Still Christmas

I'm one of those annoying people who insist that Epiphany is the last day of Christmas. You know, Twelfth Night? The day the Magi came?

Today's society doesn't much hold with that, so no 12 day vacation or round of parties (we did get to go to one, a nice intimate gathering with local friends). And it seems odd to not have the tree out where we can see it. (It's living in the guest/TV/spare room, and I don't watch much television.)

Nevertheless, it's Still Christmas, and it's been very nice so far. We didn't give or get extravagant gifts, but the ones we got were lovely. DH found me vintage earrings to match a vintage Christmas brooch I already have. That's a wonderful combination of good luck, a good eye (he's got two), and persistence.

The cats were stunned by the windfall of toys...they wound up fighting over the same one, of course. (It met its end before Boxing Day, at the jaws of Than Chai. A fuzzy yellow candy cane. The hip thing for cats this year, I understand.)

The mortgage is paid for next month, we have plenty of food, it's warm in the house, and we both still have jobs. Still Christmas.

Merry Christmas!

The last minute gift and general Christmas musings

I broke down and did it. Made a last-minute knitted gift. No further details at the moment, but it was no more than 6 hours start to finish, including some crochet edging.

Pictures of that and my mother's stole after Christmas.

And...the Christmas Spirit is trickling in. The office lunch was fun; I love it when we take a few minutes and relax over food together. Nat King Cole's version of "The Christmas Song" is playing at the moment, and I just wrapped a last-minute present for someone here (they come running and plead—Scotch tape and wrapping paper are a mystery to most).

Tonight I'll wrap a few things for DH (we cut way back on gifts to one another this year, but I have a few things to put under the tree).

All the packages have been sent out, and yesterday I got all of the Christmas dinner and brunch and Boxing Day food shopping done. There were excellent sales at the market. Half off on the meat, and I had a nice gift card from work. The final bill was more than 50% off! We'll have enough to also make beef pot pies on Boxing Day, and a nice brunch then, too—I'm thinking cream cheese stuffed French toast, bacon, Champagne cocktails and juice. (Recipe for the French toast follows.)


Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast

Day-old or dry bread in thick slices (challah, raisin bread or other sturdy bread)
cream cheese (8 oz.)
honey (1 tsp. per every 8 oz. of cream cheese)
2 eggs for every 6 slices of bread
vanilla extract (1/8 tsp. for every egg)
half-and-half (2 tbl. for each egg)
butter
oil

Following the proportions marked, beat eggs with half-and-half and vanilla.

Whip cream cheese with honey. Add additional honey, if you like.

Slice into thick slices from one end, stopping about 1" from bottom of slice. (Don't cut all the way through; you want a pocket, not two slices of bread.) Spread a generous tablespoon or two of the sweetened cream cheese into the slit and press closed.

Place bread into batter; allow to sit for at least one minute each side (longer if you like).

Fry in a large skillet or on a griddle (don't crowd or they will not brown; you can keep those that are done in a slow oven to keep warm). Use a mixture of butter and oil (butter alone will burn). Fry until golden on both sides.

Serve with maple syrup or fresh fruit or fruit sauce or powdered sugar or whatever it is you like on your French toast.

Cookies for Breakfast

Yes. What better time of year? Noels, if you must know (chewy bar cookies with lots of brown sugar and lots of mixed nuts), and a peanut butter kiss cookie for balance.
Lots of protein, right? And dairy.

We did get whacked with the snow. I'm glad I was wrong (yes). Hey, if I have to miss a party, a snowstorm is an acceptable substitute.

I shovelled when I got home—it was really coming down at that point—and I came in looking like the Abominable Snow Woman. No pictures to prove it, though.

This was a very domestic weekend; I made the peanut butter kisses and the Noels, and a batch of beef stew. Mulled wine, too (recipe at the end of the post).

And finally we got the ornaments on the tree. It's been weeks since it was put up. Poor thing. Nekkid and moving about, it must have been blushing in shame, though it still looks green to me.

I also can reccomend an excellent televised prodction of The Nutcracker. Normally I don't care for ballet on TV; the people behind the camera miss too much (including feet!) and the make-up and costumes don't take kindly to close-ups...but the San Francisco Ballet triumphs over all of that. And yes, they've produced a DVD. I'll be looking for it soon. This is one production I'll be happy to watch over and over again.


Mulled Wine

(1) bottle of red table wine
honey
whole cloves
stick cinnamon
(1) lemon
(1) orange
Cointreau [optional]

Prep: Peel the citrus fruits and cut off the pith (the bitter white portion). Put the sections of peel into the pan with the wine. Slice the rest of the pith off the fruits and slice them; add the slices to the pan.

Put in 1 - 3 sticks of cinnamon and 8 - 12 whole cloves.

Add 3 to 5 tbl. of honey; stir. Add Cointreau, if you're using it (about 1/4 cup).

Cook on low heat till it starts to bubble 'round the edges. Simmer for about 10 minutes.

Strain and re-bottle if making ahead. It's convenient to do this anyway, so no one swallows a clove or a hunk of fruit.

Can be kept in the fridge and re-heated a mug at a time, or put back into a pan. It's fine to keep on a low simmer for an extended period of time, but don't let it boil.

Let It Snow!

...because I won't believe it until I see it.

I'm from New York (never mind that Missouri stuff) and we require proof. Even upstate. In fact, especially upstate, as we know from snow up there.

The entire state of Rhode Island is semi-hysterical today. Snow! Snow everywhere! Close early! (Buy out all the milk and bread.)

Cancel the office Christmas party...the one I planned and set up. (And do it without telling me first, so that when people ask me about it I look like an idiot, okay?)

This is the Northeast, people. We get snow here. If you don't like snow, may I suggest Arizona or Southern California or Florida?



Oh. One more thing. It's 12:50 and not a single snowflake is to be seen. The ground is not only devoid of snow, it's dry.

Even if it begins to snow, I don't think we'll be incommunicado for the next week. This isn't Buffalo, NY!


Bah, humbug!

It's the most [insanely busy] time of the year!

And HOW.

Not only do I have the usual domestic Christmas work to do, I am responsible for client gifts, employee festivities, and you-name-it. And I work for someone who thinks planning ahead is fiction. I am not putting up the office tree this year. It's not worth the hassle.

Our tree is still not decorated, but I did make three batches of cookies (as yet undecorated) and the family gifts were shipped out today. UPS. I know better than to trust the post office.

No Christmas cards have been written—yet—but they will go out this year, unlike last year.

I do love Christmas, in spite of the rants above. It would be lovely, though, if somehow there were 9 days in a week, and those extra days were all mine.

Christmas and Cats

An interesting combination. Especially when the cats are young and haven't grown up with an older cat to teach them their Ps & Qs. Thai Shan would have kept the boys in line, just as Sud Ying taught him (yes, all Siamese. of course).

Than Chai. Of course. As bright as Fa Sing is, he's smart enough to not get caught when he does something naughty. Brawn-sans-brains always gets caught.

On Sunday he knocked down the tree. An artificial tree, so no water or heavy stand, and just lights, no ornaments yet, as we've been trying to ease them into the idea of something pretty that is not a cat toy.

Still, this means the tree will be moved up to the guest room (there's still space, we need to get more furniture). DH didn't want to do this, but I insisted. We had no tree at all last year, as the boys were tiny and into everything...and I love my pretty ornaments. Most of them are blown glass or crystal, of course. And Than Than still hasn't come down from killing his first mouse. (With my luck, the next one will run straight up the tree...if word hasn't gone out on the mouse grapevine.)

So much for cats and Christmas; we'll see how things go with the tree. Maybe we'll get the ornaments on this weekend.

Knitting isn't going fast, either. If I'm lucky I manage about eight rows a week on the Hope sweater. Which means that I'm on row 53 now. At least it's past half-way!

As for the Interminable Stole, ugh. I've decided it has to be "done" (whatever that means) this week so I can block it and send it off to TX in time for Christmas. The boys will be sorry to see it go. They snuggle under while I'm working on it.

We need a little Christmas

This evening after work, we are going to see Trinity Repertory Theatre's production of A Christmas Carol.

It's their big breadwinner, probably the thing that keeps them in the black, but we've never seen it. This is a hugely popular show, and they change it every year. Always a gimmick, I'm told. But also a polished and professional show.

We've tried to get tickets before, but waited too long for good seats. This year I chose them in early November (or maybe it was late October) and we got lucky.

I love going to the theatre; not only because I used to act, but because it always feels like a celebration.

Dressing up adds to the charm, and I've got the perfect Christmas dress! It's a New Look red velvet cheongsam, which was custom made for a diplomat's wife who lived in Hong Kong. Moderate Dolman look to the sleeves, and a very hourglass cut. I set out my gold stilettos and a gold mesh Whiting and Davis purse. The Persian lamb coat I found last weekend will keep me nice and warm; it's long and princess-cut.

DH is wearing a dark gray suit and (he said) a Christmas tie. He's got a sharp bow tie with holly leaves on it, not too kitschy.

Rather than going to dinner after, we are having waffles and bacon with champagne at home. My 30s waffle iron makes excellent waffles. I'll feel like an Art Deco socialite in a magazine story, apron and all.

Black Wednesday

Yesterday was a "day off from work".

Which means....

...that I got up at 5 as usual, ran, had breakfast, did lots of housework (including laundry)...

...and updated my Christmas list and went out to do something about it.

We're nearly there. All of the family stuff that has to be shipped and all of my office gifts are in. Now to wrap (Saturday, I suspect).

All that's left are gift cards and smaller gifts for friends, local and away. I've even done most of DH's stocking stuffers. Not his "big" gift, though. I haven't found it yet.

We are certainly operating on a budget this year, but it's going swimmingly so far. I'm pleased with what I've found. We even found a huge roll of inexpensive, pretty wrapping paper and curling ribbon.

There are enough Christmas cards left from years past that we don't need to buy any this year.

I'm splurging on one new thing: lights for the tree. Our cheap ones are about to give up the ghost. This year retro white lights are available, and I want to get them while I can, so that the tree looks more period. NO tinsel, though. It's a death-trap for animals.

Oh, speaking of which, not even a mouse will be heard on Christmas Eve or any other time. Than Chai caught a field mouse on Tuesday evening. IN the house. He dispatched it quickly when DH started yelling at him to drop it, and ran up the stairs with his prey. But he dropped it obediently when I told him to (Mama is the Enforcer in our house). I scooped it up and DH put the poor thing in the trash.

Just the same, I hope that word gets out on the rodent grapevine. The last thing I want is unauthorized visitors in my pantry.

Knitting? I got a whole row and a half done on the sweater. Unfortunately, I need to concentrate on the wrap so I can wash and block it in time to ship to TX for Christmas.

Boring but true

We had a quiet four days.

I actually did get up and run on Thanksgiving (and it's a good thing, because I ate non-stop the whole time).

The cranberry tart was a smashing success. I will make it again. On Friday, DH was telling everyone who would stand still long enough all about it. (I feel about the same, pardon me while I blow my own horn.)

On Friday we shopped...for ourselves. He found a machinist's tool kit, stocked, and I found a late 30s Persian lamb coat, princess cut. We got some other odds and ends as well.

Saturday he worked on the upstairs bath. The hole in the wall over the sink is patched now. No more worrying that small creatures will peek out at me from the walls.

And I made turkey pot pies, and cleaned the first floor completely. I also used the washer and dryer for the first time. They did a sterling job.

Sunday was a real day of rest. I did nothing but lounge in front of the fire and read mysteries, eat, and cuddle cats.

As far as knitting goes...well, poor Obama was not in this race. It's so difficult to do color work around the cats that I didn't even bother. Back to it today at lunch.

I got in four or more pattern repeats on the stole. It's good TV knitting.

I am afraid that Startitis is about to strike...it's getting boring in my little knit world. But I will be disciplined...ugh...two deadlines. And Christmas is coming!

Over the river and through the woods

Thanksgiving preparations are moving right along.

I got everything on my list, even wine and port and Calvados, diced and dried the bread for dressing, and made the cranberry polenta tart (recipe from the New York Times, November 14, 2007).

Tonight is vegetable prep. The turkey breast is thawed and in the fridge, and I still need to see to the linens and silver and crystal, but as it's just the two of us for dinner that won't take very long.

The Hope sweater is still moving along. Slow-but-steady. I am Turtle Knits.

Tomorrow I'm still getting up close to my usual time (5:00...might push it back to 6:00) so that I can go running before I launch myself into dinner workings.

I also have a confession to make:

I listened to Christmas music last night. (And two productions of the Lux Radio Theater...Miracle on 34th Street and Holiday Affair.)

Austen and Sayers and Wodehouse

Oh, my.

I've been reading a lot of P.G. Wodehouse lately. I've also been dipping into books about him, and in so doing, I noticed that he appeared to have borrowed a few names from Miss Austen. Bingley and D'Arcy (Darcy), no less.

His style influenced so many people and writers, too. That is, the knuts and others whom Wodehouse kept alive in his time live on now because of his brilliant way of turning a stereotype into a character that fascinates.

Dorothy L. Sayers was a scholar, in every way. But she loved humor, and it shows in the Lord Peter Wimsey books. (Wimsey, for heaven's sake, as a surname.) For the most part she keeps it subtle, barring the opening of the first book, but she can't resist letting a character describe Lord Peter in Murder Must Advertise as "Bertie Wooster in horn-rims". He's in disguise, thus the glasses.

One of the slackers hanging out in the secretaries' offices is reading Wodehouse, too. Even immediately after Peter is at his most serious some of Bertie's mannerisms will creep in; I love that.

I think it's time to re-read the Wimsey canon chronologically again.

In even more frivolous news, I present you with a sample of my contribution to the ornament exchange:

Blogstalking: Favorite Breakfast/What gets me going in the mornings?

1. What is my favorite breakfast?

Favorite breakfast? I could be listing favorite breakfasts for the next several pages....but here's a top contender:

Grits and grillades, plus buttered rye toast or cream biscuits and champagne cocktails.

The above is a Southern dish I got hooked on when I lived in Virginia.

To make it I pan saute medium thick pork chops til brown & let them rest in a slow oven. Next: I caramelize one medium yellow onion for each pork chop. Deglaze the pan with beef stock and boil until it's syrupy.

Serve the onions and sauce over the pork chops, with cheese grits and biscuits or toast on the side.

...I have this every couple of years; it's very rich. It's wonderful for Christmas breakfast.


2. What gets me going in the morning?

It takes a few things. Three are important.

1. Stretching (combination of yoga, Pilates and what-have-you for 20 minutes to an hour).

2. Good coffee. French roast, beans just ground, made by French filter drip method.

3. Time. Time to sit and relax with my breakfast, a book or the paper, my knitting, and/or the cats.

Fudging

The Hope sweater is coming along. I've taken to bringing it as my travel knitting. That way I can get one or two rows in at lunch or in the car. (The stole is my Mindless Knitting. I work on that at home, the cats burrowed underneath as I knit.)

I've just finished row 37 on the front of the sweater. Some fudging, as the pattern is a pixilization of a poster. Arty, definately. Not precise as Fair Isle would be.

Normally I don't fudge colorwork or pattern stitches; it makes me crazy. But (apologies to the designer) it isn't as necessary here to be strict. The overall effect is the thing, and it's still good.

Holiday Menus: Thanksgiving

Wait! (Knitting content: I'm at row 32 on the sweater, and did another pattern repeat on the stole. There.)

Yes, I'm food-obsessed; all the more so now that I have my own kitchen to use as a prep space.

For the first time since our marriage, DH and I will be dining at home for Thanksgiving. It's been fun going out to historic inns in New England for the dinner, listening to OTR as we drive. And we'll do it again, but this year I get to cook!

It will be just the two of us (and two begging Siamese), and I've got a good idea of the menu now.

Turkey breast
Turkey gravy
Ham
Mashed garlic potatoes
Dressing (as it's on the side and not in the bird)
Green beans
Julienned carrots & baby corn
*either* Cauliflower in cheese sauce OR Mushrooms gratinée
German coleslaw
Sourdough dinner rolls (from Seven Stars bakery, in Providence)
Cranberry bread

We'll drink a chardonnay, and I am still trying to decide what to make for dessert. I want pumpkin and hazelnut cheesecake or cranberry polenta tart or apple whiskey crumble pie.

I'd love to make all three, but as we'll still have leftovers from DH's birthday cake it's time to pick and choose.

For me a holiday dinner at home also means polishing the silver, getting out the Limoges and washing the crystal. Not to mention being sure that the linens are spot-free and properly ironed...all of those details mean a lot to me.

I like the ceremony of it all.

Home Cooking

One of the most comforting things a house can hold is good smells. I have a keen sense of smell, and a scent can take me back years in only seconds. Carnations will always make me think of St. Patrick's Day, because when I was 7 years old my mother and grandmother decided to order some (green, of course) to celebrate the great day.

Tonight for the first time in our new house I'll be coming home to pot roast. I started it last night and it's been cooking since then.

Pot Roast

1 pot roast (rump, for example)
1 small yellow onion for every few pounds of meat
crimini mushrooms (optional)
1-3 bay leaves
beef stock almost to cover
3 or 4 black peppercorns
2-3 cloves garlic
red wine
olive oil

potatoes
carrots


Brown the roast well on all sides, preferably in an iron skillet. Place in dutch oven or crock pot.

Add a glaze of olive oil and the onion(s), thinly sliced to the skillet. When very dark brown, add to the roast.

If using the mushrooms, add to the same pan, with a bit more oil if needed. (If not, deglaze the pan now with red wine, boil down, and add to the roast.)

Sautée the mushrooms until they've begun to brown and add to the pot. Now deglaze the pan and add the reduced liquid to the rest. Put in a few pieces of raw onion, if you like.

Pour enough stock over the contents to come up 2/3 or more.

Add several bruised cloves of garlic, the peppercorns, and the bay leaf or leaves.

Simmer 6 hours or more at a low temperature. Add peeled carrots and potatoes two to three hours before your end time.(Can be prepared ahead up to this point; if so, cool and remove any congealed fat from the surface before continuing.)

Remove the roast and vegetables and strain the liquid. Reduce the liquid over high heat until it's to your taste. It will be thickened but not syrupy.

Season if necessary, with black pepper, freshly cracked, and sea salt.

Dish out the meat (falling apart at this point) and vegetables and serve some sauce over, the rest on the side if you like.


Leftovers are wonderful. Make beef pot pie, fillings for turnovers, soup, or casseroles. Or use the meat for sandwiches.

S-L-O-W Going

I hate intarsia.

Have I mentioned this?

(It bears repeating: I. Hate. Intarsia.)

But I want the damn sweater, so I will Persist. Urk. There's already been a short frogging session, but things are going a bit better.

I have an odd problem with it. Most people knit too tightly when doing color work. I overcompensate, and end up with spots a semi could get through. Yes, blocking it will definitely improve matters, but it's not a miracle worker.

At this point I am on row...27 or 28, I think. Out of over 100 or so on the chart, not counting the ribbing and the last of the neck shaping.

Rather than whipping through, the way I do with one color, I'm using rather more deliberation that I need with a new lace pattern. Why is it that good lace technique sticks with me, while I almost have to re-learn color work every time I tackle a new project?

It's to keep me humble, no doubt. It's working.

Maybe I should make my deadline January 19th!

Happy Birthday, Kitten!

It's November 14, which means it's my little sister's birthday.

Of course, she's got two kids of her own, Patrick (11) and Sean (7). I won't say how old she is, but she's still younger than me!

I wish I could see you today, kid, and take you out for a celebration.

We'll have that sisters-only vacation someday...right?

In spite of the wrangling when we were kids, and the differences, I know I can always count on you to get it, and you know you can count on me. I'm very happy that you're my sister.

Have a splendid day.

Stocking the freezer

Today we got something I have wanted my entire life: a chest freezer.

Our near neighbors when I was growing up, the Carnrights, had one. To me it was magical. Mrs. C. froze lots of things, but what struck me most was her stock of flash-frozen fruit.

We don't have the red currant bushes yet, but I plan to stock the freezer with lots of other wonderful things. Baked goods! I have a lovely excuse, with the holidays coming up.

I'll be making desserts for Thanksgiving, corn bread, biscuits, and Christmas cookies.

When good meats are on sale I'll re-package them into two servings each, or save roasts. Leftovers, too.

And I'll be able to make stock ahead, and freeze it in ice cube trays so I can take out just a little at a time.

Not to mention French onion soup. Stews. Chili (without the beans; I'll put those in after it's thawed). Marinara sauce. Individual stuffed shells....I will have a ball.

It's been so long since I've even had a decent freezer as part of a fridge...four and a half years, in fact, that this is a real gift! (It's also a great way to quarantine suspect yarn; bag it, put in for a couple of days. Take it out for a day or two; put it in again for a couple of days to catch anything hatching, and you're safe.)

In knitting news, I did cast on for the front yesterday. The intarsia is slow going, especially with two cats completing for lap space and occasionally forgetting good manners to bat at the three or four working yarns tangling around their faces. I've already had to tink back once, but it's something I caught in the next row. It could have been much worse.

Tonight I will bake the ornament cookies. The dough is chilling now. They need to dry for a couple of days before I decorate .

Veterans Day

Or, if you're in the UK, Armistice Day, I believe. In other places, Remembrance Day.

In any case, it is the 11th day of the 11th month and hearkens back to the armistace of the Great War (WWI).

Thank you to all the veterans out there, past and present.

Specifically, I would like to thank my father, my husband, my father-in-law, my great uncle, my ex-husband and his father, and all those whom I know personally for serving in the U.S. miliary services. (Happy birthday, too, Nathan.)

If you are interested or curious in the history of this day, and about other veterans, go to this website:

http://www.loc.gov/vets/

Excuse the lack of a proper link; Blogger, for some reason, is making them invisible when the code is added.

Just copy and paste it into your browser window.