Christmas is Coming!

Not a moment too soon!

I got to spend Black Friday my absolute favorite thing in the whole world. We spent the day in Frankenmuth, MI. Michigan's little Bavaria. It had snowed on Thanksgiving, so there was still remnants of snow on the ground around town.

We started our visit to Frankenmuth at the world's largest Christmas Store, Bronners. It was a tad overwhelming this year. We arrived early, but by the time we left it was PACKED. We had the distinct pleasure of meeting Wally Bronner and having our picture taken with him (I'll post later). In my 13 years of knowing of Bronner's existence, I'd never seen nor met him. It was a real treat.

We had lunch at the Kaffe Counter at Satow Drugs. Where I picked up a calendar which is always a lot of fun to read, quite a hoot! I did my best and ordered a salad with grilled chicken.

Then it was time to shop around town and hit the Cheese Haus, the Mac's Fudge, and the leather shoppe. We also strolled further uptown to the new shops at River Place. We finished the afternoon with a horse drawn carriage ride around town, so beautiful. Dinner was at Bavarian Inn. Usually it would have been a flour laden dinner of noodles, fried chicken, mashed potatoes with gravy, beets, etc....a german chicken dinner. Once we were seated I started to look at the menu to see what I could possibly have. I was nervous, to say the least. When our waiter Teddy arrived, I said "I have Celiac"...he said, "Oh would you like our Gluten Free Menu?". BAVARIAN INN HAD A GLUTEN FREE MENU!!! I was ecstatic!!! Teddy was amazingly up to date on the procedures of what I could and couldn't have and if he was unsure he ran to the chef to find out. Not only do they have a gluten free menu, but all gluten free items were prepared in a separate kitchen to avoid cross contamination. To say I was impressed was an understatement.

So, if you ever find yourself in Frankenmuth, MI, be sure to check out the fabulous gluten-free service at the Bavarian Inn.

:)

So...now, it's official, Christmas is coming. The tree will go up over the weekend and the shopping has started. Soon, the task of relearning all of my favorite Christmas cookie recipes, and making them gluten free will begin. The first will be the "Monster Cookie" which I plan to make in a few days. I'll post the recipe as soon as it's successful!

:)