StephanieL

Christmas dinner for 3 people: Ham with a gingersnap-mustard crust Roast chicken with oranges and sausage stuffing Potatoes roasted in duck fat Roasted Brussels sprouts and carrots For dessert: packaged Christmas pudding with Bird's custard and a not-bad mulled wine I picked up in Pennsylvania Leftovers tonight, and at some point over the weekend N will make a holiday leftovers pie (maybe the Hairy Bikers' version, if she can find kumquats).

Today's dinner will be a simple linguini with (canned) clam sauce. (Local fishmonger was completely out of fresh clams and mussels.)

No kidding. I see that when I venture into the two CVS stores by work. The Walgreen's is only slightly better.

The same could be said for San Franciscans. Hell, even my local suburban CVS has half the items locked up.

If I ever have her over for a meal, I'll have to remember not to serve her goop.

All of which are food-related. (Yes, I got this week's issue. 🙂 )

Congratulations, @Diancecht! Don't forget that starting next year, most countries in Europe will require US citizens to get a sort-of visa.

Too young. Some reports are saying he died from pneumonia. Somewhere I have a 1985 Yankees yearbook with his autograph and Ron Guidry's.

Pan-seared salmon filets with sweet potato, onion, and Romanesco broccoli "hash". Baked quince for dessert.

I've ordered replacement copies through the website. I'm just kvetching about not getting them in the first place.

My last 2 issues have gone missing. I don't know if the problem is with the magazine or my local post office, but it's very annoying.

Which reminds me--how is Sneak doing? Has anyone heard from him lately?

No love for Mario?

Morros y Christianos, using the RG Midnight Black beans, plus some frozen spinach as the vegetable side. We've had 2 bags of Anson Mills Carolina Gold rice hanging out in the freezer for nearly a year, so I used that for the rice part. The recipe on the Anson Mills website is a bit fussy--you cook the rice for 15 minutes, rinse it off, then bake it in the oven at 300 degrees for another 10 minutes--but the rice came out well. I'm looking forward to using it in jambalaya.

Frosty the Merman.

Devo recorded a cover of Lee Dorsey's "Working in a Coal Mine".

Whenever our regular letter carrier goes on vacation, the service goes to hell. This week, we got no mail for 3 days (not consecutive days), and today for some reason the mail was left on the porch.

I actually rely on the coverage in Eater San Francisco. Not only have I read dining news there that may not have been reported elsewhere, but I probably wouldn't have otherwise heard of this great LGBTQ supper club that's given N and I lots of good times. I've also found it useful when I'm traveling. Got lots of great Chicago tips from the Eater maps.

HBO's Yacht Rock: A DOCKumentary. It's a fairly in-depth, sincere exploration of this mocked genre, which actually has a lot of influences from jazz, soul, and R&B. Great interviews with Michael McDonald, Kenny Loggins, Christopher Cross, members of Toto, and others. All of the music brought me back to long car rides between NJ and Brooklyn/Queens when I was a kid, listening to AM radio (WNBC and WABC).

I liked last week's "Incognito" cover.

Appetizers My sister's avocado deviled eggs The cheese I brought: goat cheese mislabeled as Brillat-Savarin, aged gouda, Vino Rossa, Point Reyes blue Crudites and salami Dinner Two turkeys: one oven-roasted and one smoked. Unfortunately, the smoked turkey had very chemically tasting skin Surprisingly wan stuffing. My cousin usually does a better job Mom's cranberry-orange relish My sister's Caprese salad Other cousin's salad with shredded Brussels sprouts, grated Manchego, candied pecans, pomegranate seeds, and a bunch of other things Sweet potato casserole with streusel topping. Not as sweet as it sounds Macaroni and cheese (not tasted) Dessert Pumpkin Basque cheesecake Dad's two coffee cakes: pecan-espresso-chocolate and cranberry Dad's cookie contributions My See's dark assortment This fed 13 adults and one 9-year-old who eats like a bird.

Chili con carne, using the RG Mayan Reds, and cornbread. This should last us most of the week.

Mom's baked ziti.

My contributions are, as per usual, cheese & crackers and a 1-pound dark See's assortment. Oddly, my sister is bringing a Caprese salad. In November. To go with the turkey, roast beef, stuffing, cranberry sauce, etc.

An RG recipe: Duck Breast and French Lentil Salad.