Wouldn't you know, a damn snowstorm did us in yet again?! Unbelievable. This time on the east coast, preventing my brother David and sister Etta from coming out from NYC for the weekend, as well as Bowen's sister Sara and her husband Romero coming from Vermont. Damn! Boo! Damn! Luckily Bowen's parents Hal and Suzanne were able to make it from Palm Beach or we would have had a a bust of a dinner party tonight. As it was, we lucked into very nice, with Bowen's parents, my dad and Susanna, Stace, Bowen, and Coop, and the Best Helper Evar, aka Nathan. I borrowed a page from my father-in-law John and made Veal Scallops a la Danoise (with cucumbers), a lovely dish, made lovelier by the fact that you can prepare it ahead a bit and finish it off right before dinner; Deluxe Do-Ahead Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes, to which I added a generous amount of minced chives; and blanched asparagus with gremolata (minced lemon rind, parsely, shallots, and olive oil) to cut the richness of the veal and potatoes. A hearty-and-yet-almost-springy menu, it worked quite nicely, I think. Cheeses, cardamom bread from Turtle Bread, and sips of Sauterne and coffee for dessert. And now? Bedtime, fo sho!

It's all for you, Cooper Doo, One-Whole-Year Old! Tomorrow is his big party day...