The isobars were all crammed together on the weather map, and that is not a good thing. They say we are going to get gale-force winds whipping the snow sideways and obscuring the church across the street from Big Pink.
 
The sound whistles on the sharp edges of the balconies and scours the side of the pale pink brick that blends with the white into an icy and unsettling palate of gray-white.
 
We saw some asphalt late yesterday in some patches, but that is history. There have been more inches of white stuff, and the strength of the wind is sculpting the mounds atop what are probably cars into improbable shapes.
 
Jinny is gone and Tunnel Eight is silent. It was a near darned thing. She was nearly here for another four days, or maybe till Spring.
 
The Artful Logger called from the plane way too early, and he said they were canceling things already for the afternoon. That meant that the scairdy-cats were starting to roll up the air bridge that briefly reconnected Washington to the wide world.
 
Most of the funeral party escaped while the getting was good. I checked on the flight status for Jinny’s flight, and of course, that was already toe-tagged.
 
Thank God for Logger’s call- we were able to re-book and get her on an earlier flight before it was jam-packed. We got to the airport in good order, and there were not rioting crowds or anything. It actually was pretty peaceful.
 
I swung by the office later, since I had not seen the place for a few days and did not consider it likely we would be seeing it again any time soon and there were some things that could only be done inside the Company firewall.
 
I was glad I went in. The recipes were there.
 
I asked Jinny a long time ago to compile the menus that had always worked for her- the sure-fire, can’t miss, crowd pleasers that she had used to entertain down through the years.She did some entertaining as an Attache’s wife in the 10th Arrondissement in Paris; at Cavite Point in the old P.I.; in Gaeta in Italy, or at the Castle in Rancho Santa Fe out in San Diego Couty.
 
She obliged, bringing a dozen note cards along on this sad journey, and I vowed to return them. So long as the power is still on, I thought I would share them with you.
 
I am also going to cook while I can, and keep cooking until we emerge at the distant end of this confounded and unending storm.
 
Ham Sodolski

2 tbls butter or margarine
1/2 cup peeled chopped turnip1/2 cup chopped carrot
1 ¼ chopped white onion
1 glove garlic (minced or pressed)
¼ cup finely chopped celery leaves
1 cup each:
            dry white wine
            water
½ tsp. liquid hot pepper seasoning
4-5 pieces fully cooked ham
4 tsps. Cornstarch blended with 4 tsps. water
½ cup chopped parsley
1 tsp. each prepared mustard and horseradish
In a s-8 quart kettle, melt the butter and sauté the turnip, carrot and onion until onion is translucent. Add the garlic celery leaves, wine , water and hot pepper seasoning. Simmer uncovered 10 minutes. Place ham in the liquid cover and simmer for one hour or until tender when pierced.
 
Remove to platter and keep warm. Skim fat from pan juices. Stir in cornstarch mixture, parsley, mustard and horseradish. Cook over medium heat, stirring until thick. Serve sauce spooned over ham. Serves 10-12.
 
Copyright 2010 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com
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