Oh, yes, that pottery is staying as a centerpeice on my kitchen table were I can see it everyday. I love it and the thoughts behind it. They did surprise me with it as I has asked an evil someone not to post my birthday. Ah Hm. EJ. As for all the food, I can honestly say that we have had something leftover at dinner or lunch this week. Yup, they need to come back and cook again. It made dinners this week very easy. David, you are joy to know. I saw the number and was so happy to hear from you and Cathy practicaly ripped the phone from me. And to those that weren't here, my door is always open to you.

I'll second Marilyn's Party Potatoes! They are super but I wouldn't sub frozen potatoes. I tried it once and it's just not the same. The only thing I do differently is I cut the potatoes into small cubes rather than grate. It is so easy to use fresh potatoes in most any casserole recipe I rarely buy frozen. However you do need the frozen ones in Sue's quiche. It's delicious! If you don't mind using fresh potatoes, here are a couple more. Hot Dill Potato Salad (From Shirley Miller) 1T butter 1T flour 1/2tsp salt 1/2tsp dry dill weed 1c milk 1/2c mayonnaise 2T minced onion 4c potatoes, cooked, peeled & diced Melt butter, add flour and seasonings. Whisk in milk slowly, until mixture thickens. Add mayonnaise and onion, mix well. Fold in potatoes, place in casserole. Sprinkle with paprika, bake 30 minutes at 350F Asiago, Potato, and Bacon Gratin From Cooking Light 1 1/2 pounds peeled Yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1/4\-inch\-thick slices 1 teaspoon salt, divided Cooking spray 2 tablespoons minced shallots 1/4 cup all\-purpose flour 2 cups 1% low\-fat milk, divided 3/4 cup (3 ounces) grated Asiago cheese 1/4 cup chopped fresh chives 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 4 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled 1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese Preheat oven to 350°. Place potatoes in a large saucepan; cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes or until potatoes are almost tender. Drain. Sprinkle potatoes evenly with 1/4 teaspoon salt; set aside and keep warm. Heat a medium saucepan coated with cooking spray over medium heat. Add shallots; cook 2 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently. Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Sprinkle flour over shallots. Gradually add 1/2 cup milk, stirring with a whisk until well blended. Gradually add remaining 1 1/2 cups milk, stirring with a whisk. Cook over medium heat 9 minutes or until thick, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; stir in 3/4 teaspoon salt, Asiago, chives, pepper, and bacon. Arrange half of potato slices in an 8\-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Pour half of cheese sauce over potato slices. Top with remaining potato slices and cheese sauce; sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake at 350° for 35 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and lightly browned. Yield: 6 servings NUTRITION PER SERVING CALORIES 250(30% from fat); FAT 8.2g (sat 4.6g,mono 2.7g,poly 0.5g); PROTEIN 12.3g; CHOLESTEROL 23mg; CALCIUM 306mg; SODIUM 618mg; FIBER 2.3g; IRON 0.9mg; CARBOHYDRATE 31.9g ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Potatoes Savoyarde (from Williams Sonoma) 1T unsalted butter, melted plus 3T unsalted butter cut into small pieces 3 cloves garlic, minced 2T finely chopped fresh parsley 1\-1/2c shredded gruyere cheese 1/4tsp freshly ground pepper 2\-1/2lb potatoes, unpeeled and sliced 1\-1/2c chicken stock Preheat oven to 375F. Brush 2qt. baking dish with melted butter. In small bowl stir together garlic, parsley, cheese and pepper. Layer 1/3 of the potatoes in prepared dish and sprinkle 1/3 of the garlic/cheese mixture over the top. Dot with 1T of the butter pieces. Repeat the layers once, and finish with the remaining potatoes. Pour the stock and then the remaining garlic/cheese mixture, dot with remaining butter pieces. Cover dish with foil buttered on one side. Bake 30 minutes, remove foil and continue baking until potatoes are tender and top is brown and crusty, about 30\-40 minutes longer. Serves 6 Linda

I agree that an omelette is best when made fresh. That said there are a number of wonderful make-ahead breakfast dishes that contain the same ingredients as many omelettes. Here are a couple that are very easy to make ahead and reheat. Potato Florentine Strata 1 (26 ounce) package frozen country style hash browns, thawed 1 medium onion, minced, (1 cup), divided 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon seasoned pepper medley 2 tablespoons melted butter 3 cups half and half 6 eggs, slightly beaten 1 teaspoon salt 3/4 teaspoon fines herbes 1/2 teaspoon seasoned pepper medley 3 cups finely shredded colby and Monterey Jack cheese 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, completely drained 1/2 cup marinated sun dried tomatoes, drained, chopped Press hash browns with paper towels to absorb moisture. In large bowl, combine hash browns, 1/2 cup onion, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper medley. Press into bottom of buttered 9x13 inch glass baking dish. Brush with melted butter. Bake in a preheated 425 degree oven until lightly browned around edges (20-25 minutes). In large bowl, whisk together half and half, eggs, 1 teaspoon salt, fines herbes and 1/2 teaspoon pepper medley. Stir in cheese, spinach, remaining 1/2 cup onion and tomatoes. Pour mixture over potato crust. Bake, uncovered, in a preheated 350 degree oven until center is set (35-45 minutes). Let stand, covered, 10 minutes; cut into squares. Amount: 8-10 servings TIP: For a do-ahead, bake and refrigerate crust; combine and refrigerate filling. Remove from refrigerator; pour filling over crust and bake as directed above. This one is Sue's, I have made ahead and frozen this one then just pop in the oven for 30 minutes to reheat. It is delish! Hash Brown Quiche Posted by Sue/Cookingrvc 3c frozen hash browns (Southern Style) 1 small onion, diced 1/3 c butter, melted 1 cooked ham steak, diced 8oz swiss cheese, grated 8oz muenster cheese, grated 2\-1/4c milk or cream 6 eggs Salt to taste Preheat oven to 425F. Mix together hash browns and onion Press into 9x13 pan Drizzle with melted butter Bake 25\-35 minutes until golden Reduce oven temperature to 325F Toss together ham and cheeses, place into hot crust Mix milk, eggs and salt and pour into crust Bake uncovered for 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean Let stand 10 minutes before serving Linda

I wing-it for mushroom and spinach so no real recipe. I just gently 'sweat' them in a covered saute pan on the stovetop with a bit of onion/shallot. 20 minutes/half hour low slow heat. Uncover with the heat off to cool, then wrap/roll in a clean kitchen towel to remove excess moisture. Can be refrigerated overnight or go ahead and cook in your frittata till firm but 10-15 minutes shy of fully done. Re-heating next day covered, top with some cheese uncovered for 10 min a frittata will be just as good as freshly baked. Just make sure your egg dishes prepped ahead, day before, are not oven hot into the fridge. Let rest, even chilled on a tray of ice cubes before resting in the fridge. Cover with saran or foil when cold. I winged a garden harvest veggie Mexican lasagna-ish dish last weekend using tortillas and chilis, roasted tomatoes, lots of veg, greens, mushrooms....using my new ceramic bakers. So much ingredients on hand I ended up making two full bakers. One I took one out early and was excellent next day re-heated and toasted on top with some fresh cheese and cilantro. It was supposed to be a shallow dish with eggs cracked on top but my typical over-abundance of garden harvest like every Fall I had to whisk my eggs and make something different. A Mexican frittata lasagna. Looks a mess but delicious.