out of the frying pan...
...and into the deep fryer!!
Leah got me a deep fryer for Christmas, so our arteries are hardening as we speak. So far we've experimented with fish and chips and fried chicken, and in both cases it's like a miracle to watch whatever it is we drop into that oil turn into, like, real fried food! Golden and crispy and everything. Wonderful. The only problem I have now is, what do I do with all the gross chicken-saturated oil? I suppose I could reuse it, but after it was heating for three or four hours and cooking fried chicken and chips for ten people for our giant (for us) New Years fête, it is rather darken than it started out. About the color of good-quality maple syrup, in fact, which I think is not what you look for in your canola oil.
The other awesome Christmas present from Leah serves, I suppose, to counteract the fryer. She got me a pair of snowshoes, and so I wouldn't feel lonely out on the trails, she also bought one for herself (and wrapped it up under the tree, natch!). Of course, the snow has been melting away since Christmas, but we still got some good use out of the gear already walking the dog through the trackless wilderness across the street. I anticipate many more wonderful snowshoe miles to come!
There were lots of other great things about Christmas (and New Years too, probably) but I forget all of them.