike getting dressed up, I do understand the protocol), but what else could be happening? I think I would take advantage of the season and have it be a pot luck of sorts. A "Bring an Autumn (cause it's fancier sounding than fall) Drink". Examples would be Pumpkin beer, Apple cider, Apple Wine, Mulled whatever, pumpkin juice, any leftover Oktoberfest beer. I'm not a great non-board game player, but if I was going somewhere for actual Halloween I would use that knowledge to make any game decisions. If there were going to be games at the actual party I wouldn't play them at H2, or the reverse. The offering of games gives people who just aren't into circle talking something to do. A movie or TV show being played would also make a good conversation piece also. Not something scary, but at least themed-ish, Dune perhaps. Since the what and when are now taken care of, what about the food. I think a baked ham would be appropriate or if it was warmish still, grilled apples and a variety of squash. Pumpkin cakes, apple cake, apple pie, pumpkin pie, pumpkin roll if I was feeling adventurous all would make great desserts and even stay on theme. I hope everyone likes apples : ). Overall, I think this would be fun and very doable. Next year Halloween 2.0 ?!?
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Music of the Holiday?
I have been doing some thinking on how to add more festive to the event. I was thinking of trying to pipe holiday music (one of my favorite things) throughout the house and maybe into the backyard. I would be trying to simulate what a department store or the mall does. It would be incredible to see even one person humming along to Nat King Cole's Christmas Song (or Chestnuts Roasting to the layman).
I do not think it would be that difficult. My wife bought me a new surround sound system for my birthday. It has a few different channels on it and I have learned with a lot of reading (dumb stereo instructions) I can run wires to each room in the house and have music or the TV sound playing there. Stereo wire is fairly inexpensive and Goodwill/Impact/The Salvation Army have speakers all the time. I think for a very reasonable amount of money I could pull this off. Now I need to decide if it's worth doing.
I think the first thing I need to check is to make sure my sound system can run two channels simultaneously. If that works then I can have the Parade on in the living room and holiday music going throughout the rest of the house. If it will work I will probably go with the radio. I think it was B 101 that ran the music last year. They had a decent selection, not enough Mele Kalikimaka for me though.
Second thing would be using the holes drilled in the floor from the cable and internet I can run the stereo wire underneath the floor and up to the speakers in the dining room and kitchen. The dining room is full of hidden spaces I could cram a speaker. The kitchen will be a bit tougher because of the floor material. I might be able to use the area underneath the kitchen cabinets or the washer/dryer.
In the coming weeks I will see if this is viable, then I will update this entry.
Maybe the holiday this year will have a little extra musical spice.
I do not think it would be that difficult. My wife bought me a new surround sound system for my birthday. It has a few different channels on it and I have learned with a lot of reading (dumb stereo instructions) I can run wires to each room in the house and have music or the TV sound playing there. Stereo wire is fairly inexpensive and Goodwill/Impact/The Salvation Army have speakers all the time. I think for a very reasonable amount of money I could pull this off. Now I need to decide if it's worth doing.
I think the first thing I need to check is to make sure my sound system can run two channels simultaneously. If that works then I can have the Parade on in the living room and holiday music going throughout the rest of the house. If it will work I will probably go with the radio. I think it was B 101 that ran the music last year. They had a decent selection, not enough Mele Kalikimaka for me though.
Second thing would be using the holes drilled in the floor from the cable and internet I can run the stereo wire underneath the floor and up to the speakers in the dining room and kitchen. The dining room is full of hidden spaces I could cram a speaker. The kitchen will be a bit tougher because of the floor material. I might be able to use the area underneath the kitchen cabinets or the washer/dryer.
In the coming weeks I will see if this is viable, then I will update this entry.
Maybe the holiday this year will have a little extra musical spice.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Remembering Thanksgiving 2.1
Ah, memories of happy times. The very first time Americans decided to come together to celebrate their gratitude for having friends. It seems like so long ago on that December night.
Thanksgiving 2.0 started with me wanting to bring my family's style of Thanksgiving to my friends. Specifically the friends who do not have larger or . . . nicer family gatherings. I had heard some wonderful stories of dinner at that beacon of family fun and plain tasting food, The Old Country Buffet. I don't think that many people really like that as their families traditional dinner site (please correct me if you feel differently). The OCB is no Shady Maple, that's for sure. Now there is somewhere worth going to with 50 people. How awesome would that be?! Anyway. The stories I heard did not exactly convey fun, family and good times. That's when the idea came to me. A fun friends only post-Thanksgiving party. And that was all it was going to be at first. I hadn't planned on it becoming the holiday sequel juggernaut that it has become.
That original party was just a fried party, as in fried foods not people. I didn't even make a turkey or anything remotely related to the holiday. So I had a whole fried menu lined up: fried chicken wings, fried fish, french fries, sweet potato fries, broccoli, cauliflower, onion rings, Oreos, Twinkies (my favorite), funnel cakes and assorted candy bars. I believe that was the first time I had 20+ people over for an event. I didn't make quite enough food, but that is what take-out is for. Everyone had lots of dessert fried foods, but not enough main meal items. I think we had a few funny movies running in the living room. I never left the kitchen, so I don't remember which ones. Let's just say it was a Mighty Ducks marathon. The dining room was the usual talking circle. I think it was cold that year so few people were outside. Fun was had by most (and me) and that was all that mattered.
Overall, I thought it went well. I learned what not to do and what I wanted to do again. I found I did not want to stand over a fryer all night. I prefer being busy at party-like events, but not that busy. I saw some things that worked. The outside space for drinks is perfect. A table set up on the porch is ten times better than having people go into the fridge all night. I saw that our friends can be invited to the same events. They may not interact a whole lot, but they are civil with one another and I will take that every time. That was the night I decided to try again next year, but make it so I was doing a lot less work. Which in hindsight is funny because I now do considerably more work, but have a better time.That's funny : ).
Thanksgiving 2.0 started with me wanting to bring my family's style of Thanksgiving to my friends. Specifically the friends who do not have larger or . . . nicer family gatherings. I had heard some wonderful stories of dinner at that beacon of family fun and plain tasting food, The Old Country Buffet. I don't think that many people really like that as their families traditional dinner site (please correct me if you feel differently). The OCB is no Shady Maple, that's for sure. Now there is somewhere worth going to with 50 people. How awesome would that be?! Anyway. The stories I heard did not exactly convey fun, family and good times. That's when the idea came to me. A fun friends only post-Thanksgiving party. And that was all it was going to be at first. I hadn't planned on it becoming the holiday sequel juggernaut that it has become.
That original party was just a fried party, as in fried foods not people. I didn't even make a turkey or anything remotely related to the holiday. So I had a whole fried menu lined up: fried chicken wings, fried fish, french fries, sweet potato fries, broccoli, cauliflower, onion rings, Oreos, Twinkies (my favorite), funnel cakes and assorted candy bars. I believe that was the first time I had 20+ people over for an event. I didn't make quite enough food, but that is what take-out is for. Everyone had lots of dessert fried foods, but not enough main meal items. I think we had a few funny movies running in the living room. I never left the kitchen, so I don't remember which ones. Let's just say it was a Mighty Ducks marathon. The dining room was the usual talking circle. I think it was cold that year so few people were outside. Fun was had by most (and me) and that was all that mattered.
Overall, I thought it went well. I learned what not to do and what I wanted to do again. I found I did not want to stand over a fryer all night. I prefer being busy at party-like events, but not that busy. I saw some things that worked. The outside space for drinks is perfect. A table set up on the porch is ten times better than having people go into the fridge all night. I saw that our friends can be invited to the same events. They may not interact a whole lot, but they are civil with one another and I will take that every time. That was the night I decided to try again next year, but make it so I was doing a lot less work. Which in hindsight is funny because I now do considerably more work, but have a better time.That's funny : ).
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
If Food Issues Arrise. . .
I was just at a well planned event and I was given the honor of cooking the main course food on the grill. There was a mishap at the beginning no one present was at fault) and something had to be done to replace the "problem" foods. This got me thinking about whether or not I should create a contingency plan for my holiday.
On one hand I am thinking it would be nice to have a turkey replacement plan. Since all of the other foods are going to be made a few days in advance, I believe the only food that could have an issue is the fried turkey. The fried turkey could become burnt or overdone or just incredibly dry (not likely). If either of these two things happen I can think of only a few options. 1. I can simply have another non-frozen turkey on hand to simply re-fry. 2. Go to the Wegmans and buy a "fresh" turkey and re-fry it. 3. Say forget about it and go buy some overly moist roast chickens from the grocery store (see above) or head over to KFC and buy a couple buckets of the good stuff. Option one means I have to buy a whole other turkey and have it sitting defrosted in my fridge. This is not something I really want to do. For any of you who haven't actually cooked a turkey here is a bit of news. They are huge in relationship to the size of most refrigerators. I will need that space to house the cold foods for the coming holiday. Option 2 allows me to keep my fridge open and not have to worry about space, but it will be a bit more expensive. Since my holiday happens after the turkey rush I imagine it should be easyish to find a fresh turkey. Option 3 will only really happen if the frying has taken an inordinate amount of time (due to severe cold outdoor temperature) and a ruined bird. At that point I think I will be more than a little upset. The colonel will be getting my business that day. Overall, a back-up plan for one of the main dishes does seem fairly easy to pull off. All three plans depend on the super patience of the guests though. Let's just hope none of these options need to take place.
On one hand I am thinking it would be nice to have a turkey replacement plan. Since all of the other foods are going to be made a few days in advance, I believe the only food that could have an issue is the fried turkey. The fried turkey could become burnt or overdone or just incredibly dry (not likely). If either of these two things happen I can think of only a few options. 1. I can simply have another non-frozen turkey on hand to simply re-fry. 2. Go to the Wegmans and buy a "fresh" turkey and re-fry it. 3. Say forget about it and go buy some overly moist roast chickens from the grocery store (see above) or head over to KFC and buy a couple buckets of the good stuff. Option one means I have to buy a whole other turkey and have it sitting defrosted in my fridge. This is not something I really want to do. For any of you who haven't actually cooked a turkey here is a bit of news. They are huge in relationship to the size of most refrigerators. I will need that space to house the cold foods for the coming holiday. Option 2 allows me to keep my fridge open and not have to worry about space, but it will be a bit more expensive. Since my holiday happens after the turkey rush I imagine it should be easyish to find a fresh turkey. Option 3 will only really happen if the frying has taken an inordinate amount of time (due to severe cold outdoor temperature) and a ruined bird. At that point I think I will be more than a little upset. The colonel will be getting my business that day. Overall, a back-up plan for one of the main dishes does seem fairly easy to pull off. All three plans depend on the super patience of the guests though. Let's just hope none of these options need to take place.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
The Smells of the Holidays
I don't know about the rest of the world, but I love the smells of Thanksgiving 1 and Christmas more than any other holiday. . . Now that I think about it not too many other holidays really have a smell associated with them.
Halloween I suppose has the smell of candy corn (my mom loves candy corn) or the scent of rotting leaves (cause of the time of year) or maybe the smell of a candy bar still in its wrapper. The 4th of July is kind of connected to the smell of fireworks to me, but sulfur is not on any of my top ten lists of "smells I like". Memorial Day is supposed to be the "Start of the Summer" so possibly hot dogs and hamburgers on the grill. --Although I think nowadays so many people associate the smell of propane with the smell of cooking food. Not enough people use the good old fashioned charcoal. Now there is a smell I can get behind. Those gas-breathers probably wont admit it, but they know in their hearts that the smoky scent of a charcoal or wood fire is the appropriate accompaniment to all food.-- Now that I've had my soapbox moment back to holiday scents. Does Groundhog Day have a scent to anyone who doesn't live in Punxsutawney? Valentine's Day has the scent of flowers and cardboard and chocolates. New Years Eve has probably the widest assortment of smells associated with it. Which end of the spectrum you get really depends on what you do with New Years, but I think you know where I'm going. Even with all of that mental space that is taken up with memories of the other holidays my favorite are still Thanksgiving and Christmas.
The scent of warm pumpkin pie that is coming right out of the oven or the early morning smell of a freshly roasted turkey (I like the smell a lot more than the taste at this point in my life) are smells that can almost instantly make me smile. It's like hearing that one song on the radio that reminds you of that lost love or old friend, but in food form. The morning of Thanksgiving 2.4 I will cheat a little by lighting candles in all of the major rooms, just to get a head start on the scents. I prefer food related candles: fudge, chocolate, pumpkin, or sugar cookie. I don't know if anyone has done any research on this, but I'm willing to bet that if all workplaces smelled like Hershey's Chocolate World there would be less violence at work. Well, our house will smell great and I'm hoping that from the first moment guests walk in the door they will be bombarded by happy smells and it puts them in a good frame of mind for the rest of the day.
Halloween I suppose has the smell of candy corn (my mom loves candy corn) or the scent of rotting leaves (cause of the time of year) or maybe the smell of a candy bar still in its wrapper. The 4th of July is kind of connected to the smell of fireworks to me, but sulfur is not on any of my top ten lists of "smells I like". Memorial Day is supposed to be the "Start of the Summer" so possibly hot dogs and hamburgers on the grill. --Although I think nowadays so many people associate the smell of propane with the smell of cooking food. Not enough people use the good old fashioned charcoal. Now there is a smell I can get behind. Those gas-breathers probably wont admit it, but they know in their hearts that the smoky scent of a charcoal or wood fire is the appropriate accompaniment to all food.-- Now that I've had my soapbox moment back to holiday scents. Does Groundhog Day have a scent to anyone who doesn't live in Punxsutawney? Valentine's Day has the scent of flowers and cardboard and chocolates. New Years Eve has probably the widest assortment of smells associated with it. Which end of the spectrum you get really depends on what you do with New Years, but I think you know where I'm going. Even with all of that mental space that is taken up with memories of the other holidays my favorite are still Thanksgiving and Christmas.
The scent of warm pumpkin pie that is coming right out of the oven or the early morning smell of a freshly roasted turkey (I like the smell a lot more than the taste at this point in my life) are smells that can almost instantly make me smile. It's like hearing that one song on the radio that reminds you of that lost love or old friend, but in food form. The morning of Thanksgiving 2.4 I will cheat a little by lighting candles in all of the major rooms, just to get a head start on the scents. I prefer food related candles: fudge, chocolate, pumpkin, or sugar cookie. I don't know if anyone has done any research on this, but I'm willing to bet that if all workplaces smelled like Hershey's Chocolate World there would be less violence at work. Well, our house will smell great and I'm hoping that from the first moment guests walk in the door they will be bombarded by happy smells and it puts them in a good frame of mind for the rest of the day.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Thanksgiving 2: The Job
As few of you know I am now in the market for a new job. While doing some digging online today I thought for a second. . . Is there any way to turn the incredible holiday of Thanksgiving 2 into a job? I doubt it, but what if there was a way. What would it be? There isn't a mascot yet, unless you count the robot turkey picture I found for Thanksgiving 2.2's Evite. With no mascot there isn't really a need to be dressed up like the a mall Santa. The only thing that really comes to mind is a Thanksgiving 2 meal planner/coordinator. I think that has a nice ring to it. I am clearly able to do that pretty darn well (assuming anyone shows up this year: ). There has definitely been an improvement every year. Year one was simply a fried "things" party with around 20 people. Year 2 was the first year of the fried turkey with around 30 people. 2.2 i severely under figured how much turkey would be eaten. and then last year was my first experiment with multiple turkeys. There were 3 turkeys and about a half a roasted turkey left. (3/4's if you count the leftover carcass from roasted turkey #1) This year I have figured on one fried bird and one "leftovers" bird. Side dishes I believe I have always had a handle on. 2.3 I made probably enough food for 20 more people, but more is always better when it comes to that type of thing. We even had extra desserts. That was nice. I suppose I should try to get the Holiday recognized first then create the job. I wonder if I can get Preston and Steve to say "Thanksgiving 2" on the air. hmm. . . . Then after thousands of people start celebrating it, I'll go on talk shows and talk to Rachael Ray (cause she's a food person) and whoever becomes the new Oprah. After that is the book tour and I can proselytize. I'm sure it will be a whirlwind. What say you random people? Do you want to increase your holiday cheer? Spend more time with friends? Meet new people and possibly have fun? Then begin the Thanksgiving 2 revolution!!
Thursday, September 8, 2011
No Rain Dates in ThanksgivingLand!
I figured since we are in the middle of a horrible flood I could talk about the idea of a rain date. I think in general the idea of a rain date is dumb. I already plan 5 months ahead for the best of the newest holidays. I can't imagine trying to cram an extra weekend into the planning. Unless I've missed something all these years I'm pretty sure there isn't a rain delay for Christmas, New Years Eve or The Super Bowl. Why should there be one for Thanksgiving 2? If it rains this year we will have an additional piece of outdoor furniture. We have a 20' x 10' canopy. I'm figuring that this will eliminate any trouble with sitting outside. I hope. The bigger deal is what in gods name would I do with all of the food I'm going to make. I am definitely not buying 6 turkeys. 3 for the weekend of and 3 for the possible next weekend. I would never want to touch a turkey again. Hopefully there will be zero rain that day and no snow that month. I'm looking forward to a dry holiday this year.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
The Sweater Question
Last year I had a thought. What if everyone wore their most Christmasy of Christmas sweaters. Then I figured, "Oh, I will just go to JC Penney and get one for myself and my wife". Four hours later when I had scoured the entirety of the King of Prussia Mall I found out something terrible. Large stores no longer carry one of the best Christmas traditions, the bad Christmas sweater. I was horrified. How was this possible? I did some digging online and found very few sites that actually sell the traditional sweater: The Rusty Zipper, Skedouche, and if your lucky some vintage clothing sites will have them. The one awfully expensive alternative I have found are "Norwegian" sweaters, as in made and sent from Norway. The only stores I was able to find anything in last year were the local Goodwill and Salvation Army Stores. There were several woman's sweaters, and a few (and I use this term loosely) unisex sweatshirts, but nothing that I really wanted. I think I ended up wearing my Steelers Sweatshirt all day. Very festive, but not what I had intended.
I can't ask people to come in their best holiday/Christmas sweater if each costs $250 or requires them to spend 2 weeks finding one can I? The 80's are making a comeback, but why haven't I seen this yet? I'd go into Hot Topic if I thought they'd have some retro/hipster/emo sweaters with reindeer on them. If anyone can help please let me know. Maybe we will get lucky and the big box stores will carry them this year. Support Christmas and buy a sweater!
I can't ask people to come in their best holiday/Christmas sweater if each costs $250 or requires them to spend 2 weeks finding one can I? The 80's are making a comeback, but why haven't I seen this yet? I'd go into Hot Topic if I thought they'd have some retro/hipster/emo sweaters with reindeer on them. If anyone can help please let me know. Maybe we will get lucky and the big box stores will carry them this year. Support Christmas and buy a sweater!
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Labor Day 1, Not Labor Day 2
The non-official end to the summer is near and that means a BBQ outside. We are going to try again for a semi-impromptu event. Unlike Thanksgiving 2 where I'm expecting (and hoping for) a lot of people, this Labor day it could be just the two of us and it would be fine.
I was thinking of just doing something mostly simple on the grill. I haven't made a "fancy" hamburger in a while. I'd settled down into just a plain burger with toppings. This time I think I want to revisit my pepper burgers. I combine a mixture of hot peppers into the meat and then grill. thru some magical process the heat from the peppers mostly leaves and all you can really taste is the pepper essence and the meat. If you attempt this yourself do not use regular green peppers. They contain so much water that you end up doing a ton of extra working draining them. It's a pain in the butt. I think I'll add an egg to the burger mix this time for some extra binding and flavor. I'll get sausage of some kind too, people love sausage. I think if enough people come we can play some board games. It should be fun. We are asking people to bring side dishes, so I will probably just do a simple side dish on the grill. I haven't grilled a pineapple all season.
I was thinking of just doing something mostly simple on the grill. I haven't made a "fancy" hamburger in a while. I'd settled down into just a plain burger with toppings. This time I think I want to revisit my pepper burgers. I combine a mixture of hot peppers into the meat and then grill. thru some magical process the heat from the peppers mostly leaves and all you can really taste is the pepper essence and the meat. If you attempt this yourself do not use regular green peppers. They contain so much water that you end up doing a ton of extra working draining them. It's a pain in the butt. I think I'll add an egg to the burger mix this time for some extra binding and flavor. I'll get sausage of some kind too, people love sausage. I think if enough people come we can play some board games. It should be fun. We are asking people to bring side dishes, so I will probably just do a simple side dish on the grill. I haven't grilled a pineapple all season.
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