Time with my son

If you read my blog you know that my son and only child lives very far away from me in Portland, OR, but he always comes home for a few days at Christmas and we try to make the best of this brief time. He arrived here early Christmas Eve morning and he cooked a fabulous meal for Christmas Eve. He is a real foodie and brought some of the recipe ingredients with him. Christmas day was just spent relaxing, opening presents with him and my sister and having a great dinner that I mostly cooked with help from him.

The day after Christmas he wanted to go to New Haven try one of their famous pizza restaurants. Most of them are very old and claim to be the ones who brought pizza to the northeast. We went to Sally's in Little Italy, right down the street from Pepi's, which now has a branch here in Danbury. The restaurant opened at 11:30 and we got there at 11 and there was already a line. It was chilly day and we were glad to get let in at 11:30. It was a very low key, no frills restaurant with just a few choices of pizza, no salads, no grinders, no wine, just pizza, beer and sodas. It was good, but I'm not in a hurry to drive an hour to get there again.

To me the best part of the day was the Yale University Art Gallery.  I can't believe I had never been there before. It was like being at a smaller version of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC. It had an incredible collection of just about any artist you could name, African art, antiquities and many more. AND it was not crowded as I know the Met would be AND it is free and open to the public.
There were special exhibits on the fourth floor. One was Ceremonial Dress from Southwest China and one was about 200 years of Indigenous North American Art.

Most of the pieces in the China exhibit were very old. but this modern piece really grabbed my attention. It was woven from metallic thread by Jon Eric Riis using Chinese weaving techniques to get a very painterly effect.

This very large piece was in the native American exhibit. It was woven and embroidered to tell a story. Be sure to click on this one to see a larger view.

The next day we took our annual trip into NYC. We took the train in and left my car at the train station. We walked around and took in the sights of NYC at Christmas, always exciting.

Saks' Fifth Avenue during the Day, so pretty!

The same Sak's Fifth Avenue at night What a difference!

The famous tree at Rockefeller Center with the beautiful angels that line the walkway to the tree. 

I don't remember  seeing these see-thru igloo-like structures other years at the tree. It was cozy place with small tables and chairs inside for people to get out of the weather and maybe have a hot drink.

We always have lunch at a special restaurant that my foodie son had researched. This was on    Columbus Circle and their signature dish is octopus, as shown on their logo. They had a price fixed luncheon, a little pricey but oh, so delicious.

My first course...lobster, pickled eggplant, basil leaves and seeds in a Burrata cheese sauce. Heavenly...I wanted to lick the bowl.

My son's second course, a kind of fancy ravioli with mushrooms and other delicacies in a brown butter sauce...delish!

My second course, Fusilli with braised octopus and bone marrow. The octopus was so tender and there was plenty of if nestled in the pasta. We also had wine, a shared panna cotta and cappuccino.  A truly wonderful meal.

Not a very good picture of my handsome son, but it was the only one we had taken. I still can't get used to him towering over tall me even though it's been that way for years.

Now he's back in Portland but I will see him again this winter because he plans to visit me in my Florida home. So Happy New Year to you and yours. I hope you get to spend it with family and friends.