Special dinner guests

After all these years, I finally got to host Karen & Paul for dinner! Yes, a very exciting event and it would have been more exciting if I had actually cooked instead of ordering in Gabriela's chickens. (Yes, Jewish American tradition is Chinese food on Christmas, but my mother wasn't in the mood for it). But oh well - I made the salad and bought wine and dessert so at least the sentiment was there. And not bad for a last minute meal on Christmas day. You have to love NYC on Christmas - you can still get everything. Christmas is about the closest you get to a "snow day" for the shops in NY. The supermarket across the street that I never venture into unless completely desperate for something closed earlier than I had thought and my usual staple place was closed. So I walked a few blocks to my old favorite greenmarket (which would still be my favorite if it weren't so hard to navigate a stroller though it) and yes, again, it was open on Christmas (I remember buying shortening there for pie crust on Xmas '02). And then I stopped at the open bakery on the way home.

It was so special to have Karen & Paul over because Karen's been feeding me for as long as I can remember - since I was even younger than Katie. And, as you know, Katie adores Karen and even Paul is gaining favor in her eyes. I believe he even got a hug this time!