“There has to be a better way to spend Thanksgiving,” wrote my witty pal, Tom, in an e-mail he shot off to me as Thanksgiving, 2008, was drawing to a close.

“Three hours of preparation, four hours of cooking, thirty minutes of eating, two hours of cleanup and five hours of heartburn. It just doesn’t compute,” he declared.

“Next year, if I can’t wrangle a dinner invitation, I’m going to the Salvation Army and eat!” (more…)

Would Pepe le ‘Possum be better than Tom Turkey?

My aunt gave me an early Christmas present which I cherish more than anything she has ever given me.

She brought me a bag full of my grandmother’s old cookbooks, stuffed with her special recipes and those of my great grandmother - some dating to the turn of the century and written in their own hand. I could hardly get Thanksgiving dinner on the table I was so engrossed in these treasures. (more…)

The day has ended and I can finally have my own private Thanksgiving. Nothing went wrong. Absolutely nothing. Didn’t drop anything, burn anything, undercook anything or have to call the fire department. (more…)

Blogstats.com., that nebulous entity that monitors traffic on blogs and websites informed us today that deluded diva.com has reached the magic number of 30,000 hits (about 4,000 a month) since its inception last spring. And from four continents. (Is Australia a continent? I can’t remember. If so, that makes five.)

We now qualify for some big bucks - maybe as much as $35 a month. That will cover my coffee habit if I continue to buy it at Fred’s.

All this tells me two things. Either there are lots of folks out there who don’t have stimulating reading material in their homes, or somewhere along the way, the deluded diva and her quirky insane newsletter found a quirky, insane audience. I’m thinking the latter. (more…)

Blunders are what make events memorable so don’t worry, You’ll be laughing about it next year and for decades to come. I know. I’m the queen of blunder.

My gravy is full of lumps. Now what?

Don’t lose your mind whisking out every single lump. Instead, pour the gravy through a strainer. Smooth gravy flows through a medium weave strainer, leaving lumps behind.

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