A few of my favorite things...

Over the holidays, I got to enjoy a lot of my very favorite things. Shrimp cocktail for instance, I am a sucker for a good homemade shrimp cocktail with extra horseradish-y sauce. And a nice Old Fashioned doesn't hurt either.

Best friends are also a great treat to have around the holidays. My puppy is best friends with this little basset hound, Ruby. They like to chew on each other's faces and then nap.

Butter. Butter is always a favorite thing. Here's me and my French Laundry cookbook- I tried to make my beurre monté sauce exactly to the book's specifications, including posing with a handful of butter. I then poached lobster in the butter- you totally need to do this.

Finally, eating butter-poached lobster and filet mingon is good too. It's even better when I get to use my Grandmother's table linens, china, and my other fancy things that only get broken out for special occasions- champagne flutes, silver chargers, gold flatware- and a gorgeous floral arrangement given to me as a hostess gift. By candlelight.

Lobsters! Electricity!

Speaking of lobsters, there's been an ongoing debate about whether or not they feel pain when you boil them alive. In 2005, Norway claimed that no, they didn't. In 2007, Ireland claimed that yes, they do.

Either way I don't really care because they are delicious. But if you feel uncomfortable boiling something alive, you can always kill it beforehand. With the.... CrustaStun- the at-home electric chair for lobsters.