Gay As a Japanese Penguin

That island chain is strange right down to the bedrock. It's no wonder I want to go there. . .

Anyway, Happy Boxing Day, everyone! I hope your Christmas was merry and bright, full of love and cookies. Mine was fabulous. Apparently, I was a very good little blogger this year, because Santa was quite good to me. I've spent most of the day uploading my CD collection onto my shiny blue IPod. I am so totally in love with this itty bitty bit of electronic beauty that it is quite unseemly. I predict that I will become manic about playlists in the new year, and that also, when I think no one is looking, I'm going to freak out like those weird shadow people in the commercials. If you catch me, don't worry, it's not a seizure, it's just my embarrassing lack of rhythm and grace.

I also got, from the Fabulous Lorenzo, Alton Brown's latest cookbook. A few years ago, when I was trying to get him to buy me a $350 waffle maker for Christmas, I told him not to think of it as a ridiculously expensive and somewhat impractical purchase but rather to consider such a thing an investment in his culinary future. When I get new kitchen toys, I tend to want to use them right away to feed everyone I know. Leafing through AB's latest, I predict Carrot Cake in the near future (the secret is, Carrot Cake isn't a cake, it's a muffin. A really big muffin). Also biscuits. And crackers. I may try my hand at making actual bread while I've got the week off. . .

What about you guys, peanut gallery o'mine? What did Santa leave under your trees?