Florida

So, any disasters out there? We had about 25 people at our house, and everything came out pretty well, except for the fact that I burned the gravy. I didn’t even know it was possible to burn the gravy. Of all the things that were on my list of potential paranoia, burning gravy didn’t even make the list. And it’s a long list. And if there is one thing you don’t want to mess up, its the gravy. It goes on everything. And this tasted like an ash tray.

Everyone said the gravy was fine, which indicates one of two possibilities. A) I have really, really, really polite friends. B) The true burnedness of the gravy didn’t really come through until I scraped up the bottom when I made my plate, and everyone else had already eaten by the time I got my plate.

(Read the full post about ‘Thanksgiving recap: The leftovers’…)

More reasons for me personally to give thanks: Scarcely more than a mile from my house in New Tampa, Toast has opened up at 14921 Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, (813) 632-3105 in the site formerly occupied by Wine & Cigar Stop and Wine Warehouse. Still wine, but now it’s a cool tasting bar with super friendly owners. I stopped in in a panic Wednesday evening to grab a couple of no-malolactic, unoaked chardonnays. Got just what I wanted. You can sip by the glass, buy a bottle, or head to the back room to smoke a cigar.

In other exciting news, James Ellis is relocating his Mr. Dunderbaks from the University Mall Tampa. As of Feb.

(Read the full post about ‘Two new ones in New Tampa’…)

Since it seems to only be cleaning one part of the room, at least the Roomba proves its usefulness in some way.

It’s been awhile since we’ve had another amusing and pointless anecdote about Jessica Simpson, but this one is fun on the cusp of Black Friday. Star says Jess was shopping at the Beverly Hills Niketown when she had a user connection error. "Jessica asked the sales associate helping her where the Adidas sweat pants were," a witness told the mag. "The guy thought she was joking." Oh, it’s all one big joke, isn’t it? Until broke, alone and desperate, Simpson robs that very same Niketown to get money for meth. Then who’s laughing? No one, that’s who. (Read the full post about ‘Jessica Simpson makes mistake, is ridiculed’…)

Beyonce Knowles may want to have Jay-Z’s kids some day, but she tells Ellen DeGeneres that the idea of actually doing it scares the Sasha Fierce out of her, People says. The 27-year-old singer was taping a segment on the comedian’s talk show Tuesday  when she said that "one day, maybe" she’ll get preggers, but watching sister Solange give birth in 2004 had a profound effect. "I was there in the delivery room and it kind of traumatized me," Beyoncé says. "I said please don’t have me in the room. And she said, ‘You have to. I’m your sister. Stop being so silly.’ Well, I was right!" Of course she was right — childbirth is a beautiful and disgusting process that should be shared between a new mom and dad, not every sister, nephew, cousin and weird uncle that comes along. (Read the full post about ‘Beyonce traumatized over birthing babies’…)

There’s further proof that Britney Spears’ comeback has solidified with yet another Rolling Stone cover featuring the resurgent singer. But after her meltdown, is the cure actually worse than the disease? Well, no, but she is being watched nonstop. "We were never left alone together, and my questions had to be submitted ahead of time for approval," reporter Jenny Eliscu writes, according to USA Today. You’d think she wasn’t allowed to make her own decisions or something. Manager Larry Rudolph says that kind of security is necessary, though: "Her job is to be Britney Spears, and unfortunately, that job bleeds into her personal life and creates this odd situation where she needs to have security people around her all the time." That even includes her dates. (Read the full post about ‘Britney Spears talks about security, dates and her kids in latest ish of Rolling Stone’…)

This is horrible. You thought Son of the Mask was bad? Imagine Chunk from The Goonies getting dropped on his head and channeling Jim Carrey. But oh, so much worse.

No recipe today. You don’t have time for it. I don’t have time for it. Too much to do! So instead of coming up with something new today, we’ll jazz up something you are probably making anyway. Stuffing.

First off, don’t stuff it in anything. It makes the bird take longer to cook, and you are introducing unnecessary risk by taking something that soaks stuff up, then putting it into a carcass that is a bacteriological breeding ground until properly cooked.

Technically, if you don’t "stuff" it in the bird, I guess it’s dressing. But I like to think that the purpose of "stuffing" isn’t to "stuff" the bird, but to stuff me. So I cook it separately and serve it on the side.

(Read the full post about ‘Thanksgiving countdown: Stuffing stuff’…)

Anyone have great ideas for where to eat out tomorrow inexpensively? I devoted a lot of ink to fancy-pants options and not so much on the cheaper side of things. Dinner under $10, anyone?

In other news, Carrabba’s opened yesterday at Tampa International Airport in the main terminal. This is the first Carrabba’s to open in an airport and features traditional menu favorites as well as a new “grab and go” menu.

Metropolitan Ministries’ Holiday Center is in need, with donations down 20 percent overall. According to president Morris E. Hintzman, they are expecting 1,200 more needy families by Wednesday and 20,000 families over the next 30 days. Here’s how to help. Most needed foodstuffs: turkey or gift certificate, mashed potatoes (boxed), canned fruit and yams. If you can’t make it to the main campus (2002 N. Florida Ave., Tampa), please volunteer or drop-off your donations at the following locations:

Joining Hands Holiday Center (located at Community United Methodist Church), 3214 U.S. Hwy 19, Holiday.  Mon.-Sat. 10am-7pm, Sun.

(Read the full post about ‘Metropolitan Ministries in need for holidays’…)