Recent Obsessions: Stuffing, potholders, Springsteen, La Baguette, Joe Cerqua

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buy this photo In this photo from Nov. 13, 2009, Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band perform at the Palace of Auburn Hills, Mich. Springsteen, 60, greeted the crowd with "Good evening, Ohio," a gaffe he repeated several times during the show before bandmate Steven Van Zandt corrected him. Ricardo Thomas -- Associated Press

Every year it’s the same conundrum. Which spectacular stuffing, among all of the delicious and diverse options, will wow the family and make them beg for the recipe? Bon Appetit’s decadent November issue doesn’t make things any easier. It’s a solid line-up: whole wheat stuffing with pancetta, chestnuts and Parmesan; wild rice and mushroom stuffing; sweet potato stuffing with lemon and thyme and finally, sourdough stuffing with sausage, apples and golden raisins. It’s enough to make a person want to skip the turkey and just do a stuffing feast instead.

Of course, that fabulous stuffing deserves to be presented with a fabulous ... potholder. Really. We discovered Fat Tomato Designs’ whimsical potholders made from recycled sweaters at the Madison Holiday Market. Utilitarian and charming, the potholders are embroidered with various produce (a tomato, cherries or eggplant, to name a few), a martini olive, an owl, or our fave, bacon and eggs. See Julie Case’s creations at fattomatodesigns.com.

Sure, the Boss would have probably played half the songs off it, anyway. But hearing Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band play “Born to Run” start to finish at the Bradley Center last weekend was an incredible treat. You’ve got some of the absolutely iconic songs in the band’s catalog, from the title track to the epic “Jungleland” to the guaranteed party-starter “10th Avenue Freeze Out.” But listening to all the songs in sequence allowed the audience to hear how brilliant it is as a whole, and how songs work together — like how the turbulent yearning of “Backstreets” builds up to the catharsis of “Born to Run.” And, when the band was done with the album, there was still nearly two hours of show to go!

The glass cases at La Baguette on Mineral Point Road are filled with beautiful baked objets like mille feuille, baba au rhum, brioche, croissants, eclairs, tarts and about 15 types of bread. One staffer has decided to try everything that comes out of the imported French ovens, one visit per week. Pairing a glass of wine, quiche and a fruit tart at La Baguette with the delightful French movie “Coco Before Chanel” was the perfect (and possibly even educational) way to spend a recent afternoon for one who aspires to French fluency.

Days after the lights go down in the theater, Joe Cerqua’s lovely lullaby in “Blood Wedding” still resonates. It’s a haunting tune, with the repeated line “Sleep, my flower blossom,” sung by a quartet of women from the University Theatre cast. It’s a poignant moment, nestled as it is among scenes of bickering couples, prolonged mourning and outright violence. “Blood Wedding” runs in the Hemsley Theatre in Vilas Hall through Dec. 5.

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