Mother's Day party

On Sunday, we're having Kris' whole family over for Mother's Day. We will be also be celebrating 3 other May birthdays, (mine being one of them.)

People are bringing things, which is nice. All i have to make is

Pulled turkey bbq for sandwiches

Chicken salad for lettuce wraps or sandwiches.

Cannoli

The turkey was on sale at Cub this week. i'll be cooking it on Saturday, pulling it and adding bbq sauce and stuff on Sunday.

Chicken salad is super easy. It's basically canned chicken (like tuna) from Sam's club, lite Miracle Whip, and a delicious suprise: dried cranberries. It's delicious on croissants, which are CHEAP at Sam's club.

Cannoli is a bit scary for me. i've never had it, but i saw Emeril make it and it looks really good. i bought cannoli shells, and will be using this recipe. My only problem is that for the life of me, i can't find unsalted pistachios. Or pistachios of any kind. Is there some sort of pistachio recall a la two year's ago spinach scare? i've been to 3 grocery stores and can't find pistachios. i might sub for another nut, but pistachios are such a specific taste, you know? Anyway, besides the pistachio problem, since i bought premade cannoli shells this should actually be quite easy to make. i'll let you know how it goes. By the way, if you're planning on making cannoli, budget quite a bit. i let the fam know i was making it, and then went to the store to buy the stuff. Whew. Just the 18 cannoli shells i bought were $12. (i'd have made them, but you need a special tool for it.) Then the ricotta and mascarpone cheeses added more...not a good dessert for a budget.

Other people are bringing deviled eggs, blue cheese chopped salad, yummy potato stuff, cheeses, and birthday cake. It should be a nice party.

i'm tossing around the idea of making my own rolls for the party, since i already have flour and the other goods and a bread maker. We'll see how everything is going on Saturday when i'd make them:)

On the topic of cooking, i made this recipe for croque madames i saw on Rachael Ray for lunch today. Oh man. It is good. Yum. If you're craving grilled cheese and ham with eggs and white sauce, this is the recipe for you. i will be making this a LOT in the future.