Charley

Yes, your eyes do not fool you, the "Charley Sweater" from Rowan 37 is done! I didn't think I would finish either, I am the queen of procrastination. I especially love the way the cables are lined up on the arms. I used circular needles for the neck, I hate sewing up, so this was a no brainer. I noticed that the neck band pattern didn't match the photo, so mine is (WS):P3 *K2, P3, rep * to end. Since I was using circular needles, I pretty much repeated this row until it hit 6 cm. I also didn't start as P3, because I wanted the 3 purl stitches in the body (WS) to match up with the ones in the neck. A little anal, but it worked well. I really love it, it just doesn't look Gap cookie-cutter, and it has such interesting details. Hubby is wearing it to watch Furinkazan right now. This project didn't make me big fan of Rowan All Seasons Cotton Yarn though, and I usually love Rowan yarns. The yarn came apart too easily.

Ham and pickle sandwiches (for jean) and Sabodet with Mâcon wine, vegetables and dried mushrooms

I have been lusting after the Pork & Sons cookbook forever. I don't know if it was the pig doodles inside (I have a thing for pigs) or the large photos of rustic dishes, but I understood what Anthony Bourdain meant when he said he looked at people roasting pigs, like other people watch porn. A little TMI, I know.

Last weekend, we went shopping at Chelsea Market for the ingredients for the "Ham and pickle sandwiches (for jean)" and the "Sabodet with Mâcon wine, vegetables and dried mushrooms." We substituted the prosciutto for the ham and italian parsley for the chives in the sandwich. It was pretty yummy, the italian parsley gave it a clean lemon flavor.

I couldn't find the sabodet sausage for the recipe, so I used regular Italian pork & leek sausages. It was definitely turnip-y, but I'm not sure I tasted much else. Unless I find the real deal, I won't be making this recipe again any time soon.