Happy Holidays Everyone!
As I’m typing this it’s Christmas Eve and I’m pretty stoked! Background on me, I was raised by a strict Irish American Catholic mother from Worcester, Massachusetts. My father, who is Samoan, just went along for the Catholic ride. Besides Easter, this was the biggest holiday in our family. I’m no longer Catholic… I gave that up for Lent 20 something years ago LOL. I have no issues with Catholics it’s just not my thing anymore. I’m a spiritual guy who doesn’t really follow any one religion. I just try to be a good person. With that said, my mom died December 20, 2010, and this holiday reminds me of her the most. She was my hero. I like to go all out as much possible on Christmas. So me and the family are going to Runyons Restaurant for dinner. Anyone who follows me knows I love that restaurant. The food, service and ambiance are fukcing fantastic. I am going to share some pictures from my dinner at Runyons and the dinner I’m preparing for Christmas Day. As a guy, I’m all about the pictures man:) I will be updating this article as the time progresses.
But first, I’m going to share with you a picture my buddy took of me holding the 1997 World Series Trophy. My friends, Holly and her brother Steve, their father Whit owned the team with Wayne Huizeinga. From what I understand both Whit and Wayne were given a trophy. I was in Whit’s Office building today and I walked by a dark conference room. I looked in it and caught a glimpse of something and kept walking. I stopped and thought, did I just see the MLB World Series Trophy? I called out to my friend Earl and said, is that the Fukcing World Series Trophy in that room? He plainly, said yes. Now I’m not a baseball fan, I’m a sports fan, but I remember exactly where I was when the 1997 Florida Marlins won. I was in a cabin with my family and in-laws in the beautiful mountains of Gatlinburg, Tennessee watching the game. My buddy let me take a quick picture holding the trophy so I wanted to share it with ya’ll.

1997 MLB World Series Trophy
Round 1 Runyons
Round 2 Christmas Morning, Breakfast at Mi Casa

Bacon Baby!

Pancake Mixing

Cheese Grits

Pancakes
Round 3 Will Be Dinner
My menu will be the following:
6 layered spinach salad. I stole this recipe from my mother in law, Carol. She is a crazy good self taught cook. I morphed this recipe into my own. It’s baby spinach, sliced thin red onions, sliced button mushrooms, feta cheese, parsley, and bacon crumbles. I’m a big fan of Good Seasons Italian Dressing so I’ll serve my salad with that.
Grilled Asparagus
Loaded Baked Potatoes
48 Hour Teriyaki Marinade Sirloin Flap Steaks. I had the Butcher at my Publix, Vinny, send each piece thru the cuber. This helps the meat tenderize a lot quicker. Tip, always make friends with your butcher. Publix will cut, cube, grind, and tie any meat for free.
Dessert, my Administrative Assistant at work, Latonya, gave me a poundcake made by her mom. I’m going to slice it and serve it with fresh berries and whipped cream.
A friend of our family, Sue Feola made this salad dressing when I was a kid and I was hooked. I morph this recipe all the time. Today I used two packets of Good Seasons Italian Dressing Mix, red vinegar, water, and olive oil. I added more water, vinegar, and oil specified on the dressing bottle.

dressing ingredients

finished product

spinach dip app made by my wife

my salad added one more layer which was cucumbers
Round 3 Breakfast Post Christmas

Omelet made with leftovers from my salad

finished product. I hate eggs but I love to cook them. This was for my dad.

I stopped by The Cook and The Cork. Dropped off a beer I brewed with my buddy Lee.