Food and Podcasts

1.  I was away for a while.  Now I'm back.

2.  Part of my "away" was because of a "bad patch".  I'm not going to sit here and whine about the details of the patch, just know that I had one.  I've never been good at coping with these sorts of things, but I'd like to think that I am getting better at letting friends in to help me when I need it.

3.  Saturday night was Gaming Night.  I have been the Dungeon Master of a couple of adventures.  Khyrstyne, J Alyn, Bootstrap and Trevor have all been wonderful while I learn the ins and outs of running a Dungeons and Dragons game.

(I hear some of you judging me, it's OK.  Geeks are used to it)

To tell the truth, this is something I have been wanting to do since I was a teenager.  Of course, that makes me really nervous about gaming now, thinking that I'm going to run things the wrong way and everyone will lose interest.

Still, I'm eager to do it again.

4.  One of the projects that I had on Saturday to prepare for the Gaming Session was to make something that we could snack on.  For some reason, I had a hankering for Spinach Artichoke Dip.  Of course, I told of my plans to make it on Facebook and I received more than one response of, "Why don't you just buy it in a tub?"

Well, my reasons are twofold.

First off, at my age, I can no longer justify buying something premade if it is really simple to just make it myself.  Alton Brown is right, you have much more control over the ingredients if you put in the effort to make something yourself.  Not only that, but you can buy some of the ingredients ahead of time and keep them until you are ready for it.  If you buy the premade stuff, you will have to throw it out within a week or so.  That's a waste.

The other reason why I wanted to make the Dip myself was because it is a Xmas Tradition with my family every year, and since Hubby and I are hosting the holiday again this year, I figure I should keep the tradition going.

Anyway, I made the Dip, even putting it into a Hawaiian Bread Bowl, and it was a hit.  There wasn't very much of it left when the night was over, and that made me feel good.  

I'll just put that Dip on my list of Pitch In Ideas.

5.  Sunday wasn't quite so busy.  I spent the day relaxing for the most part, not really having anything to do until 3pm.  We were having The Guys (BigRed and Ken) over for dinner. I made Pizzaroni, one of my favorite dishes.  

Pizzaroni is the sort of dish you can make as simple or a "deluxe" as you want.  It is basically cooked pasta, pizza sauce, diced tomatoes, mozzerella cheese, and whatever toppings you like on a pizza.  You layer the thing however you want, and back it for a half an hour at around 375 or so.  I also made garlic bread as well, and that was *really* good.

The Guys, Hubby and I had a great time just talking and laughing while we ate.  It was a quiet night at home, probably the last I'm going to have for a week or so.

We were going to do a podcast, but The Guys had to scoot back home.  That's OK, I have a podcast I need to upload, and next weekend there will be more than one show, I'm sure.  

6.  Thursday afternoon, I am leaving for St. Louis for HiBearNation weekend.  It will be a wonderful weekend of fun, frolick, rum and debauchery.  

Last year, I recorded two podcasts which were wonderful.

Episode 43-1 "Even Monkeys Fall From Trees"

Episode 43-2 "One In The Chamber".

I'm hoping this years podcasts recorded at HiBearNation will be even funnier!

Posted via email from Random and Absurd: The American Way