We've had another great weekend. Lots of dog walking and hanging out at home and a fair bit of socializing as well. Last night we went to Raw, a great sushi place on Sansom Street in Philly with a cool vibe and very good food. We went with our usual sushi suspects, Lisa and Mike and Matt and Kay. I had a couple of dirty Ketel One martinis which I think go brilliantly with sushi, nice, crisp taste that doesn't compete with the clean taste of raw fish. Yum. We usually eat an enormous amount when we do sushi with them and last night was business as usual. Their special rolls are beautifully done and absolutely delicious. We had a lot of laughs. Afterwards, I convinced everyone to go to Ludwig's Garten, a German place a few steps away from Raw. I've been missing Munich and the beer something fierce lately and wasn't going to be happy until I had a few pints. Everyone hung out awhile, but then they all decided to go home leaving me and Chris and a stunning assortment fo German beers on tap. We had a lot of fun listening to an original jazz band, drinking and talking. I had him talked into a quick December visit to see our friends and enjoy the Christmas markets, but now in the cold sober light of day, he's wavering. Who ever thought Chris would be the voice of reason?

One thing we have been enjoying is Sunday dinner with either family or friends, mostly friends lately though. We've had a bunch of people here and have been to Joanna's recently. Lisa and Mike often host as well. Tonight it's Melissa and Bill hosting and we're looking forward to it. I am bringing an appetizer, which Bill specfically requested. this used to be a regular in my repertoire but I thought people were sick of it so I retired it, only to have several peoplre request it ercently. Suzanne asked me to bring it to Evans' party and I did and it got scarfed up! So it's back... Here's the recipe and a photo of the finished product.

Saucisson Paysanne (Country Sausage, after a recipe by Sarah Leah Chase in Cold Weather Cooking)

1 smoked kielbasa, about a pound

1 cup dry white wine

3 or 4 heaping tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons good Dijon mustard (I like Temeraire)

2 tablespoons brandy

3 tablespoons fresh parsley (mine looked lousy so I omitted it today)

freshly ground pepper to taste.

1. Cut the kielbasa into 1" slices and then cut into quarters. Put into a heavy skillet and add the wine. The kielbasa should be in a single layer.

2. Bring the wine to a boil and cook, uncovered, until it is almost evaporated and has teh consistency of syrup.

3. Add the brown sugar, mustard and brandy and cook for another minute or so.

4. Add pepper to taste and parsley to garnish. Serve hot or at room temperature with toothpicks for spearing and hunks of crusty bread to dip in the yummy juices.