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Not too crazy - just 112 grams, with about 10 grams of truffle. But it's good butter from France!

House-made made truffle butter.

Continuing the use of Perigord truffles... Mise for the dish. Linguini with Perigord truffles. Even easier, and certainly quicker, than the risotto above. Sautéed a clove of garlic in olive oil and butter while pasta is cooking, added cooked pasta to the sauté pan with a hunk of the truffle butter and Parmigiano, toss and toss with some pasta water till consistency is correct, top with a bit more Parmigiano, minced parsley and chives, and freshly sliced black truffle.

I think it’s quite a Japanese thing to be able to get into a tiny restaurant with the help of someone who has already been. and that’s a neighborhood which has often been a center of good, little Japanese restaurants that fly or flew under the radar.

Last night, with the black truffle risotto and roast chicken with truffles, we drank this Pinot from Porter Creek. It's the top Pinot in their line, and it was really delicious with the truffles.

With the truffle I treated ourselves to: Our first course last night was risotto. I made a compound truffle butter with some shavings from the truffle, so the risotto is simply Carnaroli rice, butter, olive oil, shallots, garlic, white wine, home made chicken stock, and the compound butter and Parmigiano added in at the end, topped with slices of the Perigord truffle. Pretty good. Followed by a non-pictured roast chicken, which had some of the compound butter and truffle slices spread under the skin - also good.

Couple of items from Regalis Foods for New Year's Eve and day... Lousy picture of a beautiful 60-gram Black Perigord truffle. Siberian sturgeon caviar. Applewood smoked trout roe. All from Regalis Foods, with the shipping special (free) and the trout roe a gift with the order.

A love letter to a Dutch oven... And there it was, a beacon of orange amid the quicksilver saucepans and skillets: the round, enameled cast-iron five-and-a-half-quart Le Creuset Dutch oven. I instantly knew we belonged together. Besides the fact that it was beautiful, it reminded me of my mom’s Dutch oven, the one that sat on the stovetop when I was growing up, loyally churning out beef stews and tomato sauces and other mainstays of a 1980s working mom’s repertoire. From a Gen-Xer's viewpoint.

I decided we're just gonna drink the good stuff this week. So, with the dinner I made... Our favorite producers of American Pinot Noir...https://portercreekvineyards.com/portfolio-type/2015-pinot-noir-winegrowers-reserve/

Deconstructed (okay, not yet plated) roasted cabbage, duck confit, duck fat roasted potatoes.

While I love the little one cooking away, put some shoes or clogs or something on those feet! Birkenstock makes great kitchen clogs!

Last night's diner, with a salad... Pan pizza? Focaccia? Flatbread? Baked on a sheet pan, half mozzarella and tomato, half imported baby artichokes and tomato. Parmesan sprinkled on it all.

Rather than do a bunch of work/cooking, the tradition here on Christmas eve (and Christmas day, as well) is to go out for Chinese food. Uncle Lou is a Cantonese restaurant on Mulberry Street, in Chinatown. One of the newer ones, and they allow you to bring wine, in addition to having a small wine list. Six of us had a nice dinner... Not shown is the owner struggling to open a 2001 Chateau Musar (we forgot to bring a Durand). He managed to get it open, however! Whole duck to start. Whole fried red snapper to finish. In between, stir-fried pea shoots, chicken chow fun, a beef dish with garlic chives, pan-fried dumplings, a fried rice dish, etc.

Baked a Ken Forkish overnight white bread yesterday... Which led to: Griddled grilled cheese sandwiches for breakfast today.

The meatballs I recently made: Served over penne, with a good hit of parmigiano.