Welcome to 2009!

Welcome to the new year, everyone! I know that we've all been swept up in the holidays and their accompanying excesses, but now that we are entering a calmer moment I'm going to take the opportunity to post a little update from my life as it regains a semblance of normaliy. I am beginning to disengage from the feeding frenzy I've been on over the last few weeks, the kitchen intermittently brimming with roast tukey, roast chicken, roast beef, roast potatoes (gratin... bacon, potatoes, and cheese - yum!), a delicious baked egg and vegetable casserole, lasagne, fresh molasses bread, peanut butter chocolate kiss cookies, sugar cookies, ginger molasses cookies, seven layer bars, chocolate cream cheese brownies, Julia Child's Best Ever brownies, caramel chocolate cheesecake ... the list goes on. Shockingly, I gained a little weight.

I really will have to put Bill's potato & bacon gratin recipe up here one of these days soon, because it is so ridiculously rich and delicious, a perfect heavy, starchy, warming dish for winter, and wonderful eaten for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or late night snack. New Year's Eve dinner was a delicious, drawn out evening of snacking on crackers and truffled goat cheese, olives, and wine while cooking chocolate mousse, no-knead bread, roasted vegetables, and roast chicken. We feasted, drank champagne, and then fell asleep right around midnight, all in the presence of some very lovely holiday red tulips.

Today was a working day and thankfully punctuated by a degree of normalcy ( = restraint) in terms of food.

Breakfast: coffee, fresh (plain) cinnamon raisin bagel.
Lunch: buffalo chicken pizza (Whole Foods, why do you torture me?? You know I can't resist you....)
Afternoon snack: cranberry walnut toast with peanut butter and fig jam, grapefruit, tea.
Dinner: Omelet with cheddar and mozarella, leftover roasted vegetables (delicious - reheated in the pan with some garlic and olive oil, kind of like rustic homefries revised to include vegetables)
Dessert: brownies. Plural, that's right. I didn't say I had abandoned all excess.

Also, I just gave someone Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything Vegetarian" for Christmas. Do any of you who know this book have any favorite or recommended recipes, or any good vegetarian main course recipes in general? I'd love to hear it.

Welcome to 2009! Here's hoping it's filled with lots of laughter, joy, and great meals with family and friends.