Last weekend, I decided to try my hand at making a cheese cake for the first time.
It was Matt’s birthday recently and his mother always makes a cheese cake for special occasions; especially birthdays. But because we’re in Newfoundland and Labrador and his parents are in Ontario, it’s unlikely a cheese cake would have made it in once piece by Canada Post. I emailed my mom-in-law and told her about my plan: I wanted to make Matt a cherry cheese cake and needed her recipe.
NOTE: I originally started this post back on March 22. Its about time I took it out of draft status.
If you haven’t read my original post about flipper dinner, you may want to check it out before reading the rest of this post…
On March 1, 2011 Matt and I once again went to a Flipper Dinner hosted by the Compass Shrine (who are part of the Mazol Shriners) where my dad is a member. Instead of having the event at the Mount Pearl Reid Theatre, we went to the Freemasons’ Hall in Mount Pearl.
Do you have your ticket?
Perhaps you instantly think of a meal that is serenaded by that punk band “that formed in San Francisco, California in 1979, continuing in often erratic fashion until the mid-1990s, then reuniting in 2005.” (*cough* thank you Wikipedia *cough*)
Or you’re now elated because you envision a water-bound dinner that has that cute and lovable dolphin we all watched on TV attending a pool party.
And some of you may think I’m about to provide a lecture on the importance of consistent post-dinner oral hygiene as you are a loyal user of the Flipper toothbrush holder. (OK I’ll admit, the toothbrush holder was the only other thing on the 1st page of my “flipper” Google search besides the dolphin and that punk band…)
Well guess what – in Newfoundland and Labrador, the term “flipper dinner” involved the consumption of seal flippers.
Yes, yes I know – “oh it’s wrong… how can you do that… but the baby seals are so cute!” I’m not here to debate the moral issues some may have about this type of meal, instead I want to tell you about how yummy and tasty such a meal can be if you keep an open mind!
Last week Matt and I went to Flipper Dinner that was organized by my Dad’s Shriners group (you know, those guys that wear the red fez hats? My dad is one of them!). Neither Matt nor I have had flipper before and while my grandfather is a huge fan, my brother (who historically growing up was a picky eater) is a BIG fan of flipper. Even though my brother is currently living near the Boston area these days, just knowing he’s enjoyed flipper was a big selling point in my eyes (he is my big brother after all).
So my husband (who’s originally from Ontario) and I went with my grandparents and experienced seal flipper for the first time. Someone mentioned to Matt had flipper can be rather fishy tasting… I’ve heard it can be really oily… But we both agreed it was neither that evening. In fact, the most smell we could get from it was a faint liver-like aroma. Clearly the Shriners did something right.
Flipper is basically a dark meat and (in my opinion) tastes a lot like Turr (a small seabird more well known as a Common Murre). Now I’ll admit it was a rather rich meal and I certainly wouldn’t want to eat it every week, but overall I have no complaints about the experience and I’m really glad we went. In fact, if they do it again next year (and it’s a traditional fundraiser for a lot of churches and community groups in St. John’s), I’ll definitely want to attend this same one because they knew what they were doing.
I’ve asked around and there seems to be a trend that you either love flipper or hate it. And there’s a distinct separation amongst the flipper lovers on whether or not they’ll eat straight up flipper or if it has to be in the form of flipper pie (which sounds very nom nom nom to me!).
Either way, it was a lovely evening had by all. The fundraiser was a big hit and is now tucked away as a fun family memory. Here’s my dad as one of the excellent servers during the evening’s festivities.
Thanks for reading and I hope you won’t judge me too harshly on this recent meal decision.
To read about Matt’s experience with Flipper Dinner, check out his recent blog entry about it.
Have you ever had flipper? If not, would you if given the opportunity? If not, is there anything exotic or unique out there that you haven’t tried yet that has left a curiosity lingering in the back of your mind?
For anyone who has been on Weight Watcher’s or another weight management program, no doubt you’ve often heard, “Oh it must be horrible that you can’t eat anything good!”
I joined Weight Watcher’s last year at the end of April because I was fed up with some weight I had that just wouldn’t go away. 
I only wanted to lose around 20 lbs, and because I had semi-followed the program when I friend was doing it a few years back, it was already compatible with my lifestyle.
Since October 21, 2009 I have been a Life Time Member of Weight Watcher’s. Having successfully reached my goal and as I continue to maintained it, I’m really proud of the accomplishment. Granted, there are people who have lots MUCH more than myself and have overcome greater milestones and struggles, but it’s still a personal goal that I set and made happen.
Sometime last year I bought a couple of the Weight Watcher recipe books and one specifically was Hit the Spot.
You’ll see four different tasty treats in the photos and they include:
ALL of these came from that book and all of them are very, very tasty!
In fact, they’re so good that I’m sharing them with family and friends. Well… not the green beans because I’ve already eaten most of them, but I did take some to work and a coworker was able to see how awesome they were! The bean dip and wontons are going to a friend’s 
birthday / house warming and the two sets of cookies are being shared amongst my in-laws, my grandparents who are visiting from Newfoundland & Labrador, my cousin and his wife (who my grandparents are staying with) and my great aunt who we’re visiting today in Newmarket. I’ll let you know what their reactions are.