Tuesday I'll be heading to California to thaw out and celebrate the holidays. A few things on my to-do list:

1. Escape across the border with James to eat crocodile in Tijuana—or to East LA for burritos at El Tepeyac—in anticipation of the next issue of Swallow.

2. Win the Christmas Eve Strufoli Wars, whereby I convince my son's godmother that boiling the honey syrup For Just One Minute will make the balls stick together rather than fall limp in a (lovingly created pile) at the bottom of the bowl.

Fun fact: This picture also appeared in my book "Sweet Sicily."

3. Go to Murietta Hot Springs to see if I can poach eggs in the hot spring the way they do in Japan...

Perhaps I  should explain:

Onsen tamago (literally "hot spring eggs") are cooked for 45 minutes in 140-degree water in the shell to achieve a miraculously silky-soft-boiled texture.

Photo from the blog My Epicurean Debauchery

This happens as a matter of course at Japanese hot springs ( reports my new assistant, Tomomi), where you can buy a sack of raw eggs and a packet of salt to soak along with you, although I have to say that it must get very stinky at those springs with all that egginess, but probably still not as smelly as borscht toots at the Russian baths. Next time I'm at the sulphur springs in Sicily, I'm gonna try it because it already stinks of rotten eggs there so who'd notice anyway.

White rice steamed in chicken broth with an onsen tamago on top, sprinkled with chopped scallions, is a mighty nice way to begin a Sunday, methinks.

I had these at Momofuku atop a bowl of bacon and grits, and may I have a moment of silence please while we reflect on this.

And 3: Chase down the Korean taco truck for a kimchee quesadilla, which—apart from anything David Chang cooks—is the only time I bend my rule against eating con-fusion food.

Happy Holidays.