I'm celebrating the delayed opening of crab season here on the West coast by having cracked crab, lemon, melted butter, and sourdough for dinner on Saturday night.

Following my massage.

Best. Weekend. Ever. Coming right up.

leapkate -- that sounds amazing! Might have to follow suit and seek out some crab this weekend too.

operagirlcooks -- enjoy! I LOVE crab!

I think leapkate totally wins.

Not cooking much this weekend, but I will be shopping and menu-planning for my Harry-Potter-themed, grown-up dinner party for my birthday next weekend! So freaking excited!!

Making Apple, Pear and Cranberry Crisp for a holiday pot luck!

FrontPorchPirate, you have to report back on this party, I want to know how it turns out!

Finishing up two major papers this weekend, so it's all about quick and easy here - tortilla strata tonight, pad Thai tomorrow, and these Brussels sprouts with twice-baked potatoes on Sunday.

And I've promised to bake myself an apple pie if I finish writing by Sunday afternoon.

Just ate beef stew with mashed potatoes. Yum. And the leftovers will be even better tomorrow (not just b/c I won't have to cook!) I like the idea of an apple pie, too. And I should get started making cookies....

It's my best friend's birthday tomorrow, so I'm making him his favorite thing - meyer lemon buttermilk pudding cake. Except I'm doing it in layered-cake form with lemon chiffon and buttermilk pastry cream.

I worked from home today and for lunch made a roasted spaghetti squash with pancetta, roasted mushrooms, and parmesan. With a bit of fresh herbs on top, it was so so tasty!!

For breakfast tomorrow, baked french toast made with leftover cranberry nut bread, and to bring to a potluck Saturday night: shredded brussel sprouts with hazelnuts and fried capers, and Joy the Baker's Pear spice bundt cake with walnut praline topping. Can't wait!

Happy eating, everyone!

I'm trying the Thai Brussels sprouts for our Idea Club pot luck. Maybe a cabbage soup? Breakfast for dinner tonight? No big plans, but I'm excited to have collards in the fridge.

I really like this Summer Veg Mac and Cheese (http://www.ezrapoundcake.com/archives/16307) so I'm going to try making it with winter squash instead of summer. And it's time to start making treats for my friends around the country; toffee, cheddar crackers, and chai mix, plus bird seed ornaments for their backyards.

Game night Saturday with friends. Making an Indian braised chicken thighs w/ butternut squash, mushrooms, spinach in a coconut sauce. And saffron-lime rice.

But the crab idea sounds great. Soon!

Lemon Xmas cookies for my grandfather. It's early, but he's 95 so why wait?

Tomorrow, big batch of squash and mushroom lasagne with a ridiculous amount of ricotta. It's cold here!

turkey soup, applesauce cake and granola.

It's comfort food weekend. A hawk got one of our chickens Thursday. We are all mourning. :-(

I had the most amazing breakfast yesterday, took a bowl of freshly made oatmeal in the garden, grabbed a tiny apple from the tree (the smaller apples have generally been left on the tree for the benefit of the wild birds) and added the apple to my cinnamon almond honey oatmeal. It was the best breakfast I've ever had - dining on my own while the birds ate their version of an apple breakfast just a few feet away.

Weekend cooking and baking includes lemon hazelnut biscotti (a birthday gift for a friend), butternut squash mac & cheese (a dish I'm obsessed with this Fall), and apple pancakes with caramel applesauce using apples that have been harvested from the garden that are in cold storage (they'll last me through March).

Tonight I'm going to try making a vegetarian "shepherd's pie" with mushrooms, parsnips, carrots, peas, mushroom gravy (a veloute with dried mushroom powder and plenty of red wine) and a layer of scallion smashed potatoes. No recipe --- I'm winging it.

And I just decided I need to make something sweet, maybe blueberry pie, which is easy to throw together since I have both homemade crust and frozen blueberries in the freezer.

Something with blackberries. They were 50 cents a carton at Meijer so I nabbed a bunch. Most are going to the freezer.

Christmas Cookies: triple ginger-snaps and oatmeal with cranberries, mac-nuts and white chocolate.

Japanese seafood rice with samphire. Like this: http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/video/2011/nov/14/how-cook-japanese-rice-video

Hard boiled eggs for the week ahead. Got a brisket in the oven for supper tonight and sandwiches for those nights this week when I just don't have anything left to cook. Chili for lunches this week. Pumpkin cream cheese muffins for snacks.

I made red beans and rice and cornbread... A southern favorite perfect for having friends over to watch LSU beat Georgia in the SEC Championship! Geaux Tigers! Beat Bama (again)!