I've been off the past few weeks, nursing a shoulder that has been improved by minor surgery.

During my post-operative rounds with medical professionals, I had this exchange -- several times:

"Who did your surgery?"

"Dr. Arthur Scopy."

"Oh, isn't he dreamy?"

And to think I washed off Dr. Dreamboat's initials from my shoulder, where he marked the spot for his work.

He and his staff did a fine job, and my Sauce arm is ready to resume flinging.

Let's get to it.

Kirsten Pastrick, of Duquesne, and her cousin Jim Steimer, of Bethel Park, pulled together a meal for 85 on Nov. 29, the Saturday after Thanksgiving, for the annual Steimer family Christmas party, held at SS. Peter and Paul church hall in Duquesne.

The menu: 12 pounds of roast pork, stuffing, gravy, potatoes, green beans, corn, rolls from Breadworks, take-out fried chicken, salads (including mom Carole Pastrick's bean salad) and appetizers made by family members.

"My cousin Jim and I started cooking on Friday around 4:30 p.m. and were joined by my other cousins, Jeanine [Steimer, of White Oak], Tom and his son, Lucius, [also Steimer, of West Mifflin] and my sister, Alison [Pastrick Marschke, of Franklin Park]. We got the hall decorated and the food prepared by 8 p.m.," Ms. Pastrick e-mailed.

"The party was to begin at 6 p.m. on Saturday so I made my way to the church hall around 3 p.m. I live very close and another sister, Merle [Pastrick Linn], was joining me to assist in the preparations. She lives in Pleasant Hills and had to make her way through the treacherous roadways.

"It took her about an hour to get to the church, which normally would have taken about 10 minutes. I was starting to get antsy about the rest of our family making it to the venue. I was afraid I was going to be stuck eating roast pork for the next month!

"Eventually everyone showed up -- all 85 aunts, uncles, cousins, second cousins and a few friends! No little snowfall with icy roads will stop us!

"Santa came with traditional gifts of pajamas for the kiddies and everyone sang carols to welcome him."

Holy Steimer! And then later I'm guessing everyone probably collapsed in heaps of happy exhaustion.

WOMEN of Southwestern PA Inc. will hold its second annual Symphony of Food -- A Chefs' Showcase dinner at 6 p.m. Jan. 23 at Bella Sera by Greco's, 414 Morganza Road, Canonsburg. The six-course dinner prepared by local chefs will also include music, a ticket auction and a Viennese dessert table. Tickets, $75. Reservations are required. Call 724-941-5513 or go to womenofswpa.org for more information. The nonprofit organization assists needy women and children in Allegheny, Washington, Greene and Fayette counties.

There's plenty of opportunity to tailgate coming up. There's Sunday's Steelers vs. Chargers game, for one, and once we win that, another game on Jan. 18. And, of course, once we're in the Super Bowl, there's that.

On Jan. 31, Trax Farms, Finleyville, kicks off the Super Bowl round with a tailgate party from 2 to 4 p.m. in the events room. $35 per person; make reservations by Jan. 16 at 412-835-3246, ext. 114. Trax will grill, pairing the food with Arrowhead Wines. Which means you must be 21 or older to attend.

Franktuary, 325 Oliver Ave., Downtown, this week began offering breakfast from 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., and changed its lunch menu a tad. And it's offering bicycle delivery of breakfast and lunch. Go to franktuary.com.

From 11:30 a.m to 1:30 p.m. tomorrow, drop by the Downtown YMCA on the Boulevard of the Allies to participate in the Recharge with Chocolate Milk Day. Registered dietitian Karen Plansinis will discuss milk's role in refueling and recovery after exercise; Pamela Pashke of Pittsburgh, who won the CVS Recharge with Milk sweepstakes (a one-year membership to the Y), Y representatives and Dave Schneider of Schneider's Dairy will also be on hand. Samples of the dairy's milk will be distributed.

The 21 wineries on the Chautauqua-Lake Erie Wine Trail will have a "Bare the Barrel" sale Jan. 17 through 19. Details: chautauquawinetrail.org or 1-877-326-6561.

Hasan Ozcan of Nema Food Co., McKeesport, will present Halal meats, including seasoned soudjouk and mortadella, from 2 to 6 p.m. Sunday at Giant Eagle Market District, Shadyside.

And if your New Year's resolutions include going organic, Market District nutritionist Judy Dodd will tell you how on Wednesday at 11:30 a.m., Bethel Park, and 2:30 p.m., Shadyside.

Animal Friends will hold Bark & Brew happy hours from 6 to 10 p.m. Wednesday at the Hop House, Noblestown Road, Green Tree. $5 donation at the door gets you a free appetizer, $3 microbrews, raffles and more.