StephanieL

Have had a new appearance of floaters in my left eye over the last few days. I'm already booked for an eye exam this Wednesday. Hope it's just an age thing and not some really bad retinal issue.

I combined two Zabar's gift cards and made my own gift basket. Tonight's dinner for a Jewish Christmas Eve will be knishes and blintzes.

Shmaltz Brewing Company, makers of He'Brew (the Chosen Beer) and others, officially closed in 2021 when the old owner retired. (The name and assets were recently bought by a Reform rabbinical student--no joke.) Last night, we had their very last beer, a barleywine brewed with dates, figs, pomegranate, and grapes called Exodus 2021 - A Farewell to Shmaltz. For a 2-year-old barleywine, it was rich and fruity but not super-heavy. We drank it at room temperature while watching "Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget" on Netflix.

Yotam Ottolenghi's ham recipe from last week's NY Times Magazine, plus roasted potatoes and Brussels sprouts, maybe mulled wine to drink. We'll probably start the day with stollen, and there's bourbon-ginger Christmas pudding and Walker's Strathspey fruitcake (which has been marinating in Scotch for the last couple of weeks) for dessert after the main Christmas lunch. So, lots of sweets that day.

I was intrigued when I saw Trevor Felch's book San Francisco Cocktails in a local shop, but I should have perused it before I had N buy it for me. Most of the cocktails either require you to make various syrups and tinctures or have weirdly specific ingredient lists (Wagyu fat-washed Suntori Whiskey, anyone?). This variant on a Brooklyn, from the Vault at 555 California Street, is one of the few I can reasonably make. Brooklyn Holiday 1 1/2 oz. rye 3/4 oz. sweet vermouth 1/2 oz. Aperol 1/2 oz. Lillet Blanc Stir all ingredients in a mixing glass, then pour into an ice-filled rocks glass and garnish with an orange peel.

Spanish Espresso Martini. A nice twist on the usual recipe. 1 oz. vodka 1 oz. Licor 43 1 1/4 oz. freshly brewed espresso or cold coffee concentrate Shake with ice and strain into a chilled martini glass.

In tribute to the South African cook Fatima Sydow, N made a Cape Malay-style curry with chicken thighs, RG Buckeyes, cauliflower, and butternut squash.

Being gifted a bottle of Alvear Pedro Ximenez de Añada 2018.

Finding a vendor selling real Mexican Christmas ponche, complete with sugarcane pieces, at a local holiday pop-up market.

A newish bakery in Livermore recently started Sourdough Pizza Fridays, so we had dinner there a couple of days ago. Today's lunch was the leftover mushroom & garlic oil pizza slices.

N used some of the surfeit of homegrown bananas we have to make almond flour, flax, and banana pancakes. (The bananas are blended into the pancake batter.)

Big pot of RG Coco beans (similar to their Cassoulet beans) with loose Italian sausage, radishes, and roasted fennel and delicata squash.

I too had a very nice dinner at Petit Crenn around the same time. It didn't hurt that one of the friends we were with personally knew the sommelier.

Baked whole trout stuffed with herbs and lemon slices; rice pilaf and sauteed radishes and fennel on the side.

I saw him as Angelo in "Measure for Measure" back in 1993--my very first Shakespeare in the Park production. Also saw him as Henry V.

Did you see her in The Bad News Bears?

Wise Sons Deli was running Chanukah pop-ups this past week, and I bought a chocolate babka (for my friends' party), a sesame & poppyseed challah, and smoked trout salad. We had the trout salad on challah yesterday and on bagels today.

At 82.

Chakalaka is a South African bean and vegetable dish that's usually served as a braai side. N made it yesterday with RG Bayo Gordo beans as a side to roast chicken with lemon and herbs. Some bugs got into the cornmeal we usually use for pap (even though it was in Tupperware), so Bob's Red Mill Polenta had to substitute.

One of my second cousins has a semi-business making all types of challah (any "profits" go right to charity). I bet she and the boy would get along great.

N and I loved going to Zucco. So many good food memories there.

I saw her give a talk when she came to my college, 1989 or 1990 I think.

A B&B made with cognac, because we only have cheap brandy.

I first heard of her when I was a teenager and she did that cover of Don't Mess With My Toot-Toot.

There are a LOT of Viet-Cajun seafood houses over here.