December 26, 2025 Breakfast - 2 fruit tamales Lunch - Romanian Christmas Dinner

December 26, 2025 Breakfast - 2 fruit tamales Lunch - Romanian Christmas Dinner

I woke up at 7:00 and watched Squawk on the Street and the open.

Nividia was up over $3.00 early, but as the day progressed the averages went negative and Nividia closed up $1.90 that produced a small gain in my portfolio.

What went crazy were gold and silver. Gold gained over $50.00 per oz. to $4550 per oz. and silver went up over 11% to $79.68 per ounce.

Platinum went up even more, rising 11.5% ($260.70) to $2534.70 per ounce.

The precious metals are on fire.

I ate two of the fruit tamales Jody and Loyda brought us with a fried egg and a cup of tea for breakfast.

I then helped Suzette add olive oil and lemon juice to the whisked meat of the two eggplants she roasted on the grill to make an eggplant salad for the Romanian dinner we would attend at Aaron and Monika’s house at 3:00.

I tried to save my appetite after breakfast by not eating a heavy meal, although I ate a couple of Christmas cookies with tea and Suzette made me a snack of baguette rounds garnished with slices of avocado and hard boiled egg around noon.

I also rode my new recumbent bike around the neighborhood.

Then at 2:40 Billy, Elaine, Suzette, and I took a slab of Gravad lax and the eggplant salad and drove to their new house in Tanoan.

When we arrived we were introduced to their Romanian friends, Jan and Emilia and Mina (who we met last year. 

Aaron did much of the cooking this year. He grilled pork chops marinated in olive oil and rosemary and some amazing pork sausages made by kneading ground pork shoulder in the Kitchen Aid until smooth and then adding whole peppercorns..

He also made the cabbage rolls baked slowly in a large  casserole with strips of bacon and sauerkraut. The cabbage leaves had been tenderized by cooking them in the liquid that gathers in sauerkraut. The stuffing was very tender pork also.

Jan made my favorite dish, perhaps because it was so unusual, a meat and vegetable salad in slightly acidic mayonnaise and decorated with a lovely flower arrangement made with vegetables.  There was another salad made by Mina that was also amazing.  It was eggs stuffed with chicken livers in mayonnaise and also decorated. 

Soon after we arrived Aaron grilled the marinated pork chops and then grilled the hand rolled pork sausages.

When the sausages finished grilling we started eating the food.

I tried one or two of everything except the cheese and chili pepper phylo wrap, which I had last year, made by Mina.

I discovered something interesting. Total Wine now sells Romanian wine. I enjoyed glasses of a dry Muscat. After the meal Monika gave us a bottle of white and red Romanian wine as a Christmas gift.

It was a great meal.

After we all finished the meal and rested for a few minutes before dessert. There were two cakes, a store bought German stollen and a Romanian coffee cake with a few raisins and a thin ribbon of chocolate at the top.

They were both good but we were full and I did not get excited about either.

We packed take-out boxes with the wonderful foods, so Willy could try them and left around 5:00.

It was a memorable dinner.

When we arrived home we sat and talked until around 6:15 when Billy and Elaine left.

I then watched a minor bowl game between Florida International U. And UT San Antonio until UT SA went ahead over 20 points because it was a scrappy exciting game tied at 14 points for a while.

Also UNM played Minnesota to a tie in regulation in its bowl game but lost in overtime.

I went to bed at 9:30 and slept until 1:00 when I finished this blog entry.

Bon Appetit

 

December 25, 2025, Christmas at home and at Amy and Vahl’s

December 25, 2025, Christmas at home and at Amy and Vahl’s

I woke up at 6:30 and rested until 7:30.

Ari was not feeling well so we did not meet to exchange gifts until 10:30 in the living room.

I had a dream last night of how to fix the pouring custard that had become thick and slightly curdled. I would add coffee. Suzette and I poured the custard from its pitcher into a steel bowl. Then I made a cup of espresso and added a few drops at a time and stirred until the texture softened and the custard developed a smooth sheen and creamy consistency. Viola. We poured the approximately 20 oz. of custard into a 32 oz. yogurt container.

I cut two slices and toasted a 1/2 bagel, spread them with cream cheese, and garnished them with slices of the fresh Gravad lax and drank tea for breakfast.

When Billy and Elaine arrived and we were all together, we exchanged gifts. Luke gave me a biography of Ram Dass that I am looking forward to reading and a couple of skin care products. We gave each boy a herba mate drinking spoon from Argentina. Willy received lots of sardines, including a can from Patagonia and several bags of espresso coffee. We gave Elaine a kleenex holder in the shape of Mount Fuji. Billy gave each boy a gold 1 oz. Krugerrand and Suzette a $5.00 gold Olympic coin. I gave Ari a golden cowrie. We gave Ari and Luke each an apron made from a fabric food advertisement Suzette bought at the Tokyo flea market.

Luke gave Suzette a cookbook from a famous Japanese American fusion restaurant in L.A., Rintaro.

                        Suzette and  Willy’s gifts

Billy and I then examined a part of my coin collection and I gave him a 1933 Swiss Five Franc coin to show his Swiss friends who will be visiting them in Dallas soon.

We then packed up the chocolate dessert and repaired creme anglais and gifts for the family members and drove to Amy and Vahl’s home in Eldorado at noon. When we arrived Amy and Vahl and Vahl’s son Erin and wife Arvin and Arvin’s mother, Lee, plus Deanne, and Dayla, Craig Sr. and Carol, and Craig Jr. were there. Quite the crew.

I gave Deanne a bottle of Veriton, Archery Summit’s Pinot Gris. I gave Vahl a bottle of De Ponte Estate Pinot Noir and I gave Craig a bottle of Vara 2018 Vino Tinto Espanol.

I then unpacked the chocolate dessert and heated the bowl in hot water and flipped it out of the bowl onto a dolly on a plate.  Suzette or Amy poured some creme anglais into a pitcher and splashed some custard onto the chocolate dessert to decorate it.

There was a massive amount of food. There was ham and several mustards and several breads with lots of cookies and brownies on the dining table. Then in the kitchen were two large aluminum containers, one with chicken enchiladas and the other with vegetarian enchiladas and a pot of beans on the stove.  Finally there were two beef tenderloins Craig had cooked to rare and a bowl of horseradish cream sauce Vahl had made plus several other desserts.

Suzette and I sat by Craig Senior and discussed a difficult case he had and then Billy, Rick Spiegel, and I discussed Fort Worth Jewish families and Congregation Beth El. We had all gone to Bluebonnet, McLean, and paschal together. Mary joined us on the couch and I discussed with her Westcliff and Wedgewood Elementary, McLean, and Paschal. We bonded as we easily shared our common histories and recollections.

Soon people were serving themselves food. I filled my plate with a ham sandwich with a dense seeded mustard, a slice of rare tenderloin, beans, and a square of chicken enchiladas.

We were drinking bottles of the Calstar 2014 Sangiacamo Pinot Noir Vahl ordered at my suggestion. It was delicious. There were three bottles opened before Vahl switched to a bottle of Lemelson Pinot Noir.

After dinner we all lined up outside for a family photo.  

Then I tried a small wedge of my chocolate torte and creme anglais. It was excellent. The creme was smooth with a distinct coffee flavor. 

Then we exchanged our secret Santa gifts. We gave Craig, Jr. one of the ad aprons that Suzette had bought at the Tokyo flea market and a Japanese paring knife we had bought in Tokyo. Vahl gave me a bottle of Lemelson Pinot Noir. Finally, as the sun set brilliantly at 5:30 we left and Billy drove us back to Albuquerque.  

As we left Craig Jr. commented on the distinct coffee flavor and I shared with  him the story of the coffee fix to the custard.

When we arrived in Albuquerque Billy and Elaine gathered their gifts and drove to Casa de Suenos and we watched two episodes of the new season Five of Emily in Paris/Rome. Then, Suzette went to bed and I stayed up to blog this entry and I went to bed at 10:30.

Bon Appetit

 

December 24, 2025, Breakfast - Scone and lemon curd Lunch - Pasta with Pesto and Oysters and tamale. Open House.

December 24, 2025, Breakfast - Scone and lemon curd Lunch - Pasta with Pesto and Oysters and tamale. Open House.

Every year our neighborhood puts out luminarias. There are thousands of them.  This year, as usual, Willy was in charge and Eli helped him set them up and light them.

For breakfast we ate scones baked by the Bistro’s baker smeared with homemade lemon curd and several people ate the beef tamales Jody brought last night.

Starting at 11:00 we started cooking. We combined two recipes to make a bowl of tuna tartare. I followed the recipe in Mastering the Art of French Cooking to make a mayonnaise sauce by creaming three egg yolks with 1/4 tsp. of salt and 1 T. of Dijon mustard and then slowly drizzling in a cup of good olive oil. I added the sauce to 3 T. of capers, 1/2 cucumber diced, then slowly drizzling three egg whites sieved and one medium shallot minced. After mixing some of the sauce with the minced tuna to make the tartare there was tartare sauce left. We decided to play with it. I tried a little soy and mirin, but that did not work. Then I tried lemon juice and sour cream and that worked. We used the sauce as a sauce for the Gravad lax.

Billy went to play pickle ball in the morning 

At noon Suzette made pasta with pesto and fresh oysters that was very similar to the linguine, pesto, and oysters we ate at Belon in Tokyo.

Then Elaine and Suzette chopped beets, butternut squash, onion, and I snapped about 1 lb. of asparagus stalks and cut them into 1 inch lengths. Suzette added cranberries and roasted the vegetables and added the asparagus near the end of the roast to make a roasting pan of roasted vegetables.

Ari and friend arrived from their long drive from Idlewild in the mid afternoon. I missed her name but she stayed for the party before leaving to drive to her relatives in Santa Fe.

Finally, I sliced a side of Gravad lax and Suzette grilled the teriyaki Salmon on water soaked cedar and Elaine and I filled two boards with cheeses and I sliced baguette slices and toasted them in the oven. Then Suzette fetched her fruitcake from the basement and I sliced that and arranged the slices in a circle on a platter. At 5:20 Suzette grilled the teriyaki salmon and filled a serving dish with roasted vegetables on the table. Everything was placed on the table and buffet by 5:40. 

We walked outside to look at the luminarias and I spent a few minutes talking to Kathleen and Travis and met Clint’s wife and learned that Clinton had taken a position at Dartmouth Medical Hospital.

Jody brought another aluminum roasting pan filled with tamales, this batch was fruit filled, pineapple, raisin, strawberries, etc.

Aaron and Monika brought us a bottle of Japanese whiskey, which we will enjoy. Zeenat and Nizar brought a special bottle of wine and Karim brought a tin of cookies. Other gifts accumulated on the counter in the TV room.

Suzette set a bowl of bonito flakes, a bowl with miso, and a bowl with shopped green onion by the electric tea kettle in the kitchen and made hot miso/bonito drinks for the more adventurous guests.

When I returned to the house at 6:00 a flood a visitors began arriving. We had expected 20 to 30 and probably double that number showed up. Marty and Jill were glowing and hugging me. Jane brought two lady friends who I showed the art collection to. Zeenat brought Nizar and Karim came. Mike and Joy came, Cynthia and Ricardo came, Aaron, Monika, and Alex came. Bryce and his folks came toward the end of the evening. Ellie and kids came to see Willy. Bill and Regina and two sons came, Adam David. Jeff and his son came and we discussed the January book club selection with Billy. There were several others I did not meet and several I do not remember, of course.

I tasted all the food and it was excellent. The two ten inch slabs of teriyaki salmon were cooked to perfection and the adjusted tartare sauce we made for the salmon was unique and delicious.

Almost everything put on the table, including the cheeses, was eaten. 

Everyone left by 9:00 and I sat down and watched Hawai’i beat Cal in the last 15 seconds with a back up quarterback in an exciting Hawai’i Bowl.

Then at 10:00 we went to bed.

I went out at 2:30 to enjoy the luminarias without any cars or people. I love the peacefulness surrounded by the beautiful luminarias.

Bon Appetit