Potpourri

I made my first-ever risotto last night. We accompanied it with peppers, onions and mild Italian sausage. SWMBO was a bit dubious when I said I wanted to make the risotto but she stayed in the other room, offered advice when asked and heard no screaming or profanities from the kitchen. (Unlike my last adventure there when I made fried rice, overheated the sauces and managed to spill a lot of boiling soy sauce over the table, the floor and myself.) The risotto was delicious, fragrant with Parmesano Reggiano cheese from Italy. (Well, actually, from the supermarket but they claimed it came from Italy.) And I love the sausage and peppers combination.

Sorry, no photos.

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Sports today and a football game for the ages. Arizona lost when Tennessee's quarterback Vince Young threw a last ditch touchdown pass with no time left on the clock. But it was a terrific game and backup quarterback Matt Leinert performed admirably after learning he would start on the morning of the game. Regular quarterback Karl Warner woke up with a sore neck and concussion symptoms and pulled himself from the game. But Leinert pulled out a great performance, I think his best since he joined the team two years ago. It's just too bad the good guys couldn't hang on to win the game but Young is a terribly poised player having a great comeback from a couple of years when he didn't play.

O.K. I know a number of you could care less so I'll stop with the sports talk.

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Our weather has turned. Temperatures topped out today and will for the rest of the week in the 50's (F) and there was frost in the driveway when I went out for the paper this morning. Brrr.

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Thanksgiving was delicious but SWMBO reminded me today that she can barely stand turkey so the bulk of the leftovers are mine! I love it so I'm happy. There was a recipe in the New York Times Sunday magazine recently for Bobby Short's Carlyle Chicken Hash which I have my eye on. I think turkey would work as well as chicken so I may try it before the leftovers are gone.

I read somewhere in the past few days that people prefer the leftovers to the main meal by a substantial margin.

And so it goes, and so I grow. Bon Appetit!

A near thing

I heard Smoke outside the back door and figured he was calling to be let in. But when I opened the door, I found him and our newest interloper (call him Blackie) nose to nose. Smoke kept warning him away in that "we're gonna fight" sound. Which is strange because while Smoke is the biggest cat around, he's the most placid one and lets the other two run over him.

But, as I watched, Blackie kept v-e-r-y slowly inching backward while trying to keep an eye on Smoke and his intentions. If he turned and took a couple of steps, Smoke lunged at him. This went on all across the backyard as I was calling Smoke and trying to defer him. He was ignoring me. Eventually, he chased Blackie up the side of the house and under the gate. As I neared him, Smoke leaped to the top of the fence and went over.

A few minutes later, I went to the front door and Smoke placidly walked up and came in the house. Invasion altered, peace reigned again in the world. At least for the time being. Blackie, who we think belongs to our neighbor because he spends a lot of time around our house, is an unaltered male and there may be more trouble in store. Stay tuned.

Thanksgiving is over . . . again!

SWMBO and I hosted our Thanksgiving fete last night, with only the BRD and her beau, J'Norm, attending. Lots of good food, spirited conversation. Too spirited, it seemed, for Muggles . . . who was green with envy.

Eat up!

Blase

Signs of the times

In an area of north Prescott where I frequently drive, I noticed a sign added to a road sign the other day.

I had to stop and get close to read it, though. Considering that many motorists whiz by at more than the 15 mph speed limit, I wonder how many of them have had the chance to read the words.

Can't beat the neighbors for giving it a try, anyway. We all have more time than we think.

The Trip

SWMBO and I made a trip to Phoenix this past weekend. Once in awhile, we decide to go to the big city and "blow it out". This was one of those trips. It will take a while for our waist lines and our budget to recover but it was worth it. A great trip.

The main reason for going was to attend a reunion party of present and former employees of KPNX-TV in Phoenix. I worked there from 1972 to 1985 so I was not expecting a lot of people from my era. What a surprise! The party drew about 275 people, including probably 20 to 30 from my days at the station. It was great fun and I had a fabulous time renewing acquaintances with many former co-employees.

But after the party, we still had things to do. Sunday we went to a very well-juried art fair at City Center North . . . in far north Phoenix. Great art.

One young lady had a great time pulling the towels off the bottom of several of these wire sculptures to see what was underneath!

Since they're pushing up to Christmas, there were even some carolers.

The day before that, we decided to ride the new Light Rail system and got on it at Central and Camelback in Phoenix and rode for nearly an hour to Mesa, then back again. The system is very smooth and convenient and travels directly through central Phoenix, with stops at museums, downtown, and sports stadiums . . both in Phoenix and on the Arizona State University campus in Tempe. It's a great addition to the city.

Here are some photos from the train. The first, a nice view of the historic Tovrea Castle.

I felt like we were in San Francisco or Seattle as several riders wheeled their bicycles on board and hung them up vertically on rails.

There were some fabulous sculptures alongside the stations.

And a great view of Tempe Town Lake as we crossed the water.

Now let me tell you about the food.

On the way down to the city, a stop at Rock Springs for huge cheeseburgers and patty melts.

Friday night a wonderful meal at Steamers' restaurant in the Biltmore Shopping Center. Just forget about the S'mores dessert. After a huge prawn appetizer and a seared Sea Bass for me and a wonderful Calamari in Thai Sauce appetizer for SWMBO topped off with Swordfish, the dessert was extremely amateurish. But the rest of the meal, the restaurant and the service was fantastic.

Saturday early afternoon, we stopped at the Cheesecake Factory, where SWMBO dined on a pulled pork sandwich and I had a Flatiron Steak, par excellence. My steak was not thin like the Flatirons I had had in another restaurant, but more like a New York strip. Perfectly done and tender. We shared a great signature dessert which combined Red Velvet cake and cheesecake.

Sunday was careful. Just some snacking from our own hotel cooler until dinner at night. Then we went to an old favorite, Tomaso's Italian Cuisine. Owner Tommy Maggiore was in the house and I told him we had been coming there since he first opened the restaurant back in the 1970's. I had Clams Casino and SWMBO Stracciatella soup for appetizers, then she had Veal Marsala and I dined on Veal Osso Buco, which I had enjoyed there before. The risotto was marvelous and our shared Cannoli with some Lemon Gelato topped the meal, along with Tomaso's special Cappucinos.

Today was a coming-home day so we made the traditional trip to Trader Joe's market, checked out AJ's market (way too expensive for us) and went to a Miracle Mile delicatessen for Straw sandwiches before heading for home.

A quick stop when we were about 25 miles from home to finish off the trip with iced mochas.

And now the diet starts.

Well, actually, that may not be until Friday. After all, Thursday is Thanksgiving!