So...whats for dinner?

I should be in bed, but I baked some candy cane kisses cookies--and White Christmas is on the late movie tonight........

Lacey, how I envy you! It was -2 when I got up and has climbed to a whopping 0 degrees. Everything is ice, covered by a half inch of snow. At least the sun is shining.

Hey Bedo, nice to "see" you!

Sandy - so sorry about your back. Hope you can get a handle on it before your planned trip.

ChiSandy: yes. Yes, it is Fate's way of taking your mind off your back!

Well, it was indeed God’s (or Fate’s) way of making myself think about something other than my back. Came down later this aft. to get some seltzer……and there the truffle was, right where I originally left it Thurs. (I really DID tear the fridge apart looking for it earlier)!

I will indeed take the trip no matter what (except, of course, if flights get cancelled and we have to take the train instead). The more I walk, even in The Airport From Hell (aka LGA), the better I feel, even in cold weather. In years past (before I had my knees replaced and whenever I was rehabbing one leg injury or another) I used to complain about long hikes through airport corridors or down Manhattan streets when cabs were scarce. But this time, I don’t mind walking, or standing. (It’s gonna take a lot of explaining to the gate agents to explain that yes, I do want to preboard, but no—I’m not carrying a guitar and I don’t want a wheelchair). Hoping we don’t get too much turbulence, as I’d like to be able to get up for a stroll down the aisle every 15 min. or so (whether or not I need the loo).

Tonight will be NY strip, sweet potato mini-latkes (from the freezer), broccolini and asparagus (the latter two from purging the veggie crisper). Trying to figure out how to use the truffle—maybe even with honey on toast with cheese for dessert. Tomorrow, definitely scrambled eggs again. If I can get to B’way Cellars again on the night Tom or his wife Geri are there, I’ll give them a big chunk of the truffle. (Unless the gremlins make it go missing again).

Costco hot dog tonight. Yum...not...

The laptop wouldn't charge anymore and the case is glued together so I wasn't sure I'd be able to fix it without breaking it physically. So, I went to Costco to buy a new laptop. After moving everything over to the new laptop, I "attacked" the old laptop with a hot Exacto knife and managed to get it apart enough to fix the problem. So, now I have two laptops.

I'm not sure if the glue is to save a few cents on screws or to encourage the "just throw it away" idea.

I spent this afternoon cleaning at my mom's house. Right now I'm in the middle of old bank paperwork. It's amazing how much of one's life can be discerned from reading bills and bank statements. Sine the bank account numbers are still valid, the shredder is busy. I am so glad I had bought mom an "industrial strength" cross cut shredder that can do 25 sheets of paper at a time.

Nancy, the truffle (though I'd ordered an ounce) is almost two ounces, about the size of a large walnut. They only charged me for an ounce. Sure goes a long way! If you store it in the fridge wrapped in a paper towel and then in a paper bag, and change the towel every day, it'll taste good for about a week. Tonight I made some steak (pasture-raised NY strip from WF and the last of my small Wagyu steaks from Snake River Farms in Idaho—hauled out the cast iron “plancha" griddle, ribbed side up, put it over my center burner and turned it up to high. (The vent on high too). Sauteed broccolini in olive oil, dressed with lemon white balsamic, sea salt and a little bit of red pepper flakes. Dipped some asparagus in first balsamic (the cheap stuff) and orange flavored olive oil and grilled them on the same plancha as the steaks (which were pre-salted & peppered, cooked to medium-rare & allowed to rest covered in foil). Just before slicing the steaks (for three of us), I poured the juices into a small skillet, in which I'd melted 2 T. butter. Swirled the pan to blend it, then poured it over the sliced steaks once they were plated. I'd reheated some sweet potato mini-latkes from Jewel's kosher section, and plated them with the steaks & veggies. Just before serving, I shaved some truffle over the steaks (the warmth and the butter helped the flavor “bloom").

Funny how the taste of a real truffle is subtler than truffle oil & truffle salt. Watching “The Taste," at first I didn't understand Anthony Bourdain's disdain for "truffle products," and his rejecting prospective team members for using them (he claimed that if the dish smelled too strongly of truffles, the less likely it was to have any truffles). Though most truffle salts have tiny bits of dried black truffle, almost all truffle oils are made with “truffle essence," which does not come from actual truffles: food chemists analyzed the esters responsible for truffles' aroma and then synthesize the “essence" in a lab. You almost needn't read the label to tell if a “truffle oil" ever even saw a truffle (black or white)—the bigger the bottle or can (and the cheaper it is), the likelier it is to be fake. Those cans from La Tourangielle—6 oz. for $18—are made with synthesized truffle essence. The only real ones I've seen come from either Da Rosario or Urbani—they are only an ounce, two at most, for about $15-20. Even so, read the labels. They may also contain lab-created "truffle essence;” if it appears on the ingredients list ahead of “extracts" of white or black truffles, that’s a red flag. It takes much less “essence” than “extract” to produce the aroma. If you find real truffle oil, buy the smallest size bottle you can find. Aromas fade over time. This is one instance in which buying in bulk is a bad idea.

If I can get to B’way Cellars before we leave for NY, and Tom is there, I’ll bring him half of what’s left (for his personal use—I don’t think city laws allow using foods from customers’ homes). If not, I will whip up a log of truffle butter and several little bottles of black truffle salt to give as gifts for friends who like truffles—not everyone does. “Supertasters” (who have more taste buds in the area of the tongue that senses bitter and therefore can’t abide stuff like broccoli, rapini, radishes, unsweetened black coffee or asparagus) tend to think truffles smell and taste like (as one such friend put it) “used gym socks full of potting soil.”

Speaking of NYC, we have early Christmas Eve reservations at Iron Chef Alex Guarnaschelli’s restaurant Butter, and for lunch the next day at Tavern on the Green (which got mediocre reviews after reopening, but has a new chef and better word-of-mouth). We snagged the only table left at Tavern—for 11 am. We wanted something more “Hanukkah-esque” for Christmas Eve (first candle of Hanukkah) but the better Jewish restaurants are closed because it’s Shabbat during the day, so there’s not enough time for them to prep for dinner. We were thinking of kickin’ it old-school—Chinese and a movie—but I’m sure all the best Chinese places are either all booked up or, like the Cantonese ones down in Chinatown, they don’t take reservations. (Briefly thought of someplace Italian for the “Feast of the Seven Fishes,” but nothing can match what our Sicilian landlady used to make us before I’d go out caroling when I was in college). Dunno where we’ll eat the 22nd & 23d—there is a restaurant right next door to the resort (HGV) on 57th bet. 5th & 6th. We will have to sit through a sales pitch (we’ve done that twice before), but in exchange we get the first two nights free (and barely used points for the next two), plus a $200 “Night on Us” entertainment package and 1500 HHonors points. If the package is anything like what they give in Vegas (where we currently own), it’s for middling restaurants and a show that’s already on twofers.

ChiSandy, if you are a fan of bistro dining (which I am as I find them generally priced well and food can be wonderful sometimes) La Sirene in the South Village off of Ave. of the Americas (if memory serves) is a really nice little reasonably priced place with good food and service (or at least it was when I last went which I think was in the end of 2014 or early 2015) and I think you might enjoy it. The menu is eclectic and there is something to please most people, even my picky meat and potatoes hubby. Just a thought....

Thinking of pork chops, steamed veggies and a side dish

Slept in so I paid some bills and made my list for the day, and the dermatologist called (MO wanted a thing on my leg taken off) She is out of the Country unitl the end of January, but since Mo thought it was a actinic keratosis the nurse said it would be ok to wait till Feb. Maybe the weather will be better by then....NOT....

Now to bundle up and run all these errands.

The store had large (greater than 20 pounds) standing rib roasts at $4.77 per pound... I'm cutting mine into six almost 5 pound pieces.

I want a piece of your standing rib roasts............

Carrie, how about a spicy chutney to go with the pork? I have holiday waldorf salad made with whipped cream that's way better than the standard. P.m. me if you're interested.

Wow, I got s rib roast for 6.97a pound and thought I was getting a bargain! No four dollar roasts here.

April, your rib roast is making me drool! Dunno if we’ll get that far downtown (prolly no further than Chinatown, Tribeca or Little Italy if at all), but if we do we’ll try La Sirene. Bob, though, is jonesing for his mandatory street knish, complete with yellow mustard. (As for me, it’s Yonah Schimmel’s or nothing, and since we’re renting a car for only a day—maybe start a Zipcar account—to visit the cemeteries, I don’t see us driving down to Brighton Beach even though Brooklyn’s my original home town).

Dinner tonight was a makeshift linguine carbonara: slowly cooked diced bacon, olive oil, butter, parsley, oregano, a couple of our dwindling stash of homegrown cherry tomatoes, leftover grated “parm” (who knows what’s in there) from a previous takeout order, a little cream, pepper, and some shaved truffle. (Use it or lose it—had some on scrambled eggs this morning). No wine—too lazy. Earlier today, after my LE doc followup appt (he pronounced me “in remission” from LE and gave me some back exercises and Rxs for more Lidoderm & Flector patches) I went to Hoosier Mama Pies, only to find it so crowded there was nowhere to sit—so I bought a small apple/sour cherry pie to go and went to Baker’s Square for my annual guilty-pleasure slice of Candy Cane pie and coffee. That’s it for me tonight—maybe the guys will dig into that little pie.

Back is getting a little better, though starting up after sitting or lying down is still brutal. May not take the Rollator on the trip—a cane and a carryon spinner may be all I need by Thurs. Bob’s not gonna be happy that I didn’t ask for a Norco Rx to replenish his post-op supply from 18 mos. ago—but he says his knee’s been better of late. I asked him why he didn’t just go to the orthopedist, and he shrugged.

I love seeing Eric's "score" and April's account of her tasty roast. I am TOTALLY intimidated about roasting large pieces of meat like that. Your "instructions" might help me get past that, April! Thanks! Of course then I'll have to round up as many mammal eaters as possible to enjoy it with....and that will NOT be in our family, except for the newest joiner.

Have a fun trip, Chi! We need to get down to NYC. We had such great visits when DS1 and DDIL lived near Lincoln Center during their residencies and fellowships. What fun it was to stay with them and enjoy our Opera Subscriptions, plays, great restaurants. It went by too fast...probably not for them! Visiting them in NJ is a bit less exciting, but we are mainly there to see the grand kiddies.