perfidy

Chew on this, y'all. Tonight's menu:

Ham steak with pear, ginger and maple glaze
Potatoes Anna
Maple-whipped winter squash
Pois au Provence (a pea and herb concoction of my own devise with lavender, fennel, thyme and sea salt)
American-style pasta salad with the mayo and boiled eggs

Ham steak with pear, ginger and maple glaze (serves 2-4)
1 1-pound cured ham steak. A good one. Niman Ranch at the very minimum. None of that generic water-filled crap.
1 very hot skillet
1 tablespoon oil
1/4 cup pear and ginger marmelade
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons maple liqueur

But wait, John. Not everyone has pear and ginger marmelade and weird Canadian hooch lying about.... Not to worry! Lacking the marmelade and liqueur, substitute:
1 smallish pear, peeled, cored and finely diced
1/4 tsp grated fresh ginger or 1/4 tsp dried ginger
a trace each nutmeg, allspice, clove
1 tablespoon American whiskey (Bourbon or Tennessee)
1 tablespoon got-damned real maple syrup, grade B or A ONLY.

Film the very hot skillet with the oil. Place steak therein. Let get very brown and crusty in spots on both sides over medium to medium-high heat, about 7 minutes per side.

Remove steak from pan and set aside to cool. Add butter and once melted add either the marmelade and liqueur or the subsitutes. Scrape browned bits off bottom of pan as you go. If using the substitues, add a splash of water and let the pear cook for a few minutes until quite soft. If using the real deal, just heat through and pour over your steak. Serve and swoon.

Maple-whipped winter squash

1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and diced into 1-inch dice
2 tablespoons butter
salt
pepper
1/8 tsp cinnamon
a few gratings (or 1 dash) nutmeg
2 tablespoons maple syrup, grade B or A

Steam the squash until tender. Mash and force through a food mill or fine-meshed strainer.
Stir in other ingredients, and charge $10 for a number 8 ice cream scoopful of the stuff. Seriously, this will knock the pants right off you.

To everyone, a merry Christmas.

It is just Christmas now, the little Bucketheads are all asleep. I've just laid out all the presents under the tree, and nothing is stirring, except for me and Willoughby, my Aunt Susie's puppy. We're going to hang out a bit, enjoy the quiet and see if we can bag us some reindeer.

It's strange, now, to see the frustrated anticipation, excitement and impatience on my son's face and remember how I felt. I know I won't be getting the Lego galaxy cruiser, or the Millenium Falcon I once wanted. But watching my children open their gifts will be better still.

My only Christmas regret is this: my mom has decorated her bathroom in a presidential theme. We tease her mercilessly for this, because even though she knows it's silly, she makes her decisions about what should or should not gain a place in the presidential bathroom with great seriosness.

I saw the picture at the top of this post yesterday, and didn't buy it.

I wish all of our remaining readers, and my fellow ministers the best of Christmases, joy, friendship, family and a happy new year.

Oh, and some change and hope.