Brooklyn, NY. December 25, 2015

"Diet Week" ends with Dessert Course #4: Nick's panettone, seen here after the golden brown "mushroom" had been sliced open. A lovely light way to bring the full panoply of desserts to a close...and guests to their knees. Actually, after everyone had left and we were cleaning up (an annual ritual), Nick said, "Oh, I forgot to serve the torrone." Not a problem. (Nick's recipe for panettone can be found in his Great Italian Desserts.)

Brooklyn, NY. December 25, 2015

Continuing our "diet week" presentations of now-forbidden foods: Dessert course #3. Nick's platter of brownies and caramel crumb bars. It was at this point that guests started in with that foolish, "Oh, I couldn't possibly" nonsense...and then began to consume these by the handful. (The recipe for "Supernatural Brownies" is in Nick's Chocolate; the recipe for his "Caramel Crumb Bars" is in The Modern Baker.)

Brooklyn, NY. December 25, 2015

Dessert course #2: Nick's cookie assortment (along with a few samples from the treats his Greek neighbors brought over on Christmas Day.) The amaretti (left) were the best I've ever had, and I ate a shameful amount of them...and continued to do so during cleanup after all the guests left. And if you've got the time and patience to try Nick's checkerboards, you can find the recipe in his book, Cookies Unlimited.

Brooklyn, NY. December 25, 2015

Did I mention that Nick is a pastry chef? And so all of the guests were waiting for his annual bûche de Noël. And here it is. (Our friend Marco and I both quickly posted photos of this to Instagram. And while we were there, we checked out other examples at #buchedenoel. Want a good laugh? Go there and check out the other well-meaning attempts, one of which looks like the skyline of Gotham City.) Here's a link to Nick's recipe on his website.

Brooklyn, NY. December 25, 2015

The main course: herbed roast duck legs with a gratin of cabbage and rutabaga (which was so light and airy it had everyone asking what was in it.)

Brooklyn, NY. December 25, 2015

When I used to swim at the Harvard pool, the first week of the new year was always the most crowded. All those new swimmers with their New Year's resolutions. After about a week, the attendance was back to normal. You understand. At least I do. I always tend to be on a diet as the year begins. And instead of eating food, I'm continually thinking about it. So this week here on SLS: meals. One meal in particular. My friend Nick's Christmas lunch-into-dinner. I was too busy eating the hors d'oeuvre to photograph them (Roberto's terrific guacamole, Nick's cheese cookies with pecans, his focaccia with onions, his salad of peppers/olives/capers), but here's the tomato soup that had everyone at the table ooohing and aaahing. (The weather here in the Northeast has been playing tricks on us: Christmas Eve it was 73 degrees. This soup did the same thing, delivering the taste of summer as calendar winter was just beginning.)

Brooklyn, NY. December 25, 2015

Happy New Year. I love this photo of my friend Miriam. She appears to be a no-nonsense type, when actually she is very much a nonsense type. Here she is at Nick's Christmas lunch-into-dinner party. Because Nick is a pastry chef, the meal ended with four (count 'em) dessert courses, some of which you're likely to see here in the near future. And speaking of the future...today marks five years of my posting daily blog entries, and I'm thinking of making some changes. Weekly entries? Photos transferred from Instagram? Occasional postings with no set schedule? Or keeping things pretty much as they are? Can't decide. Thank you to the daily readers who've been with SLS for the whole five years. You know who you are.