Visits to the Houston Museum of Natural Science on Christmas Eve have become a holiday tradition for my family. The museum’s not very crowded and exhibits are open until 8 p.m. We recently saw Body Worlds 2 & the Brain, and having seen the first Body Worlds exhibit there two years ago, I’ve gotta say this latest collection of plastinated human bodies is just as jaw-dropping and informative. Though the inner-workings of the brain are featured in this Body Worlds, the life-size bodies never cease to fascinate me. Many of the male and female figures are shown in action poses—hitting a baseball, yoga, and skateboarding. Our favorites included an “exploding body”, showing each layer of skin, muscle, veins and organs from head to toe, and a reclining body with 6 fingers on each hand and 6 toes per foot. The last body in the exhibit even had a tattoo still visible on the right hand. There’s also a section showing the size progression of a fetus, and a female body during pregnancy. Don’t miss browsing the newly expanded gift shop near the main entrance, and check out the large selection of Body Worlds-related merchandise, including plush-toy “diseases”—soft, cuddly versions of the flu, salmonella, plus a few that can’t be mentioned here. We found them all “just awfully contagious”!

I-35 through Fort Worth has been a construction-congested mess for as long as I can remember. So imagine my delight to discover, on a holiday trip through the city, that much of the construction in finally finished. For travelers using the Interstate to get to points north or south, it’s a much more pleasant commute. And for those bound for Cowtown proper, it’s also simpler to reach Fort Worth’s ever-expanding Cultural District, as well as the Stockyards National Historic District and downtown’s Sundance Square.

Some of my colleagues and I recently chatted with some folks from the Fort Worth Convention and Visitors  Bureau, who wowed us with news of the city’s numerous enticements. Two new hotels opened in 2008—the Sheraton Fort Worth Hotel and Spa, and the Hyatt Place Fort Worth Historic Stockyards—and a third (the Omni Fort Worth Hotel) is slated to open in January 2009. That means plenty of rooms to house out-of-towners in Fort Worth to check out 2009’s full plate of activities and exhibits.  Thinking about a spring trip myself, I asked about outdoors adventures such as kayaking, and I learned that you can rent kayaks for leisurely excursions on the Trinity River, and that you can even rent horses for hour-long trailrides through the Stockyards District.

Steak is king in Fort Worth, but we learned of a ‘restaurant row” of sorts that sounds promising for more eclectic fare—Magnolia Avenue. Here, according to our sources, you’ll find a number of independently owned, small restaurants that specialize in cuisine from Thailand, Egypt, Italy, and Mexico.

Art. Curry. Longhorns. Kayaking. Maybe even a new pair of cowboy boots. Sounds like a good trip to me. (To plan your own Fort Worth trip, see www.fortworth.com.)  

As part of my birthday celebration this past weekend, some girlfriends and I signed up for chef Chaya Rao’s afternoon Chai Tea class at the Whole Foods Culinary Institute. The price tag ($20) and short time investment (1 ½ hours) fit beautifully with our pre-holiday budget. Chaya is from Bangalore, India, the country’s third most populous city; it’s the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka and known as both “the Garden City of India” for its abundance of green spaces and “the Silicon Valley of India” for its abundance of high-tech industries. It’s also a heavily vegetarian region.

I enjoyed learning about the culinary anthropology of India as much as I enjoyed watching Chaya prepare tea and a lovely Indian snack called batada vadas, which are potatoes mixed with cilantro, ginger, turmeric, and serranos, which are formed into small balls then fried in a chickpea-flour batter. Crunchy on the outside, soft in the middle, these savory little globes of deliciousness didn’t taste oily at all. The lemongrass-and-basil tea we enjoyed first tasted of jasmine and herbs, and the traditional chai—prepared with Darjeeling black tea, cardamom, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, and milk—proved a perfect way to help ring in another year.

To learn more about the Whole Foods Culinary Center, call 512/542-2340; www.wholecateringaustin.com.  

Spent a delightful evening last Friday at the Trail of Lights in Austin’s Zilker Park. Our group (which ranged in age from five to 75) wandered mesmerized through the extravaganza of illuminated holiday displays (think canopies of radiating trees, character scenes from Snoopy to SpongeBob, and a gleaming Nativity). The brilliant scene could beam the Bah! Humbug! from old Ebenezer himself.

We ended the evening with our traditional, dizzying spin under the 155-foot Zilker tree. On the list for next time is a night ride on the Zilker mini-train, which becomes a Polar Express of sorts as it winds along the blazing trail. Hurry—the Trail ends Dec. 23 (of course, next year’s event will be here before you know it). Quick tips: Go early and be prepared for crowds; the Capital Metro shuttle at Waterloo Park to and from the event is quite efficient.

For those near Belton this season, there’s more time to catch Fort Hood’s Nature in Lights, at Belton Lake Outdoor Recreation Area, which extends into early January (Jan. 4, 2009). The five-mile-plus, drive-through trail winds past more than 100 themed displays (the dancing reindeer and Santa on a motorcycle were my kid’s favorites), with lovely Lake Belton as a backdrop. Make a stop midway at Santa’s Village for cocoa, crafts-shopping, and photos with the jolly one. At trail’s end, the whirling tunnel of lights sent us home with woozy smiles. There’s just something about a dizzying finale.

Where have you found lights fantastic this season?

The wide release of Danny Boyle’s film, Slumdog Millionaire, as well as the attention the film attracts, takes me back to the Austin Film Festival (www.austinfilmfestival.com) in October, which honored Boyle this year and screened Slumdog Millionaire. The AFF, now in its teenage years (founded in 1994), spotlights the creative contribution of writers and draws a crowd to Texas each October. In addition to Slumdog Millionaire, the festival screened W, Oliver Stone’s film tracking the 43rd president from West Texas oilfields to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue by way of the Governor’s Mansion.
As I made my way down crowded Congress Avenue to see W in the historic Paramount Theater, I struck up a conversation with filmmaker Will Hartman whose short Easy Pickins screened at AFF. Hartman was waiting in line and talking with two Ohio University film students – Joshua B. Young and Cody John Vandenberg – who made the trip to Austin on a grant. Hartman himself had gained some funding from the state of New Mexico to spend 7 days filming. When I mentioned Ed Harris’ film Appaloosa, Hartman brightened, “The bartender in Appaloosa, he’s the lead in my film.”
Check out the schedule for 2009. A film pass (about $40) gets you into several events as well as close to 200 films.

My husband, Randy, and I spent most of this past Thanksgiving holiday visiting his folks in Plano, a north Dallas suburb that often feels more sterile than interesting, at least on the surface of things—mile after mile of super-sized retail stores and large suburban homes in developments set off by brick gates. However, on this trip I took the time to explore a bit, and I found a surprising and exciting multiculturalism. In recent years, Indian and pan-Asian supermarkets have popped up on major intersections, their patrons perhaps drawn to Plano for such major technology employers as Ericsson, EDS, and Perot Systems.  (I could spend hours exploring aisles of garlicky, chile-laden condiments, not to mention the hundreds of different kinds of beans, lentils, and other pretty seeds.)

            After our traditional Thanksgiving dinner on the 27^th, I was thrilled when my in-laws agreed to accompany us for Thai food the next night. We made tracks for a well-reviewed spot called Tamarind Thai Cuisine, which, like many establishments in Plano, is in a strip mall. We brought our own wine–a bottle of viognier from Pillar Bluff Vineyard in Lampasas, a wine that my father-in-law didn’t care for much (“tastes like cat pee,” he said) but my more agreeable mother-in-law deemed “interesting.”

            We ordered a round of appetizers for the table—a platter dubbed the “Tamarind Sample,” which offered a few dumplings, tempura vegetables, skewers of chicken in peanut sauce, and some spring rolls, plus three dipping sauces. I liked the broccoli tempura, but I found the rest of the appetizers underwhelming.

            Our entrees, however, didn’t disappoint. Three of us planned to share our meals, while my father-in-law ordered the flank steak (called “frank” steak on the menu—I love that!) and planned to stick with his dish.

            So Randy, his mom, and I ordered the Papaya Salad (shredded green papaya with chile, tomato, garlic, green beans, and ground peanuts), the fragrant Green Curry (chicken with coconut milk, bamboo shoots, peppers, basil, and eggplant), and a dish called the Happy Pepper & Garlic, which featured beef slices, lots of fresh garlic, carrots, and broccoli. I highly recommend this place, though we’ll have to scope out a different wine for next time. I think the viognier simply didn’t work well with the complicated spices.

                         Also in Plano, I recommend a visit to the Wooden Spoon Scandinavian Shop (at 1617 K. Avenue; 972/424-6827), where you’ll find all sorts of jams, jellies, cookies, cheeses, meats, and kitchen accessories from Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. The Wooden Spoon offers classes focusing on Scandinavian culture, too—on January 17, the Wooden Spoon offers a Kransekake class, which will teach cooks how to prepare the distinctive 18-layer cake often served at Danish and Norwegian weddings and other special events. (Google “kransekake” for fun—the cakes look like pretty donut towers; Homer Simpson would go kransekake crazy.)

There’s nothing like Thanksgiving to bring out the traditionalist in each of us. Even trend-conscious teenagers and tech-savvy twentysomethings have their favorite foods and rituals, without which the holiday just wouldn’t be the same. One of the must-have dishes for my family on Turkey Day is cornbread dressing. Duh. No surprise there. Another traditional food is something my mother calls Jailhouse Rolls. When these get passed around, some of the college-age diners take two the first time, and then go for thirds when the next batch comes out of the oven. I’ve seen one young thing (who probably weighs less than a hundred pounds) eat four or five in one sitting.

After the meal, Mother divides up the leftover rolls (if any) and sends them home with various family members. The key word is sends. The driver of the car in which I was riding Thanksgiving night decided midway to Austin that it was time for a snack, pulled over and retrieved Grandma’s rolls from the trunk, and then proceeded to chow down as he drove on. No matter that they were stone-cold and lacked butter—those rolls never saw the lights of Austin.

Here’s the recipe for Jailhouse Rolls, compliments of my mother, Helen McKey. (She says the recipe was given to her about 15 years ago by my aunt Authemia McKey of Silsbee.) By the way, these light, homespun rolls go nicely with Christmas dinner, too.

Jailhouse Rolls
Plan to mix up the dough for these no-knead rolls a day ahead. If you like, save some dough (keep refrigerated and use within 10 days) so that you can have fresh rolls another time.

1 pkg. dry yeast
1 ½ c. lukewarm water
1 c. cooked, mashed potatoes (2 to 3 potatoes)
1 c. butter or margarine, melted and cooled
3 eggs
1 c. sugar
1 ½ tsp. salt
7 c. flour
Additional melted butter or margarine

Stir yeast into lukewarm water to dissolve, and set aside.

Combine potatoes, butter, eggs, sugar, and salt in a large bowl, and mix well. Using your hands, blend in flour. Add yeast mixture, and blend well. Place dough in a large, greased bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and place in the refrigerator overnight.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface, and roll out to ½-inch thickness; cut with a biscuit cutter. Place rolls on a greased baking pan, and brush tops with additional butter. Let rise for about 3 hours. Bake at 450º for 10 to 12 minutes, or until browned. Yield: about 3 dozen rolls.