Cruising the cul de sac.

Celebrating GMT new years in EST with one of the best tasty to PITA ratios in my mom's cookbook.

Preheat oven to 450f.

Bring 1 cup water, one stick butter, and a heavy pinch of salt to a bare simmer.

Remove from heat, add 1 cup flour all at once and stir vigorously until it forms a ball. Add 4 eggs ONE AT A TIME, stirring until each egg is incorporated before adding the next.

Allow to cool slightly, before spooning the batter onto a cookie sheet or two, leaving plenty of space to puff, I usually make 12.

450f oven for 15 minutes, then turn down to 350f for another 30 mins or so until golden brown and they look dry with no butter bubbles.

Cool on rack and serve with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce.

Cream puffs keep a day or three in tightly sealed containers.

En Guete and Merry New Year

Since my Nonna is long gone, I need a judgement:

Ingredients: Leftover ham, diced Onion, diced Garlic, crushed Peas, frozen 3 eggs, scrambled Cheddar cheese, shredded Salt, pepper, and nutmeg, to taste Pasta, your choice Mustard, to taste

Instructions: Dice the stuff that needs dicing.
Start heating pasta water. Sweat the onions till translucent. Add pasta to pasta water. Add garlic to onions. Add ham to garlic and onions. Whisk eggs, cheese, salt, pepper, mustard, and nutmeg together in a large bowl.
Add peas to garlic, onions, and jam. Add some of the pasta water to the garlic, onions, peas, and ham. Drain the pasta and immediately toss with the egg cheese mixture. Immediately add all of the ham, peas, garlic, and onion and toss. Serve immediately with more mustard in the side.

En Guete!

It looks tiny, and at 35g it is, but a 3.5" handle is enough for even my meaty hands, and most of the time a 2.5" blade is plenty. In fact, it is about the same length as a CRKT Pilar that weighs more than the Woodswalker and the sheath (55g) together.

It's not what you would call "heavy duty", that weight has to come from somewhere. You're not going to chop down trees or open paint cans with it, but it is great to have a paring knife for a picnic/cookout and other light tasks. It's easier to clean and sharpen than a folder, and you don't have to explain how a liner lock works to your friends.

The sheath is it's real party trick, fits perfectly in the back pocket of jeans or inside pocket of a jacket, with just enough handle sticking out to pull. They also make a kydex neck sheath, but this isn't c/neckknives.

Like cameras, the knife you have with you is more useful than the one you left at home, and this little guy is in my pocket more days than not.