Christmas dinner was nicely done with an orange-glazed ham, mashed potatoes and green beans and kernel corn sautéed in a bit of butter. It was my intention to make scalloped potatoes to go with the ham, but my husband begged for mashed. Since tasting my version of mashed potatoes using liquid Coffee Mate instead of milk four years ago, he won’t eat the dish any other way.

 

I was the lucky recipient of several kitchen gadgets for Christmas. My mother sent me a mega-nut cracker (especially good for walnuts and other large nuts), along with a set of canisters, a plastic container for opened bacon, a Bread Buddy (the caricature pictured at right); and a Batter Pro.

 

At first I thought the Batter Pro was for sieving pancake batter, and wondered why? But then I started reading the included booklet, and realized the three-parts to the gadget were actually for mixing batter without having to touch raw foods, soaking edibles such as onion rings, vegetables and more in the batter, and then turning it over so the excess batter pours into the second container. This leaves coated vegetables or meats without dripping batter, and ready to fry up. The gadget also came with a flat whisk and a multi-purpose guide knife. I’m sure the Batter Pro will also work for tempura batters, which I use more often than standard coatings.

 

As the day wound down I listened to U2’s How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (a gift from my husband) as I made a loaf of wheat bread from scratch. It was a nice ending to a wonderful day.