Gallbladders Are Overrated. Bring on the Onion Rings.

This has been a super sucktastic year to say the least. After totaling my car in the spring, I smashed my face in a cycling accident in the summer and wrapped it up with spending three days in the hospital getting my jacked up gallbladder removed in the fall. Just to really end the year on par, I had more oral reconstructive surgery done last week. Awesome.

Aside from enjoying a shit ton of quality pharmaceuticals, I have achieved precious little gratification lately. Now that my mouth is on the path to feeling better, after four months of fucked up teeth and a big-ass metal bar embedding itself into my gums, I'm ready to start enjoying some dinner.

If you've had your damned gallbladder out, you know how you're cautioned against eating fatty, fried or rich foods for fear of sudden explosive diarrhea and gut wrenching cramps. Since having mine out, I've done a little experimenting and I can tell you that "they" are full of shit and gallbladders are overrated.

Now, can I eat a mega order of greasy hash browns with fried eggs, bacon and gravy-laden biscuits for breakfast? No, not unless I want to spend the next two days in the shitter. But I can have some of each of those things and be just fine. And when I want a burger with onion rings, I can have some of that too and be just fine. The bottom line is folks, you can still enjoy tasty eats without having a gallbladder if you aren't a fucking glutton about it. I reckon everyone is different, some being more sensitive than others, but I certainly can enjoy rich, fatty or even fried foods in careful moderation on occasion without ill effects.

I'm still on holiday until next week and given this week's newfound dental freedom, I think some lunchtime nomming with the kidlets is in order. Stand back folks - we're hitting up Dairy-ette for some burgers and homemade root beer. Bring on the onion rings bitches!

Mom's Cranberry Sauce

Simply put, I cannot deal with that canned crap that passes for cranberry sauce or it's ribbed cousin, cranberry jelly. Yuck and yuck.

Cranberry sauce is just too easy to make yourself. There are lots of variations out there, but we like ours with a hint of orange and cinnamon. This is what I use:

1 package fresh cranberries
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 naval orange - reserve the zest and juice separately
1 t. ground cinnamon

In a large saucepan, over medium-high heat, dissolve the sugar in water and orange juice. Add cranberries and let it bubble away, stirring occasionally. When it has thickened and most of the berries have burst, after about 8 minutes, remove from heat. Stir in orange zest and cinnamon, then allow to cool to room temperature. Transfer to a covered container and refrigerate at least a few hours - I leave it overnight.

In the event you have Thanksgiving leftovers, this chunky sauce is good on Black Friday brunch French toast or waffles. Served with mimosas, of course.

Happy Thanksgiving!

- MomNextDoor

Taste of Dallas

Mark your calendars, friends! The Taste of Dallas returns to Fair Park this weekend, July 8-10, for it's 25th anniversary.

Admission is $8 at the gate or $5 in advance, available at area Albertson's grocery stores. Either pay $12 to park at the fair grounds or take the DART Green Line right up to the entrance like we did last year. Proceeds benefit the American Heart Association.

Munchies are all $3 or less so go with a hungry tummy so you can sample plenty of offerings. Enjoy the best of Dallas area food, music, art, sports and more. This is a great family event!

Lunch at Alejandro's

We spent a relaxing summer vacation day doing a little shopping in Rockwall and managed to work up quite an appetite. On the way home, we decided to stop in at Alejandro's Grill & Cantina.

The lunch special prices are amazingly affordable - not much more than a fast food meal. We decided to try an order of shredded beef tacos with flour tortillas and an order of pork tacos in corn tortillas. Given the price, we didn't expect much but both orders came with yummy refried beans, rice, a cilantro and onion blend, and an amazing spicy salsa. The juiciness of the tender, slow-cooked meats was the most wonderful lunchtime surprise we've experienced in quite some time. Both types of tortillas were tender and flavorful but they also held up to the oozing goodness of juices and salsa.

After experiencing good margaritas and great taco lunches, we pondered how surprised we were that only a few other customers were dining in the restaurant. Lunches this good, at prices this affordable, should be attracting a killer lunch crowd. Our only explanation is location. It's a little out of the way for us and we are usually only in the vicinity on our way to do some occasional shopping in Rockwall. After this visit though, we're definitely willing to go a little out of the way to check out Alejandro's dinner menu.