The Winter Classic has become a New Year’s Day tradition, soaked in a nostalgia that glorifies frozen fingers, numb toes and emergency dental surgery.

It’s hockey, outdoors.

I prepared some tailgating fare for our game time guests, boiling and soaking the beans beginning at 6 a.m. By 7, Sorenne and I (left) were kneading the dough for whole grain homemade baguettes.

During the pregame show, Duff, the star of Ace of Cakes, apparently a TV show on the Food Network, decided to show hockey fans how to cross-contaminate, moving bacteria from the raw hamburger sliders he was mixing with his hands to everything else he touched.

For a summary of the 3-1 Washington win over hometown Pittsburgh, see Puck Daddy.