Florida Coalcracker Chronicles: 6 ½ Members of the Gross Family Have So Much To Be Thankful For

Friday, November 25, 2016

6 ½ Members of the Gross Family Have So Much To Be Thankful For

Max - Cassie - Zack - Rachel - Melissa - Josh GROSS
and The Pies

Lulu loves holidays. I am sure her favorite is Christmas - as I type she is out there slugging it out on Black Friday. My favorite was yesterday - Thanksgiving. We have so much to be thankful for - and there is no pressure to buy gifts to prove it.

Josh and Melissa Gross are special friends. Melissa is a professor with Lulu at FSU. Josh also is a psychologist at FSU - but he is my partner in crime with craigslist and trading cars. Add to his skills - in spring he tests for his black belt in karate - and 50 years of Blues guitar playing. He may truly be the "most interesting man" from the TV commercials.

They are the first family of culinary artistry. Food to them is a way of life. Max and Cassandra graduated from the Culinary School of the Arts in Hyde Park NY. Melissa truly wears the crown as the best cook I have ever met - Lulu will heartily agree. Everything is made from scratch right down the the salad dressing and the catsup. So when you get an invitation to their place for dinner - it is better than going to the President's Box in Doak Campbell Stadium.

Their home sits on a lake about 20 miles north of town. It is an eco-friendly lake - no gasoline powered boats - no hunting. Our dining table was maybe 40 feet from the shore. One of Lulu's favorite TV shows was the Waltons. The setting for our dinner was a long table - in front of a stone fireplace - with the lake view out thru the Florida room. The kitchen and living room form one homey setting. Good night John Boy.

Two big news items - in 3 weeks Max and Cassie are opening up a restaurant in Quincy FL. The restaurant is on the Town Square directly opposite the County Courthouse. They will specialize in Farm to Table food. We are excited to tell everyone to take the short drive to Quincy over US90 West - and try their wonderful food. The other big news is that it looks like there will be a 7th Gross at the table next year. Rachel and Zack are expecting.

Dinner was at 5 PM - the sun was setting over the lake - the pies were arranged in the Florida room. Of course - we wished we were up north with our Everhart 9 - but they are coming south for Christmas. We were honored to be in the Gross Family for a day.