I know you must have spent the entire Thanksgiving day worrying yourselves into a lather, awaiting news of how my Sweet Potatoes and Cranberry Salad were received. I can say without exception, the sweet potato casserole made from combined recipes and missing ingredients (the evaporated milk) was a universal hit amongst the group of survey participants.
My mother-in-law and sister-in-law both gave thumbs up and both had seconds. I must tell you that they preferred the dish served cold. My wife and I both enjoyed it warmed up. I should have taken more than one picture because they were a lot more excited than what this photograph might depict. As Arthur Fonzarelli might say, Aaay.
Later in the afternoon, we joined neighbors for dessert and took down a plate of the good stuff, and honestly, they were either really polite, or they genuinely loved it. I even had recipe requests!
The Cranberry Salad was actually good. I think if I ever attempt it again, I'll try following the directions a little closer. I suspect I put a little too much coconut in it. The taste was fine and nobody made any discreet efforts to spit it into a cloth napkin to be found later in the laundry. In fact, my sister-in-law took some to another gathering she was attending later in the afternoon, so it couldn't have been that bad. Unless that was just a ploy to get it out of the house...
I will tell you this: In my mind, cranberry needs to be eaten mixed in with the turkey and the dressing and such. You can't simply get a spoon and start eating it like it is some sort of fancy dessert, though I confess I did just that a while ago.
Oh, the hit of the party? Meet Tristan, my nephew's new baby. As the proud parents enjoyed turkey and such, we admired the newest little family member. Good baby!
How was your Thanksgiving? Any good stories about drunken uncles or dinnertime fisticuffs? Tell me about it.
Not long after our visit to Bobby J's over in Helotes, and still sensitive to our split decision, my wife and I opted to try another burger place and see if we could agree on the taste, quality and above all, appearance of the food. We were tempted by a coupon that had been stuck to our refrigerator for at least a week or two, and finally decided to try the Cheesy Jane's over on Bandera at 1604. I should tell you that we ate at and enjoyed the one up by Stone Oak a few years ago, but just never found the need to go again.
For me, the atmosphere of the place is pretty wide open and warehouse like. A series of tables and booths, you have the old diner style grill area in the back and just a few decorations. I think they are going for the Happy Days burger joint without the associated girls on skates and regular appearances by Arthur Fonzarelli.
I confess, I'm more of a Chili's or Clear Springs, and yes, even Bobby J's atmosphere sorta guy simply because I like looking at the things on the walls. Cheesy Jane's does have a train track hanging from the ceiling that goes around in circles with advertisements on it.
But we came in for a burger, not entertainment! The menu does show a Chili Burger, but my wife opted instead to try a regular half-pound burger with cheddar cheese, and all the regular fixin's minus onions. She then added bacon and some guacamole. When our plates arrived, I suddenly had burger-envy.
I opted to try something called the Pecos Burger. It is a half-pound of excellent meat, cheddar cheese, BBQ sauce and covered with something called splinters, which are fried onions and jalapeños. It came with a side of ranch, so I poured that on for good measure!
We both enjoyed the buns (slighty toasted) and the great tastes of the burgers. The little jalapeños on my Pecos Burger were not hot at all, but simply added a different taste, so if you are afraid of hot stuff, worry not. Our server kept my iced tea filled and we especially enjoyed that the manager or head cook or whoever he was, brought the meals out to each diner just to make sure everything was alright. Great service and pretty quick.
Our only disappointment was with the onion rings. We got the regular order (enough for two people, easily), and they were the perfect texture. Not over cooked and not too crisp. I'm an onion ring snob I suppose, and if I recall from our first trip to the Cheesy Jane's in Stone Oak, the onion rings did not have the same unique taste these did. In spite of their good appearance and texture, the breading had some sort of awkward aftertaste to them. At first, I thought it was the taste of a corn tortilla. Surely, that wasn't what they were going for. In the end, we decided they simply need to change the oil. It wasn't enough to ruin our visit, so when you go, feel free to order them and let me know if you get the same corny taste we got.
Apparently, if you order a full one-pound burger and finish it, they take your picture and post it on the wall with your comments on the card. Before leaving, we stood there and read a lot of them - pretty funny stuff. I'm thinking on a day when I'm really hungry, I might just put on the ol' eatin' pants and give the one-pounder a try. 
But even if you aren't all that hungry, Cheesy Jane's has a burger right for you at a fair price, good service and something my wife and I can agree on. It is a Tasty Treat and get's my wife's Eeee-Yum seal of approval.
My mother-in-law and sister-in-law both gave thumbs up and both had seconds. I must tell you that they preferred the dish served cold. My wife and I both enjoyed it warmed up. I should have taken more than one picture because they were a lot more excited than what this photograph might depict. As Arthur Fonzarelli might say, Aaay.
Oh, the hit of the party? Meet Tristan, my nephew's new baby. As the proud parents enjoyed turkey and such, we admired the newest little family member. Good baby!
