Can I look now?

In an attempt to quell Official Election Jitters, I am going to answer another question:

What is my favorite recipe that has been passed down to me? And, a Bonus Question: How did X and I meet?

My very favorite recipe that has been passed down to me from a family member is my Great Aunt Joan's Cranberry Christmas Salad. It is hard to explain what this salad does for me - it invokes all those sweet holiday memories of Thanksgiving and Christmas. It reminds me of the huge family dinners that my grandma hosted before it became too hard for her to do so. It reminds me of how I thought I was being sneaky because I considered the salad a "dessert", but it was served with the turkey, etc. I would stuff myself so full of the salad, that I did not really care for the pies and cakes after wards. I love the creamy, whipped cream and the tartness of the cranberries. I savor the chewy grapes and I love the bite of the pecan pieces. Yum. I have been making this salad myself for several years and even X gets involved in the action as we always whip the cream by hand. It is best made the night before and it is all we can do to keep from eating half of the whipped cream.

My very favorite recipe that has been passed down to me from a friend is my friend Ferial's mother's Sri Lankan Mushroom Curry recipe. This dish is so savory and satisfying that it makes a perfect vegetarian meal. One of my Bar Buddies in grad school was a vegetarian, so I mixed up many, many batches of this dish when we all headed back to my place after downing a few too many Mind Erasers and were in desperate need of some good food.

So, how did X and I meet? Quite simply, through a friend. My friend Jennifer worked for X's company as a consultant and she introduced us. She had a gathering at her house where we sampled her father's homemade beer. Later, X and his roommate hosted a dinner party that involved much wine and game of Risk. The next day, X asked me to dinner in such a roundabout way, that I had to call my male friend CG to confirm that it even was an actual date. That first date was November 18th, 2000 and we have been together ever since.