Two Words ...

Onion Tart

Scaloppine ...

Pretty Vegetables and Fruit

Pretty Platter

Pork Scaloppine

The New Year always makes me want to try new things, make new friends, pick new projects, and in general get off my duff and get busy at the serious winter pastime called puttering.

Crackers! A Dedication to Heather @ Pretty Peas ...

Her crackers looked SOOOO good ... SOOO tempting ... that I took a bit of my Sunday afternoon and duplicated her recipe. Please send any comments or kudos to Heather!

Silent Bob and I had a VERY late night last night ... the last of the holiday parties. Too much brew and too much rich food., which leads me to a question. What do YOU have when you have overindulged, are morning sick with baby in utero, suffering from stomach bug, whatever?  I usually suck down water and eat crackers. 

When I got home from said debauchery, I headed straight for the couch and some passive entertainment. I cruised the Net and found (among other things) Pretty Peas' weekend offering (while I nursed a big glass of water). It was kismet. I sent off a 'comment', made the dough, put it in the fridge to chill, and crashed on the couch for a bit. Roused myself to roll and bake, cut some excellent local cheese and poured some red wine (please don't judge me!). Then, we watched a football game ... ahhh Sunday afternoon during playoff season!

Italian Braised Thighs and Peppers

Remember that scene in La Dolce Vita when that wonderfully decadent and daft actress staggers around the fountain that's bubbling away in Rome? I totally flashed on that scene tonight as I watched these naked chicken thighs bubbling away in their bath of Prosecco and fire-roasted tomatoes ... all dosed up with garlic and chili flakes ... talk about heaven and hell! Fellini would have been proud ... er, but he'd probably have cuffed the side of my head for using canned tomatoes. Let's all say it together, "Get over it, Federico!"

'Another Triumph, My Dear!' - Mrs. Cratchit's Steamed Pudding

For years, I've made a steamed suet pudding at Christmastime or New Years, depending on when we were having a gang in to eat the thing! You see, steamed pudding is one of those holiday treats that has earned the comment, 'A little bit goes a long way.' It IS very rich ... not as cloying as a fruitcake, not quite as heavy, but it 'sticks to your ribs', so to speak. Eating it right after a full Christmas feast is like dropping a brick ... you know where I'm going here. It's saving grace is it's warm steaminess and the warm sherry sauce that is drizzled over it, just before serving. Because of the aforementioned, we have always tended to have it later in the evening with a cup of tea or a glass of warm milk or eggnog, when we can appreciate it ... because despite the harangue, it is truly delicious.

Buttermilk Buckwheat Muffins ... and a Cup of Tea

THIS is how I feel today ...

Daisy lounges on one end of the comfy living room couch and I lounge the other end  ... what a couple of bookends! I stayed up late into the night reading a good book and then slept until I wanted to get up. The holidays are over for most folks and our house has begun to return to a slower pace. I languish in this post-holiday peace.

Now is the time for those slow wintertime activities that tide me over until the beginning of mud season and the inevitable bout of cabin fever. I have dusted off the pile of wintertime reading beside my bed and will be picking and choosing title after title for the next two months. There are a few home improvement projects waiting to be accomplished , my small knitting project to complete, a sewing project that is cut out and waiting the sewing machine. And there are simple comfort food recipes rambling about in my mind ...

Meatless Monday - Vegetarian Stroganoff on a Bed of Kashi

Resolution #1 - I intend to eat, drink, and be merry with the people I love ! ! !

I posted that statement on my personal Facebook page on New Years Day as a broadside against the flurry of diet-related posts, advertisements in sidebars, MSN articles on my homepage, and blather on the TV and radio. Now, I know I may alienate some folk out there, but I just have to say that if we would all just be a bit more moderate about what we put in our mouths, we'd all be a bit better off. Oh, and yes! You do have to move your butt on occasion and break a sweat doing SOMETHING during the day - at the gym, around the house, out in the yard, moving around the city, wherever and doing whatever!

Warm Supper ... Tomato Bisque, A Grilled Cheese ... and a Story

Warm supper. When I was a kid, a wintertime supper fit for a queen consisted of a big warm bowl of cream of tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich with a mug of hot cocoa and some cookies for dessert. I lived in a neighborhood inhabited by at least forty kids that ranged in age from seven to seventeen years of age. Who knew if there were younger ones. There had to be! That, however, didn't concern a ten year old headed for the wintertime sliding hill on a chilly winter afternoon. Our neighborhood abutted a tract of land that ran adjacent to NY State Highway 37 ... and that tract of land was wooded with a criss-cross of paths and rutted bike trails that our banana bikes carved in the summer and that provided prime sliding trails in the wintertime.