In which I am surprised bygetting exactly what I want

Because what I thought I was getting was . . . nothing. Which would have been fine. Really. Husband and I have a big blow-out ski trip to Alta planned for the end of January. Given the expense of that, along with the rest of our crack ski habit and the dismal economy, we reasoned that we would skip giving presents to each other. And isn't every day we spend together a gift in itself? Well, maybe not, but we wanted to save money and hassle. The presents would be for Sophie, and our gift would be watching her open them.

So on the way drive down to my parents' house the day of Christmas Eve, we had the following conversation:

HUSBAND: So you wrapped up that book you ordered me as my present. [Something he heard about on NPR about the building of the Giza pyramids. Yawn.]

FIGS: Yes. If you can't wait for the paperback to come out, you're going to have to wait for Christmas to open it. And there might be something else for you to open as well.

HUSBAND: So we're going to have another Christmas where I have all these things to open from you and your family and you have nothing to open from me.

FIGS: I included your name on all the gifts to my family. And no one will notice that you didn't get me any gifts.

HUSBAND: Your sister will notice.

FIGS: Yes, she will. But she's long since ceased to be amazed by this.

HUSBAND: Well, if you had wanted something, I would have bought it for you.

FIGS: Oh, there are always things I want.

HUSBAND: Really? Such as?

FIGS: I really liked that pancake pan that Pam had at the beach house last fall. The one that makes the round pancakes. You can put jam in the middle of them.

HUSBAND: Oh, I didn't know you wanted one.

FIGS: That's ok. It's not an emergency, and my birthday is in June.

HUSBAND: Where does one buy such a thing?

FIGS: Williams-Sonoma. They have it in the catalog. You don't have to go to the mall.

HUSBAND: Anything else?

FIGS: Well, you can never go wrong with cashmere sweaters.

And so several hours later, what did I open FROM HUSBAND?

Yahoo!!

One of Husband's most amazing qualities is to slyly observe my interest in certain objects and then squirrel away that piece of information until a gift opportunity arises. I think I'll keep him.

If you do not have one of these pans, you should race out immediately and purchase one. They're very easy to use, and the array of fillings you can use is endless. I used a mixed berry jam I made last summer, but in the summer fresh berries would be nice. So would lemon curd, chocolate ganache, a cooked apple filling . . . The recipe for the pancake is a fairly standard one, except that you separate the eggs and whip the whites until stiff and then fold them in. The result is a very light and airy little puff of a thing.

The leftovers were even good cold later in the afternoon.

And my gift from my mom? A cashmere sweater. Black. Turtleneck. Perfect.