The sauerkraut balls turned out good. Sheri has never had them before, but she loved them. She said it has to be our new New Years tradition.



When we got home Sheri started browning the pound of Bob Evan's sausage while I diced half an onion. When the sausage was done we spread it out on a couple layers of paper towels that were on top of a bunch of newspapers to absorb extra fat. Then we sautéed the onion in the same pan we did the sausage.

I weighed out one pound of sauerkraut from the two pound jar and dumped that into a big bowl. Then I minced several tablespoons of fresh Italian parsley and added that. The recipe called for a tablespoon of hot sweet mustard. I took a tablespoon of Colman's dry mustard and mixed it with a tablespoon of water. It ended up being perfect. Gave it a really nice kick without being overpowering. Also added four ounces of cream cheese, a little garlic powder, and a little salt and pepper. Then we added half of the sausage and the sautéed onion. The other half of the sausage I put it in a covered bowl. I might use it in a big omelet.

I had Sheri put on some plastic food prep gloves and knead all of the stuff together. The next time we make them I plan on either chopping the sauerkraut into smaller strands or running it through the food processor. The longish strings of sauerkraut made it a little difficult to mix, and also made it a little messy to eat.

While Sheri was kneading the sauerkraut mixture I started getting the avocadoes ready for guacamole.

Once the sauerkraut mixture was mixed up and the guac was made we went upstairs and took a well deserved nap for a couple hours.

We woke up hungry and went right back to the kitchen. While Sheri put together her seven layer dip I got three bowls out on the counter and put flour, bread crumbs, and two eggs beat with water in them respectively.



I took about two tablespoons of the mixture and rolled it into a ball. Then I rolled it first in flour, then the egg wash, and finally in bread crumbs.



I cooked them three at a time in 365° oil for just a couple of minutes.



The secret to deep frying food is keeping your oil hot enough. If it is good and hot an impermeable crust forms almost instantly and prevents any oil from penetrating into whatever you are cooking. If it is not hot enough no crust is formed and oil can easily penetrate and you have a greasy blob. You also have to cook it longer which also lets more oil penetrate.



This is Sheri's seven layer dip. Deeeeelicous.



We watched The Island and ate our treats. Not the greatest movie but it gave us a couple of enjoyable hours. I would recommend it even though it didn't get the best reviews.

We are upstairs now getting ready to hop into bed and watch the Dick Clark type TV specials.

Don't forget to adjust all of your clocks for the leap second!