Good morning. My grandparents had a lot of books, but my favorites as a child were the cartoon collection from The New Yorker, cartoons from the days of Peter Arno, Charles Addams, and William Steig. I do not really understand jokes at the time, but on the rug in my grandparents’ living room, I was moved by the idea of them, with the way the captions brought the cartoons to life.
Steig had a great one associated with New Year’s Eve. The cartoon depicts an unhappy couple at a chic holiday dinner with black ties, everyone wearing festive party hats and smiling broadly, toasting each other. The bespectacled husband was scowling with the cigar twisted into the corner of his mouth, the bow tight on his wide neck. His wife strongly advised him: “Either cheer up or take off your hat.”
I loved that when I was younger, and I still love it. Not for me auld lang syne. Tomorrow night, I want to go to bed before 10 o’clock. I don’t even want to wear a hat in the first place!
It’s not that I don’t want to eat well first. And then again on Sunday morning. Maybe you will join me?
On Saturday night, I learned a great recipe for Pan-fried chicken with cream sauce from chef Angie Mar, who served the food at her Beatrice Inn in Manhattan. (Now, at her Trois Chevaux down the block, she serves poussin with white truffles in a salt crust. I’ll find that out later!) It’s a great year-end meal, special. especially if you serve it with Anna’s earrings and I-know-them-out-of-season Braised asparagus with butter – a promise of spring serving in the depths of winter. With baba au rhum for dessert!
You’ll definitely want some Hoppin’ John (above) to Sunday, after a breakfast of Creme Brulee French Toast. (Or, if you find yourself over-serving the night before: chicken soup and an iced Coke.) Green vegetable ice cream potpie for dinner? Or caviar bread? I can follow one of the people with this one feta and herb phyllo tart and really happy.
There are thousands and thousands of other recipes to consider waiting for you on New York Times cooking – and more inspiration about TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. Go see what your favorite attack is.
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Now, it’s a long way from doing anything to do with chocolate tempering or peeling eggs, but you’ll want to read David Ramsey at Oxford American, on Hank Williams.
Vanity Fair made a video with actor Jean Smart, to break down the timeline of her career. That’s so great.
Diary of Alan Bennett in The London Review of Books Tell me about your failure, in 1961, to impress Queen Elizabeth II with his performance before her in “Beyond the Fringe.” It’s cringe – and enticing.
Finally, here’s Jeff Buckley to play with us with.”New Year’s Prayer.” Stay out there safe, eat well, and I’ll see you on Sunday.
