[Editorial Note:  As of this writing, we have not finished exchanging gifts.  On Christmas Day, we exchanged gifts with Jill’s parents, and with Jack’s extended family.  We each opened a couple gifts given by the other, but the majority of our gifts between each other will be opened on Wednesday when we have a belated Christmas dinner at Jack’s parents’ house.  Therefore, for the purposes of answering the following questions we will use gifts that we have received in the past.]

For this week’s TMI Tuesday why don’t you tell us:

Jack’s Answers

1. What was your favorite gift that you received (gift giving holidays Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or heck even if you had a birthday in the month of December that can count)?
I honestly don’t have one.  I love receiving gifts as much as I love giving them, but few of the items I’ve received really stand out years later.  I doubt I could remember today what I got for Christmas, say, seven years ago.  And of the ones that do stand out, no single gift is any more awesome than another.  (Yes, I realize that this was supposed to be about gifts received this year only.  I take full responsibility for my sub-par answer.)

2. What was the most practical gift that you received?
Cash, without a doubt.  I probably sound really jaded and grown-up.  I wish I had something more fun and meaningful to mention, like the first cookbook I ever received, or a first-aid kit that was then used to save the life of a stranger who turned out to be a genie and granted me three wishes which I used to land the perfect wife, bring about a new age of world peace, and cure all disease.  Sadly this is not the case.  I’ve asked for and received a lot of fun and frivolous things during my thirty-five Christmases on this earth, and none of them are as practical as money.

3. What was the silliest, most fun, crazy or impractical gift that you received?
Silliest?  I’ll say the Jesus Christ action figure I received from a friend.  It’s still in its package.  The most fun gift was probably the Nintendo system that I got when I was twelve.  I played the shit out of that thing.  I don’t think I’ve ever received a video game console for a Christmas present since, so that’s the one I’m going with.  The craziest one?  Definitely the two year subscription to Mental Patient Monthly that just ran out.  I was hoping for a renewal.  The most impractical gift?  Probably the desk calendars my mom is fond of giving me.  I hate to sound ungrateful, but my cell phone includes a pretty awesome calendar that takes up no additional space.

4. If you had a special holiday meal, what was your favorite food?
My favorite part of any holiday meal is mashed potatoes.  Light, buttery and delicious, I could eat mashed potatoes for every meal.

Bonus:  Share the recipe of your favorite food from the holiday meal.
8 medium russet potatoes, peeled
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup butter
Salt to taste

Boil potatoes until soft, approximately 15-20 minutes; drain
Process potatoes using a potato ricer
Add milk, butter and salt and stir until smooth

Bonus, bonus:  Whatcha doin’ for New Year’s Eve?
Beats me, but I hope it involves sex.

Jill’s Answers

1. What was your favorite gift that you received (gift giving holidays Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or heck even if you had a birthday in the month of December that can count)?
Probably the Eroscillator that Jack got me for Christmas in 2006.  We were living apart at the time, and it kept me sane.  It has given me many enjoyable evenings, many wonderful orgasms, and a fun time whether I’m home alone or having sex with Jack.

2. What was the most practical gift that you received?
Although the Eroscillator makes a good answer to this question too, I should probably pick something else.  So I will go with the couch covers that Jack got me for our sofa and armchair this year.  It sounds like a shitty gift, but I really, really wanted them.  Our couch and sofa are probably a decade old, and as we have a messy baby, they’re aging even faster than they should.

3. What was the silliest, most fun, crazy or impractical gift that you received?
The silliest gift is probably the framed clay sculpture of my face that my students made me.  The most fun was probably the – oh wait, I can’t say the Eroscillator.  So I’ll go with the Liberator Throe that Jack got me along with the Eroscillator.  I would have used it for my most practical gift in answer to question #2, but the couch covers are seriously practical, and the Throe is a lot of fun.  The craziest gift?  That would have to be – you know what?  The framed clay sculpture is the craziest gift I’ve ever received.  Seriously, it looks absolutely nothing like me.  The silliest gift, then, is the can of silly string I got as a gag gift when I was a teenager.  And the most impractical gift is probably The Complete Calvin and Hobbes hardcover box set from about five Christmases ago.  I’m a big fan of Calvin and Hobbes, but I don’t think I’ve ever opened and read it.

4. If you had a special holiday meal, what was your favorite food?
I love homemade Italian biscotti.  They really remind me of the holidays.

Bonus:  Share the recipe of your favorite food from the holiday meal.
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons Amaretto (OR 2 tbs rum with 1 tsp. almond extract)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon anise extract (optional)
1 cup whole almond , toasted and chopped a few times, not too fine

Preheat oven to 300°F.
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
Combine dry ingredients and set aside.
Whisk the eggs, amaretto (or almond extract/rum), vanilla and anise extracts in mixer until well-blended.
Add the dry ingredients and mix until combined.
Scrape the dough out onto a parchment lined sheet pan.
Flour your hands and shape into a long flat loaf about 10 inches long and 5 inches wide.
Bake until firm and dry, about 50 minutes.
Remove from the oven and cool 10 minute.
Use serrated knife and slice into 1/2-inch wide slices.
Lay the slices cut side down on the baking sheet and bake another 20 minutes.
Turn the slices over and bake 20 minutes more, or until the cookies are a light golden brown.
Cool the biscotti on a rack; cool completely before storing.

Bonus, bonus:  Whatcha doin’ for New Year’s Eve?
We have no plans at the moment.  We’ll probably stay home, and watch the ball drop on TV, likely while playing with Jack’s balls.

How to play TMI Tuesday: Copy the above TMI Tuesday questions to your webspace (i.e., a blog). Answer the questions there, then leave a comment below, on this blog post, so we’ll all know where to read your responses. Please don’t forget to link to tmituesdayblog from your website!