So...whats for dinner?

DD is back home. We had to get up around 4:30am to get her to the airport. She called about 2 hours ago from her apartment in Michigan, so she's home and 'survived' the busy travel times.

For the meal here, I had a choice of plastic dishes, or the still not packed *FANCY* tableware and I went with the fancy stuff. I even used the glasses from my mom's parents' 1916 wedding. I'm guessing this will be the last Christmas dinner in this house, so it was nice to "go fancy" on last time. Since DD couldn't take any leftovers home, MIL didn't want any (?) and we are packing to move, I adjusted the quantities downwards. I think we might get 2 meals worth of leftovers...except for the pumpkin pie :-)

Belated anniversary wishes, Illimae.

And hello to Goodie and Serendipity.

On CNN this a.m., I saw one epidemiologist advise that flyers wear a surgical mask over their KN95 (or even foldable N95), plus an eye shield; and then discard the surgical mask after leaving the terminal. Bob wears a cup-shaped N95 all day at work, so I csn't get him to wear anything more restrictive than a hospital-issued 3-layer surgical mask.when dining out or running errands.

Anyone here watch "Curb Your Enthusiasm?" There was an episode this season where Larry David was visiting Albert Brooks' house and discovered a closet full of TP, hand sanitizer, and masks. "A COVID-hoarder! The guy is a COVID-hoarder!" David exclaimed. He was there to deliver a eulogy for Brooks' "living funeral" (Brooks wasn't dying but wanted to see & hear his friends honor him) with Brooks Zooming from his bedroom upstairs. Instead, the notoriously filter-free tact-challenged David denounced him to all the guests as a COVID-hoarder. Well, I have never run out of TP or hand sanitizer, have four sets of rapid tests, and a massive stash of masks (not counting the cloth ones I've accumulated in various colors to match my outfits). Remind me to stay away from Larry David!

Minus Two - it really is! After chemo and now with Xeloda, I don't have any strength in my hands to even attempt it. She is an amazing cook and an even better baker. Grateful to have her.

Leftover frittata. Duck last night was wonderful. Even the cat enjoyed some

Family get-together went extremely well. Everyone absolutely loved the crab cakes. Yes, I made them with no filler and Maryland style with Old Bay. The comment was "had to be quick to get the crab cakes!" I made mini crab cakes (2 ounces) and about enough for two each. I didn't realize they would be that much of a hit. There were 14 of us and three no shows but got "doggy bags!"

We had way too much food (other than the crab cakes!) I made roast beef with gravy and au juice, ham, bean soup, mac and cheese, kielbasa (cooked whole on the grill then sliced) and a salad bar with romaine lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, black olives, beets, peas, corn, edamame, zucchini, green onions and red onions. The salad bar was also a hit. Others brought hot pizza dip, green bean casserole, cowboy beans, shepherd's pie, lasagna, pumpkin pie, apple pie, and cookies.

We also put out Otterein chocolate chip cookies and they were also a total hit – big tub finished off and we had leftover homemade pumpkin and apple pies.

It will be leftovers here for a few days. I'm exhausted! LOL

Welcome back, Serendipity. Welcome, Goodie: how do you bind your crabcakes w/o filler? This crabcake-loving low-carb (well, aspirationally near-keto) dieter would love to know!

Last night Bob grabbed what he described as "college-dorm food" (though neither of us ever lived in dorms) for dinner at the hospital: chicken fingers and a Farmer's Fridge vending-machine salad. I had my leftover halibut, rapini, & artichoke half from Christmas Eve at Regalia. Since we already had some great red wine open, he requested a cheese board for his midnight return from work. I dove into the deli drawer, tossed out whatever in there was too moldy to salvage by "shaving," and came up with: brie, herb Capricho (goat, from Spain), nettle Gouda (from a WI creamery's booth at the farmer's market), truffle Gouda (raw milk, Dutch), Fontina Valle d'Aosta, Spring Goat Gouda (CA), and Roquefort. I put out 365 brand water crackers, Finn Crisps, and Atkins wafers. Guess which ones he liked the best? Yup--and they're also the priciest and mail-order-only. As dessert I had an oz. of Sauternes with a nugget of Roquefort and a strawberry. Unfortunately, I then had a handful of nuts and a couple of booze-filled Kirkland chocolates. Won't have the latter again, as I don't like the sugar crust beneath the chocolate.

I'm noticing that when we go out to dinner I don't bedtime-cheat-eat. Hmmmm....

Brunch today was an olive-oil-fried egg atop a pan-browned almond-flour tortilla. Dinner will be my leftover prime rib & carrots from Christmas night at Fireside (Bob finished all of his at the restaurant); and Bob will have his leftover fusilli pasta with Tuscan sausage from Regalia. And likely more cheese. (Gotta remember to take it out of the fridge a couple of hours beforehand--it makes all the difference).

Thank you for the warm welcomes!

ChiSandy - For each one pound of lump crab meat (I made two pounds) I mixed together 1 egg beaten, about 3 tablespoons of mayo, 1 tsp of Old Bay seasoning and a few shakes of Worcestershire sauce. Then I gently stirred/folded the crab into this mixture. I put in the refrigerator for about an hour. I heated oven to 400 degrees. I took a small scoop of the mixture and put on a baking sheet with parchment paper. I kind of molded them into mini crab cakes and baked for about 20 minutes. They kind of got crunch on the bottom and I could just use a mini spatula and put on the serving platter. The second batch I made I sprinkled a little Old Bay on top before I baked them.

I think the egg helps keep them together. I didn't use jumbo lump because I knew they were going to be smaller. If you want them a little creamier, use a little more mayo.

Thanks, Goodie. I can see why you bake rather than pan-fry them. I can use almond flour or even keto bread made into crumbs if I want to try frying them.

Nance, how innovative, to make your own pickled pork.

I used the air fryer last night to cook two flattened and breaded chicken breast fillets. I spread mayo on them to make the seasoned bread crumbs stick. Sides were cauliflower mash and (I lied about no leftovers on the menu) reheated creamed spinach.

Minus, the creamed spinach is Betty Crocker vintage. 1 block of butter. 1 block of cream cheese. 4 boxes of chopped spinach, cooked and well drained. 1 can of sliced chestnuts. 1 can of quartered artichoke hearts. Grease the casserole dish with butter. Layer chestnuts and artichoke hearts in bottom of dish. Combine melted butter and softened cream cheese. Add spinach and mix well. Season with s&p. Spread in casserole dish. Bread crumbs on top. Heat in 350 degree oven about 30 minutes.

I have made the recipe with just the spinach. Sometimes with the other veggies mixed with the spinach. My younger sister loves this dish and always keeps most of the leftovers. It wasn't popular this year since most of the people wouldn't touch spinach or most other veggies except potatoes.

Eric, I was curious about a cool place in Arizona, too. Cool in regards to temperature!

Carole - the creamed spinach sounds delicious, I have everything needed to make it so I just might have to make it this week. I love using ht crockpot. So convenient and less messy.

WI cheese! I live in WI and can not get enough of the local made cheese. I'll jump in the car and just go to different parts of the state just to try and get cheese. Gives me something to do every once in a while when I'm not at PT or OT or any other appointment.

Today's dinner will be a spicy Italian sausage with rigatoni in a creamy vodka sauce. I've never made it, so hoping it turns out as delicious as it sounds. Along with a side salad for me and some garlic bread for my son ( I just might have to a have a piece of garlic bread.)

It’s butter ball soup time (BFF’s families Xmas soup passed down on the maternal polish side), love at first taste when I was 13.

Oh Mae - you can't just tease us. You have to share the recipe.... Please?

Illimae, those "butter balls" look exactly like "knaidlach" (matzo balls), which contain chicken fat or oil rather than butter (a no-no for traditional matzo ball soup, which is made with chicken broth and pieces of chicken--mixing meat & dairy isn't Kosher). Add those noodles and you have the Jewish-deli standard "mishmosh soup."

Last night I added a tomato-cucumber-basil salad over baby arugula to the leftover prime rib & carrots. At noon today, brunch was blueberry-ricotta keto pancakes (Birch Benders mix, but this time no lemon juice or beaten egg white). Sprinkled with Lakanto granulated monkfruit "sugar." Late lunch was cucumber slices with hummus, babaghannouj, and tabbouleh. Dinner tonight will be cauliflower lasagna.

The psychiatrists retired, but the gastroenterology group "picked up the baton" and sent us the customary holiday tray of baklava "mini roses" from Shattila Bakery in Dearborn, MI. Hoping some friends can still come over NYE and relieve us of a considerable portion of them. We are seriously re-thinking the idea of going anywhere for the rest of the week: Bob is working past midnight every day except Fri. (and if he makes it home by 10 it'll be a miracle). I'd asked the kids if they want to join us at Regaila tomorrow or Thurs night if Gordy's off from work, but now I'm not sure how wise it is to go to a small restaurant (no matter how great the ventilation system). Maybe order by phone, pick it up and eat in.

Our godson, wife & new baby are in from Seattle (after a stopover at her folks in St. Louis); they'd planned a party at a local tavern so everyone could meet the baby, but they canceled when they realized that gathering in an indoor bar would not be the wisest thing for the safety of an un-vaccinatable infant.

We RSVPd "yes" to a retired pulmonologist's New Year's Day open house party (he's 81 and subspecialized in infectious diseases, so he & his wife have been boostered despite his political leanings). If we do go, it'll be for less than an hour, we'll be masked (and "dip & sip" for drinking) and likely not avail ourselves of the catered buffet (of which it would be impossible to partake while masked). We will bring a bottle of Champagne as a gift. No singing around the piano, duh. They live on a cul-de-sac just s.w. (less than a mile, but still too far to walk on slippery streets) of our neighborhood, in a huge multilevel high-ceilinged mansion with a HEPA ventilation system. We went in 2020, but they didn't hold the party last year. We haven't seen them since the B'way Cellars winemaker dinners, the final one of which was this summer. No way we can drive, even in my SUV--there's almost no available on-street parking on that block. Last time, we took a Lyft, but no rideshare driver would brave a snowstorm for that short a trip this time. If it's snowy & cold Saturday (as predicted), we may have a graceful "out."

A nightmare scenario may be Bob will have to work more late-night shifts next week (his long-planned week off, except for his two Unionn Health days) if the colleague for whom he's covering either can't get a plane home from Punta Cana or tests positive upon his return. One of his hospitals--OSF Little Company of Mary--has suspended testing for asymptomatic persons--whether outpatients or staff. They are instructing people to go to testing centers or pharmacies instead. The CDC today revised its figures for Omicron as a % of cases, from 75% down to 59%. If so, that may be good news, since the vaccines & boosters protect well against Delta. The boostered "breakthrough" cases, though, are almost certainly Omicron.

Nance, that looks delicious! Now I'm going to need some of that, yum.

Sandy, it is similar to matzo ball soup in look and ingredients but I haven’t had a matzo yet, so I don’t know how the tastes compares yet.

Ilona, have you ever had "water crackers?" (Carr's or generic). Extremely similar in taste & texture to matzos (which are made of only flour & water). I would have said "unsalted saltines," except saltines are flakier because they have shortening. But matzo balls are made with "matzo meal,: which is matzo ground to a very fine crumb (coarser than a flour), a little seltzer, oil or schmaltz (chicken fat), egg as a binder, salt & pepper, and usually parsley (sometimes onion but not usually). The matzo meal absorbs the liquid and the seltzer makes the crumbs swell a bit so that the batter becomes a thick consistency, slightly firmer than scone or drop biscuit batter. Roll into balls the size of walnuts, using wet or oiled hands to keep them together, and simmer in water or chicken broth, They're ready when they've at least doubled in size (sometimes the size of tennis bslls) and float to the surface. If made with just the right amount of seltzer they should be light and delicate despite the size.

Bob came home and declared we have an even better--and wholly ethical--reason to change our RSVP to "no:" he sees COVID patients and his hospitals don't want him to test lest he have to stay home--they're that short-staffed. The host is 81--and quite frankly, Bob might be a danger to him. But he still thinks I can safely attend without exposing the host ,and if I'm careful, without getting exposed myself. (But that would use up one of our precious rapid tests, which ethically I ought to take before leaving the house). And as much fun as the party might be (and we might even see the owners of Broadway Cellars), getting there would be an ordeal. Saturday's weather looks perfect...for staying home in sweats, watching whatever bowl games might still not have been canceled, and eating leftover food from our own party.