From the Archives: My Big, Fat American Thanksgivings

This post was originally published at Rock On Mommies in 2010

I grew up in a BIG Mexican-American family. And we did everything BIG. Especially holidays. And ESPECIALLY Thanksgiving.

It was probably our biggest and most difficult-to-navigate holiday.

Christmas was easy: Christmas eve with Dad’s side of the family and Christmas Day with Mom’s side. But Thanksgiving was a NATIONAL holiday. A day to celebrate alongside our neighbors, regardless of color or creed, as AMERICANS. Splitting up Thanksgiving over two days would be un-American! 

So here’s how I spent every Thanksgiving of my childhood:

First, we’d head to my dad’s parent’s house. All the adults would squeeze into the living room and they’d drag picnic benches into the kitchen for us many, many kids. Dad’s family usually served the meal around noon. (I know!) The food? Was SO. GOOD. We’d gorge ourselves on the rich “American” fare we truly only ate once a year: Turkey, Yams, etc. Everything swimming in butter. Only “American” music would be played: big band, Mathis and Doris Day. After my Aunt Maria’s delicious homemade pumpkin pie, we’d end our festivities with, what else? A BIRTHDAY PARTY. Oh, yeah! Several family members had late-November birthdays and my grandparents would take advantage of having the whole family under one roof. So we’d bust into the 2-hours-old “leftovers” and then, naturally, we’d have cousin Becky’s butter-filled layer cake for dessert!

(My dad, left, and his brother Jess with their post-Thanksgiving birthday cakes)

Then we’d head over to Mom’s family home. You know, for Thanksgiving.

It was a short trip from East Cedar Street to West Cedar Street, where my mom’s parents lived. They served the meal at 4pm-which meant we had to leave the birthday party early. Mom’s family was just as big and it was just as tight a squeeze to seat everyone. Only problem? The food was better at the first house. It was! With Mom’s family, you could bet that the giblet bag had been baked inside the bird. Or that the mashed potatoes would be too thick to penetrate with a steel serving spoon. Or that the bread could be used to shatter the windshield of your worst enemy. (Before you get insulted, Aunt Sheila, may I remind you that they literally could not slice that bread with a saw.) And we were SO FULL. But we HAD to eat! So eat we did. And the fact that the food was so much better at the first house was always very quickly mitigated by the fact that the laughs were so much bigger at the second house.

By nightfall, my parents, my sister and I would be too full to sleep. We are blessed to eat and we are blessed to laugh, but take it from me: over-eating and over-laughing should only be mixed on very, very special occasions. It’s the American way.

What were your crazy Thanksgiving traditions? I can’t be the only one!

Wishing you love with extra cheese-
Nacho Mama

Over at Rock On Mommies-Tips for Designing Your Dream Kitchen

My latest post for Rock On Mommies is about kitchens. This is the room in the home which always seems to raise the most questions from homeowners! Click HERE to see some of my favorite kitchen tips.

One of our clients asked us to incorporate some very personal elements into their kitchen design

Go get them LOADED FRIES!

Back when I wrote my post about trigger foods, I fully intended to write a review of Arterra Restaurant (the place with the infamous LOADED FRIES). I really did! But then the Momfia "scooped" me, lol!

Beth (@hipmamab) has written an absolutely FABULOUS post about the now-legendary Momfia Contributors Dinner at Arterra Restaurant. When you see it you'll understand why "I can't believe I ate the whooooole thing." But I did! There's even a cute video of that night (with a photo of me making the "tweeting face"-yeesh!) made by Theresa (@rockonmommies). You can read Beth's post over at San Diego Momfia. Sorry to send you "offsite" but I think you'll be glad you went because...Momfia is GIVING AWAY A $100 GIFT CERTIFICATE to Arterra!!! Do you know how many loaded fries you can get with that? A LOAD!

This is a golden opportunity for you ladies in the San Diego area-or for one of you who may be coming this way for, say, Blogher.  Arterra is located in Del Mar, about 25 minutes north of downtown San Diego, and is well worth the trip. :)

Now go get them loaded fries! Need that link again? Here it is!


Wishing you love with extra cheese-
Nacho Mama

Are Blog Years Like Dog Years?

Ahh-the life of a blogger. I'm very, very grateful that you all stop by to check in with me here and at Rock On Mommies and San Diego Momfia.  My favorite thing, though, is learning about all of your blogs! Blogs have truly enriched my life and I love hearing everyone's point of view.  

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One of the best "Bloggy" events I've gotten to attend recently was "Spa Social"-an evening at La Costa Spa with 199 other lady bloggers.  First of all, I ADORE La Costa Spa. The spa amenities there are second to none. And the food!

Me & Joey (@joey_hendrix, my partner in mediamonarkey.com) enjoying our champagne and Kobe beef sliders-Ahhhh!

But the best part by far was hanging out with my bloggy besties and meeting new fabulous ladies and their blogs.  The first question we all asked each other was "How long have you been blogging?" Some had only been live about a week-others, like me, have been at it for quite while. I noticed that an answer of 2 years or more garnered a respectful "Oooooooh..." I also noticed that I had trouble remembering just how long I have been blogging. My stock answer that night was 3 years. A venerable number, to be sure. But was it accurate?

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Turns out, I was waaay off!

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As I mentioned before, I've had several blogs over the years. As I tried to remember exactly when it all started, it seemed like everytime I came up with a "first"blog? There was one before it I'd forgotten about. After a little excavating I have finally determined that I have been blogging for at least FIVE YEARS. Which in blog years? Means I'm eligible for the Early Bird Special at Sprinkles.

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I had TOTALLY forgotten that my first foray into the blogosphere was on <cough> myspace. And, if I remember, it was only after relentless coaxing from my friends that I tried it at all. My first post is no longer there (though my profile has not yet died from neglect) but it was something along the lines of "Ok, fine. HERE'S my blog. Happy now?"

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 Ok, so the joke was totally on me. 

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I know at least one of my favorite bloggers, Bitchcakes, started out on myspace too. What about YOU? Did you have some bloggy-babysteps before plunging into the brave, new blogosphere of today? Care to share the link? Hmmmmm???

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Just to jog your memory-here's one my myspace posts from way back in 2006!!! It's an oldie and a moldie-enjoy!

Wishing you love with extra cheese-

Nacho Mama

Form versus Function....This time it's personal.

Today I present an object whose claim to design fame leaves me deeply conflicted.

Yes, it is a brilliant, irrefutably practical design. From the humblest bedside table to the set of the Oprah Winfrey show, this object is there for you when life throws you a curve ball. It relieves you of germs, tears and...other things.

Such an object should be exalted in every home, no? And yet, this noble servant of man is often the first thing hidden from view when the camera snaps or when company calls.
Why? The reason is simple: Like a beautiful woman with no dress sense, it's form is simple and elegant, but it's appearance is hopelessly frumpy.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you
The Kleenex Box.

Your home's Glamour "DON'T".

It's Almost Easter and You Need a CRAFT IDEA!

Sometimes my husband jokes that my motto should be "If it's worth doing-it's worth doing last minute!" This is especially true when it comes to holiday crafts. I get all caught up in coordinating plans with the rest of the family and I realize that (fill in the holiday) is practically here and I don't have time to hit the craft store for cool holiday-themed craft supplies-gasp!  What's a crafty mom to do?

Not to worry! Just head over to Rock On Mommies for Nacho Mama's Last-Minute Easter Craft! You'll find some ideas for creating Easter eggs your family will never forget-and your kids can join in too. And you'll probably manage just fine without a trip to the craft store-this time.



Wishing you a Happy, Hoppy Spring with extra cheese-
Nacho Mama

Review of Delizza Pastries

Wow-sorry to send you all over the blogosphere, but here's a review I did on Delizza Frozen Pastries for Rock On Mommies. Don't want to click over-here's the gist: they were delectable, cost $6 for a box of 50 at your local supermarket and (for my sister Weight Watchers out there) are 7 pointsplus per serving of 6 mini-eclairs. Each eclair is filled with yummy custard, covered with dark chocolate and is slightly larger than your thumb, so 6 is kind of a large serving.  Learn more and get coupons at the Delizza Website. Muy NOM!

Wishing you love with extra cheese,
Nacho Mama

My New Year's Resolutions? Simple!

As I mentioned earlier, my husband and I have made resolutions to take better care of ourselves and organize the house in 2011. A big part of that is just living more simply, spending more time together as a family and remembering what's really important to us.

Over at Rock On Mommies, I've shared some of the websites that are helping my family live a more simple and organized life in 2011. You can read about them HERE.

What are your NYRs?

Wishing you love with extra cheese,
Nacho Mama

Nacho Mama's Day Out-with TATER TOTS!

It's not often this mama gets a day out. So when I saw on twitter that my online friends Theresa and Beth were going to be lunching in Hillcrest? I just had to weasel solicit an invitation for myself. After all, the ladies were going to be in Nacho Mama's 'hood. And? They were going to be vlogging about the launch of their AWESOME new site SDMomfia. And? They were going to be joined by Aaron from He Said, She Said. AND?  It was going to be at R GANG EATERY!!! Which I have been dying to try since it opened but haven't because, as I said above, it's not often I get a day out. (Whew! That's a lot of links for one paragraph, no?)

OK, so I totally horned in on their awesome mommy lunch. But it was worth it.

First of all, even though we all live in the same town, and all write for Theresa's site Rock On Mommies, I've never met the ladies in person. We tweet each other all day long, but there is a singular thrill that comes from meeting the face behind the twitter-handle that is difficult to convey unless you've actually experienced it. Let's just say that the web is waaay to small to contain the ferocious divinity that is Theresa and Beth. Now with Aaron I had some idea what to expect, having seen his hilarious webisodes. He did not disappoint and yes boys, he is even cuter and sweeter in person!

Speaking of cute-our menu was personally selected for us by R Gang's a-dorable chef, Rich Sweeney. Who was recently on a show called "Top Chef" - perhaps you've heard of it? He is also mas chulo in person. How lucky am I? 

So there we were, enjoying the gorgeous Hillcrest afternoon and gabbing away with Theresa's webcam capturing it all. They brought us cocktails. In honor of Nacho Daddy (who's real name is Todd) I'd ordered the Hot Toddy. It was absolutely delightful-like I was drinking in the warm Hillcrest sun.

Aaron ordered the Gingerbread Martini-which had a little Gingerbread Man drowning in it! If you want to save him, you have to drink really fast.

The cocktails made us even more talkative. Until the food came. Then the silence was deafening. Where to begin? First there were Tater Tots:

Then a spinach salad with duck and duck confit Tater Tots (even now I have to pause for a moment of silence):

Then? A scallop Po' Boy with some of the tastiest fries I have ever had.

(For my fellow weight-watchers, I figured I took in about 35 points with this one meal alone! But, that's what our new Points Allowance is for! And I had the other half of the sandwich for dinner. It was so worth it-for the company and the food!) 

Other food highlights at our table included Mac & Cheese and also Chicken & Waffles. Back when Nacho Daddy and I lived in New York, we'd get chicken and waffles in Harlem, and R Gang's might be better than we had back in the day (gasp!)

And the BEST thing we had? It's on the wall in the photo behind us.

Chef Rich Sweeney, Theresa, Me and Beth (Aaron took the photo)

No one asked me to write this review. But I had such a fab-you-luss time that I just had to share it with all of you. If you live in America's Finest City, or are visiting (perhaps for the holidays?) I hope you'll stop by R Gang Eatery. Be sure and check the chalkboard for new menu items, since Chef Rich likes to mix things up. You moms will be glad to know that it's SO kid-friendly. And you weight-watchers will be glad to know you have some place to spend those extra points!

Wishing you love with extra cheese,
Nacho Mama