Tomorrow is my annual holiday Dinner with some of my oldest and dearest friends. There will be 11 of us plus a helper who will make everything go smoothly. Today I am doing the hot artichoke/bacon/spinach dip, veggie prep for crudite, spinach gratin, twice-baked potatoes, and brandied mushrooms. Heres the menu: Appetizers: Sharon's spanikopita Hot artichoke, bacon, and spinach dip Shrimp cocktail Pigs-n-blanket (freshly prepared and a must have) Crudite with lite dip antipasto salad Chopped chicken liver TJ's birdsnests For the main course: Filet of beef with Port wine sauce Lite Spinach gratin Twice-baked potatoes (DH asked for them) Roasted asparagus Brandied mushrooms Hot flaky pastry rolls My firends are bringing desserts. It will be a festive evening that starts with cosmos and eggnog martinis. Sue

We made 40 potatoes worth of latkes (by rights, there should be more in that pic I posted, but I ate few more than I should have while making 'em!!), and 32+ apples worth of applesauce. We always shred the potatoes in our Cuisinart (circa mid to late-'80's) with the "fine" grating disc, and then dump them into two cheesecloth-lined colanders (over large glass bowls). FWIW, the cheesecloth (old and re-washed and re-used) came from W-S--very tight weave, so the potato shreds don't fall through any open holes! We pour off the liquid that collects in the bowls, and save the potato starch at the bottom of the bowls to mix in with the latke "batter." The shredded potatoes turn red when they release the starch. We rinse them (over/in the cheesecloth) and wring them out very well. They are then dumped into a large cooler that we use for mixing up all the ingredients (it's the only thing big enough to hold all those shredded potatoes). This year we used 21 small-medium onions (adjust accordingly if using larger or smaller onions)--chopped up very fine/pureed in the food processor with the steel blade. We added 10 large eggs, 2 1/2-3 tsp baking powder, 2 cups bleached, all-purpose flour (give or take), and then salt (kosher and table) and pepper, to taste, and the reserved potato starch. I mix it all up with my hands (wearing latex gloves) and then drop spoonfuls of the mixture into hot oil, flattening the mounds slightly with the back of the spoon. You can adjust am'ts as needed--you'll know when you see how the first batch holds together/cooks up when you add it to the oil, and how the first few taste after they're cooked (you can always add more salt, eggs, onions, flour--but you can't take them back out) LOL! For us, the key thing, is allowing the potatoes to sit for a little while, to release the starch, and then rinsing them well, and draining/squeezing them out well. This way, the latkes come out nice and lacy and crispy, which we prefer (vs. gummy or doughy).

Today it is just DH and me (and the mutts). so we are snacking... tomorrow we go to Va Beach to have our Christmas with our oldest daughter and her 3 kids. Her DH is in Navy and out to sea for his 6 month tour. Our oldest GS Ryan, 10, is cooking for us. we are having Pigs in a Blanket (Hot dogs in Crescent Rolls) Mac and Cheese, his is homemade, yum! Stuffing Mashed potatoes and our contribution, Meatballs and a fruit tray oh yes The Happy Birthday Jesus cake that he has been making for several years. Maybe not very Christmas-y but this is his menu, so we go with it. He is actually a very good cook! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all! June

We moved 1200 miles last week, so still unpacking, I spent an hour today searching for the good silver, which I had cryptically labeled for the move and then forgot the label. However, I made the dressing earlier because it freezes well and it made the move still frozen solid in DH's Yeti. DD lives next door and made a carrot soufflé and two pies last night and will make the green beans and Mom's rolls (I'm a pretty fair cook, but that particular skill skipped a generation and besides I haven't located my cookie sheets yet). I made the cranberry orange sauce tonight, along with spiced tea and an asparagus casserole. Tomorrow will be the turkey, ambrosia, mashed potatoes and boiled custard --all easy -- and I'll set the table (just realized the napkins are still MIA). I might also cook a ham to have with leftovers. It still should be manageable because we aren't planning on eating until 2 o'clock. There will only be six or eight of us, plus the baby.