Christmas Roundup And New Year's Resolutions

Christmas gave me a lot to be thankful for. A Le Bernardin gift certificate (HOLY COW!). A Mauviel copper cookware set. Eight more wine glasses. The Chef's Choice AngleSelect electric knife sharpener. Lots of cookbooks. An old-fashioned stovetop popcorn popper. And lots of pantry staples and kitchen tools.

But I'm most thankful for all the time I had with my hubby and my family. It was really marvelous. I even got to spend New Year's Eve with my bro and his fiancee out on the west coast. The highlight was a four-hour trek through the Santa Monica mountains, including ascending two summits. And I even rock-climbed. Check out the views:

Up this year: even more posts than 2010. My goal for '10 was to beat '09 and I did it by 18 posts. So this year I want to beat that and do it by offering more recipes than ruminations. Not necessarily all original recipes but, rather, I plan to do a fair amount of recipe-tweaking. I certainly have enough cookbooks to do so: 55+! 2011, here I come.