Happy Chanukah! I just lit candles and opened my first present, which is a Le Creuset French oven.

I actually met with my advisor today. An hour and a half later than he'd said, which made it half an hour before I had to leave, though. So, didn't really discuss as much as I wanted.

Did you then bonk him over the head with your Le Creuset French oven, Hil?

Heh. Didn't open the present until after the meeting.

He was meeting with some of his undergrad students until 2, then was supposed to meet with me at 2. The undergrads were freaking out because their final is on Monday, so they stayed until 2:30. (I didn't really mind that.) Then he had to go move his car. Then he had to talk with the department head about something that was supposed to take just a minute and ended up taking about 20 minutes. Which meant I didn't meet with him until about 3:40, and I had to leave at 4.

I'm used to this by now -- pretty much whenever we have a scheduled meeting, he has about twenty "just a minute" things to do beforehand that end up taking at least an hour.

Le Creuset, awesome!

Advisor, NSM.

So KBD sent me his list. And it's booooring. He wants a Zune accessory pack. Or a phone case. Or a sports watch. Feh.

The first four ingredients are distilled vinegar, jalapeño pepper, water and salt.

I will try some soon.

It's interesting seeing jalapeño peppers listed as "mild." When I was a kid they were the hot ones for us Minnesotans.

Oh my how far have we come.

I just lit candles and opened my first present, which is a Le Creuset French oven.

We had a lovely evening lighting candles with my dad, then went out for dinner. I gave The Girl the big set of pots and pans she's been asking for! She was very pleased. Yay.

I have a cooking question! I want to try making sufganiyot, from this recipe: [link] I've never deep-fried anything before. What kind of oil do I use? What kind of pan do I use? My options for the pan are a wok and several different pots. How much is "several inches of oil"? Anything else I should know?

Vegetable oil? Canola?

I have never made doughnuts, but I think you need enough oil so that the doughnuts float, and you have room to get in there and flip them.

I would totally use the Tabasco, but I am pretty casual when it comes to expiration dates, unless it's dairy, chicken or pork.

So, a sublettor is like a poor relation in an Austen novel, there on sufferance and not to be considered one of the real residents?

Hmm. I think I am coming from the perspective that I have only (after my freshman year of college, which is maybe why I so protective of my space -- SEX ON MY BED roommate, I'm looking at you and I'm still bitter!) been rommates with people I know pretty darned well. A subletter roommate seems just so odd to me -- I get the idea of subletting an apartment, but not really one where I would have housemates.

I sublet an apartment from an acquaintance for a summer in college, and even though we were friendly, I always felt very, very much that I was a houseguest, and that I wasn't in "my" space.

You want a heavy pot and an oil with a high smoke point. I think peanut oil and canola oil are good choices. The Le Creuset might be a good pot. I think you can deep fry in a wok but I haven't tried it. Based on the recipe, it sounds like you don't have to totally submerge the donuts, but you'll want enough oil in the pan to be at least halfway up the things you are frying - without a basket or spider, much more than that might make it harder to turn them.

Watch out for spatter.