We arrived in Destin on Saturday. I was so proud of Jason and I ... we'd aimed to get on the road at 5 am and were only running 10 minutes late. (It really should qualify us for some sort of award or something.) Saturday night was going to be the only night the entire family (well, those who were going) would be there so we wanted to get there with plenty of time to visit. And that we did.
We arrived around 2 pm and were able to check in to the back house (front house wasn't ready yet) so we could unload all our luggage and groceries. We did this rather efficiently and then quickly changed into our swimsuits and plopped our behinds in beach chairs for the remainder of the afternoon. We were scheduled to take family pictures that night on the beach so we all headed back up to shower and I to also get dinner started. I'd prepped crawfish fettuccine and homemade dinner rolls on Friday and all they had to do was bake. Recipe to follow.
The pictures and dinner went off without a hitch. There were hilarious moments during the picture taking. One of which could have ended up not so funny had Sam actually been smooshed by this woman, but the photographer's assistant tripped over Sam and fell face first into the sand. I would have felt bad if it had been Sam's fault, but the lady wasn't watching where she was going so the sand on her face made us giggle a little. The other was when the photographer suggested that we all walk hand-in-hand toward the water so she could take a picture of us from behind. And to make matters worse, when she counted to three, we were to all turn around and start jumping up and down and cheering. The proofs on those sent us into more fits of giggles when we got to see them on Monday.
We ate our delicious dinner and I received a ton of compliments on its bubbly goodness. One of my favorite things to do in life is feed people so when I do it well, it gives me the warm fuzzies. It was a good start to our family vacation.
And then Cranium was broken out. *Sigh*
I'd played this game on a couple of occasions with my brother, Ryan, who might be the most competitive person in the universe. Worse still, he also cheats. He's the type of person whose motto is "if you ain't cheatin', you ain't tryin'" which can be absolutely infuriating to a person who merely is coming back to the Monopoly game from a quick run to the restroom to the suspicion that half their bank and a few houses and/or hotels are missing. Ryan can't seem to help himself. It's in his blood to win and I fear his head might implode on the occasions that he is behind in a game. In simpler terms: it ain't pretty. (But those of use who love and adore him have come to accept this ingrained character flaw, even though it gets to us on occasion.)
Now, I'd warned my team (Aunt Dru & Uncle H, Aunt Dani, Kendall, Brian, Lauren, Brandt, Jason & I -- Ryan decided it was the "Marines" against the rest of us; like getting married removes us from the Marine fold or something) about this penchant for cheating and I swear some of them almost didn't believe me until they saw the hysteria with their own eyes. Unfortunately, I can't recap the situation from a first-hand perspective because I'd gone back to the back house to put the kids to sleep and get some rest myself. But I was laying on the couch when Jason walked in and I excitedly asked him who won the game (we were nearing the end and our team was winning slightly so Ryan's head was starting to spin when I left) and he explained that it wasn't quite over yet. When I asked him what happened, all he needed to say was, "Your brother" and I just knew.
The next morning we got the full report. And needless to say, it had degenerated into a variety of embarrassing yet hilarious family moments like Emily getting in Ryan and Michael's (I was a bit shocked at the report of Michael's behavior, I have to admit) faces yelling "f*** you"s, Jen telling Ryan "not tonight" when he retorted that he gets off on it after she'd called him a prick, and other moments that left the Patins and the Etiers in utter disbelief.
The good news is that it gave us something to talk about for three days and there were no bitter feelings at all. Laughter at each other and at ourselves. Which I suppose is what makes this family so unique and special. That wild ability to fight like feral cats and come back the next day and snuggle up like kittens. We do truly love each other, that's for sure.
More to come on the remainder of the week ...
But first, the recipes:
Shrimp or Crawfish Fettuccine
½ cup margarine
1 large white onion, chopped
1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
1 T all-purpose flour
½ T dried parsley
1 lb. shrimp or crawfish
5 oz. half and half
3 oz cream cheese, cubed
3 oz American cheese, cubed
3 oz Velveeta, cubed
3 T salsa
4 oz can of mushrooms with juice
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 package Fettuccine noodles, cooked al dente
Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
Romano cheese, freshly grated
Mozzarella cheese, freshly grated
Melt margarine in large pot, then add onion and bell pepper. Cook for 15 minutes covered, stirring often. Stir in flour – cook 15 minutes, stirring often. Add parsley, shrimp or crawfish, half and half, cheeses, salsa, garlic and mushrooms. Cook for 30 minutes, covered over low heat, stirring occasionally. Mix pasta and mixture into a glass baking pan. Sprinkle with grated cheeses and cover with wrap. Bake at 350 degrees until hot and bubbly.
May freeze entire casserole. To reheat, use 200 degree slow oven until hot.
Dinner Rolls
1 cup warm water (105ºF to 115ºF)
2 packages active dry yeast (not quick-rising)
1 stick butter, melted
½ cup sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp salt
4-4 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
Combine the warm water and yeast in a large bowl. Let the mixture stand until yeast is foamy, about 5 minutes.
Stir in butter, sugar, eggs and salt. Beat in flour, 1 cup at a time, until dough is too stiff to mix. Cover and refrigerate 2 hours or up to 4 days.
Grease a 13x9” glass baking pan. Turn chilled dough out onto a lightly floured board. Divide dough into 24 equal-size pieces. Roll each into a smooth round ball; place balls in even rows in the prepared pan. Cover and let dough balls rise until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 375ºF. Bake until rolls are golden brown, 15-20 minutes. Brush warm rolls with melted butter.
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