Merry Christmas to all!

Ask her to save the oyster dressing for Oyster Sunday.

My dad made a ritual foray into the kitchen once a year on Xmas to prepare his notorious clam dip, which featured an insane amount of garlic. He and I devoured it, while everyone else treated it like it was radioactive.

I don't know if mince pies used to contain actual meat or not. I have the feeling that they did, as they would have been a good way to utilize meat scraps. 

Atlantic City in January frankly sounds like No Fun, but maybe the weather will be friendly. Why not go to Biloxi, though?

Kevin, mince pie, or mincemeat pie did once upon a time in ye old England and other locals contain meat along with the fruit and spices, and suet (or butter).   Dad's clam dip sounds good, even with lotsa garlic.

As for why not Biloxi in January, we go when and where the charter flies.  Actually a Biloxi charter is happening same dates as the AC charter.  Biloxi charters from our airport are more frequent, AC charters not so much, so we will go with AC.  The weather is a worry, getting to our airport if roads are icy dicy, regardless of the final destination.

Candy

The highlight of the holiday dinner was my mother's mincemeat pie and hard sauce.  I have no idea what was in the hard sauce but it made the pie the best.  Take care Candy.  

Well then, show AC who's boss! It's my least favorite gaming destination, since if you're foolhardy enough to walk a single block inland, you're in Fort Apache. And there ain't nuthin' else to do but patronize the casinos. 

One feature, if you can call it that, that I noticed last time I was there was the rather surprising dearth of hotel rooms. A casino host explained to me that the bulk of AC's business was daytrippers from Philly, NYC, Baltimore, etc., which explained why the whole place felt like a ghost town in the evening. I got a glimpse of literally dozens of buses leaving at once, like an elephant migration.

I guess that's why I like Reno, San Diego, and Washington state as gambling destinations. When you get sick of Death By Cards, there's plenty else to see and do.

Washington State has great casinos which are easily accessible from the B.C. Lower Mainland. Easy drive and great scenery along the way.

Don't we regret not getting those certain recipes from our moms and grandmoms?  Might be nice if you could recover that hard sauce recipe to pass along, if any of your childrens/grands might be interested.

Happy New Year, Robert.  

My dad's clam dip recipe:

One block of Philadelphia cream cheese. Place in a bowl and smoosh until tired.

One entire bulb of garlic. Separate, peel, and smoosh cloves. Add to cream cheese.

Open one can of clams. Add to bowl. Smoosh.

Refrigerate overnight, or until Mom complains that the dip is making everything in the fridge smell like garlic. Apologize and promise to put Saran Wrap on it next time. Be sure to forget to do that next time.

Open 500 oz. bag of dip chips. Eat.

Serves 2 to 50.

I read an article in the Seattle Times that the casinos north of Seattle have taken a huge hit from the overall 26% drop in Canadian tourism. I also read that Bellingham and other northwestern Washington communities had a lousy summer, with far fewer Canadian visitors than 2024.

Honestly, I can't think of very much that Washington has that BC doesn't, except maybe huge volcanoes. I would tell any Canadian to just stay home and enjoy their amazing, beautiful country. Why go someplace where the party in charge treats you with contempt?

Also, aren't there several casinos in the Vancouver area?

We did a lazy feast this year and I'll tell you what....thats going to be the new normal.   Super easy and tastes pretty damn good :

-Boneless butterball turkey breast....Roasts in 90 min...comes with gravy pack that you just mix with the drippings and water.

-Bob Evans mashed potatoes ready made.   Just microwave.

-Stovetop stuffing

-Pillsbury biscuits in the tube.

-Frozen corn

-Cheap white bordeaux to drink

-Dessert was buttercotch sundaes.

I spent less than an hour in the kitchen and cleanup was a breeze.     

There are some moms and grandmoms who actually enjoy the laborious preparation and cooking of holiday meals. Then there are the other 99.997 percent.

And having lived in Vegas during many Christmases, I can testify that the most popular Christmas meal was the Holiday Bountiful Buffet at the Golden Commode Casino. They even had loaner wheelbarrows to get you from the dining area back to the slot machines.