In Season 2 - Episode 7 of In Plain Sight, entitled Duplicate Bridge,” Marshall Mann walks in to Norman Baker’s house and there’s an album on the turntable. Marshall holds up the album and I recognized it right away:

Count Basie off the album Count Basie’s Finest Hour (Verve), and the cut is Li’l Darlin’. Just in case you were wondering. Scroll down and listen to it.

Tonight is the Season Premier of Law & Order: Criminal Intent. My Mom came over and watched last season’s finale in preparation for tonight. Goren’s back and I’m a happy girl. I’ve missed him.

And this season, we’re getting a taste of Jeff Goldblum on L&W:CI. This should be interesting. I’m hoping there is some interaction between the two characters.

Goren’s back! He’s older and perhaps slightly more imbalanced and quirky. After all, he’s the son of a serial killer. I don’t care. Welcome back, Mr D’Onofrio. It’s time to get your Goren on.

While standing in front of a deli counter at the Granville Island Public Market in Vancouver, B.C., I fell in love with sopressata. The deli guy handed me a piece of the dark, red meat and the lively aroma reached my nose even at an arm’s length. It was thinly sliced and I couldn’t resist the desire to hold it up to the light to peer through it - a red and white stained glass window. The flavor exploded as it landed in my mouth: pork, garlic, red pepper flakes, and a crunch of peppercorn. I licked my fingers and ordered a pound. And there began my fascination with sopressata.

The dried, cured sausage is soft, not hard, somewhat like a pepperoni and often called a salami. In Rome, a cheerful, old butcher told me that in some parts of Italy it is known as a “poor man’s” salami - made from the leftover cuts of the pig. So far, my favorite “slice” came from a little storefront shop on Corso Italia street, in Piano di Sorrento, in the south of Italy. It just so happens that the best focaccia I’ve ever tasted came from the same shop. The memory of those flavors is still vivid.

Though I often recreate the meals I’ve eaten in restaurants, I’ve not yet had the courage to try my hand at curing, mostly because poisoning my friends and family with botulism is a very real possibility. On his blog, Notes from the Food World, Michael Ruhlman posted a recipe adapted from his book, Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing, for making sopressata. Ruhlman, a food god, is also the author of The French Laundry Cookbook, that I previously blogged about. Like a professional athlete, Ruhlman makes it look so easy. But I’m a smart girl and I know my limitations, so for now, until Ruhlman wants to invite me over to make it with him, I’ll stick to buying sopressata wherever I can find it.

As I carried the tree in the house, Kaitlyn stood inside the back door and said, “T’mon Judy…you tan do it.” I had to set down the tree because I was laughing so hard. I cleared a path of furniture to the tree’s designated resting place and then carried the tree through the house. A few of the frozen needles fell off and left a path on the floor, which Kaitlyn insisted I sweep up right away. She helped by pointing them out to me.

Down in the basement we found some Christmas decorations and a few boxes of lights. I plugged in the string of lights to test them which caused Kaitlyn to “oooooh and aaaaaah.” I draped them on the tree and then connected the star. Needless to say, the effect inspired four or five verses of “Oh my goodness, Judy. It’s so bewtiful.”

It was getting a bit late so we decided to leave the rest of the decorations until morning. Caressa and I easily convinced Kaitlyn to get in bed by stringing the last box of lights over the window trim in her bedroom. From his crib, Jeremy’s eyes twinkled and a great big smile broke out on his face.

I’m so thankful to be sharing Christmas with Caressa and the kids. It’s a blessing I never expected. My heart is happy and I feel like Buddy the Elf does about Christmas. I like smiling. Smiling is my favorite thing. I serve a gracious God who always manages to add a little something special to the story of my life.

“When I find the perfect house,” I said with a wink, “I’ll sell my house in Potlatch and move to Moscow.” Of course, I didn’t believe I would find it, so there was little need to be concerned.

I invited my real estate agent, Teri Skiles, to come and see my house. I showed her all my favorite parts: the kitchen, the bathroom, the closet, the garage, the basement, and all the charm that comes with an old house. Basically, I love every part of the house and I’m finding it very difficult to leave. I said, “Find me something like this and I’ll be a happy girl.”

A few days later we were sitting in her office and I had just finished signing paperwork. “I know you said you didn’t want to see any more houses until you sold yours,” Teri said rather sheepishly, “but I may have found the perfect house for you.” And she did. It has everything I want and more.

This time around, I’m uncharacteristically calm about the whole situation. Finally, after way too many years, I’ve learned to let go of the wheel and trust that God is in control. Maybe it’s because I’ve been encouraged by Alice Miller’s faith, maybe it’s because I’m older, or maybe it’s because it’s the right thing to do.

The offer was accepted. The loan was approved. Please pray that my house will sell, I’ll find the time to pack, and that this part of the story will bring glory to God. Somewhere between here and there…I’m thankful and looking forward to a change.

Thanks to Nathan, my nephew, I can gaze out the backdoor to check the temperature and pay homage to my SF49ers at the same time.

This afternoon, the temperature dropped from 30 to ten in just a few hours…and now it’s six (6) degrees.

It’s beginning to look - and feel - a lot like Christmas.

The first time I cooked a turkey it was less than tasty. The breast meat was dry, the gravy was flavorless, and the little white pop-up thingy failed to work. Needless to say, I had to find a way to make it work and brining has served my turkeys well for the past ten years. I am a convert. The only thing I change is what goes in to the brining solution. This year, instead of making my own, I bought a lovely jar filled with herbs and aromatics and I added salt and sugar to the brining solution. And…I couldn’t do it without my trusty thermometer. Remember: thigh meat should reach 170F.

Sour Cream Yeast Rolls

My nephew, Eric, requests these rolls. They’re ridiculously easy to make and there is rarely any leftovers. So in the spirit of Thanksgiving…I’m sharing the recipe with you. I also call these “Naked Lady” rolls because men seem to love them. I’m just sayin’. I found this recipe in a cook book called Treasured Recipes: Food Editors’ Favorites. It was contributed by Betty Straughan of The News Review, Roseburg, OR.)

1 package (2.5 tsp) active dry yeast

1/4 cup warm water

2 cups sour cream

2 Tbl granulated sugar

1/4 tsp baking soda

5.5 cups Bisquick

1 Tbl fresh dill (minced

1/2 cups parmesan cheese (shredded)

Soften the yeast in water. Let stand while combining sour cream, sugar, and baking soda in a large bowl. Add 2 cups Bisquick, then yeast mixture. Mix well. Stir in 3 more cups Bisquick. Turn dough onto board dusted with 1/2 cup Bisquick. Knead to form a smooth ball.

Shape dough in to small rounds the size of a walnut. Place close together in a buttered 9×13x2-inch pan. Let rise until doubled in bulk. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and dill.

Preheat oven to 375F. Bake rolls 15 minutes, or until done.

Note: Rolls can be made ahead of time and frozen. When ready to serve, thaw rolls and reheat in oven at 200F.

Tonight, her daughter, didn’t want the dinner I made. Instead, she looked at me and said, “Judy, I want pizza.” I said, “Oh honey, we don’t have any pizza.” If Kaitlin looked up at you with those big brown eyes, you’d find a way to make pizza.

So I asked myself, “what would Sandra Lee do?” She’s the faux cook on FoodTv that has a show called Semi-Homemade. With the help of some string cheese, pepperoni, ketchup, and hotdog buns, I made pizza.

I’m not real proud of myself. Meanwhile, I’ve already made plans to stock up on pizza making stuff so the next time Kaitlin asks for pizza…I can make something edible. As for the ice cream, we’ll just tuck a few cartons away in the freezer and forget they’re there.

Back in 2004, I made the mistake of watching the “Vote” show. It was blatantly political and biased towards John Kerry. If I remember correctly, the guests were: Cameron Diaz, Christina Aguilera, Drew Barrymore, and P.Diddy. The lowest point of the show came when Cameron Diaz got emotional (I’d like to think she was acting but I’m not convinced she knows how) and said:

“We have a voice now, and we’re not using it, and women have so much to lose. I mean, we could lose the right to our bodies. We could lo–if you think that rape should be legal, then don’t vote. But if you think that you have a right to your body, and you have a right to say what happens to you and fight off that danger of losing that, then you should vote, and those are the…It’s your voice. It’s your voice, that’s your right.”

In her little mind, a vote for George Bush meant rape would be legalized. Of all the shows I’ve EVER watched on Oprah, that one got me so steamed I actually posted a comment on the community board asking her to refrain from letting celebrities make idiots of themselves…or something like that. I heard Oprah say that the “Vote” show got more comments than any other show she’d done. Thousands of people, from both sides of the aisle, took the time to comment about the show.

“If you think rape should be legal,
then don’t vote.”
Cameron Diaz
(Oprah, 2004)

Now it’s no secret that Oprah is giddy over Obama. She’s had him on the show twice…and both times she was practically worshipping him. It was a bit much. Feeling nauseated, I hit the delete button a few minutes in to the show. But, I have to give her credit for sticking by her candidate. She believes he’s the man for the job and she’s still worshiping faithfully at his feet.

Drudgereport ran a controversial story about Oprah’s fans asking for a Sarah Palin interview. I went to Oprah’s website and found Oprah’s statement regarding the issue:

“The item in today’s Drudge Report is categorically untrue. There has been absolutely no discussion about having Sarah Palin on my show. At the beginning of this presidential campaign when I decided that I was going to take my first public stance in support of a candidate, I made the decision not to use my show as a platform for any of the candidates. I agree that Sarah Palin would be a fantastic interview, and I would love to have her on after the campaign is over.” – Oprah Winfrey, September 5, 2008

Let’s face it. It’s Oprah’s show. And more than likely, she chose not to use her show as a platform for candidates because of the backlash after the “Vote” show. But now fans are frothing and demanding she interview Governor Palin. She’s a woman. Oprah’s a woman. Blah! Gimme a break.

I may not agree with everything Oprah does and says, but I respect her ambition, her sticktoitiveness, and her passion. After all is said and done, I’ve watched more good shows than bad, I’ve seen her do some great things for people, and, well, I just like her. I’m choosing to give her the benefit of the doubt on this one and I’ll pray that she can withstand the storm.

All around the house there are reminders of God’s goodness. Toys arrived from everywhere and now spill out of cupboards, get stuffed between the cushions of the couch, hide out in the valleys of kitchen bowls, and get arranged neatly in the remote control basket.

“Is that a baby cow?” she asks. Then in a slightly worried voice, “Where’s the mommy cow?” I pull the mommy cow out from under a cushion. Big smile. “Oh! There’s the mommy.” All is right with the world.

In another corner of the house, a little fellow with chubby cheeks drools on his bib and looks for his next bottle of milk. He smiles easily and rarely cries - unless of course you take too long fixing his milk or changing his diaper. There are three of us tall enough to reach the counter. He doesn’t wait long.

We’re a happy bunch. Finding joy in the small things. A basket of blessings. Giving thanks.