thankful thursday #215

Guys. Yesterday was the biggest bust of a snow day ever.

Unlike one year ago, we closed the office early when the sleet came. And I had an epic afternoon nap on my couch. (There's that to be thankful for.)

Before the snow started, we ordered pizza online to be delivered, and after thirty minutes of watching the "pizza tracker," realized our order had, in fact, been voided. When I called to inquire, the manager said, "It's snowing. Time for us to head home," and when I asked if anyone was planning to call us, he said, "Someone was supposed to."

Oh, customer service. You are so elusive sometimes.

When I saw big, pretty snow falling, I put my bowl outside. Snow ice cream would redeem the underwhelming snow day.

I collected only a cup or so of delicate, flaked ice. It was a tasty cup of snow ice cream, but only a tease, really.

On the heels of a snow day bust, however, where the roads are clear enough to travel, it appears my weekend trip to Asheville, North Carolina, with my cousin Emily is a go, and for that I am grateful.

We will stay here ...

... we will visit here ...

... and see this costume exhibit ...

... (from this Masterpiece production) ...

... and will indulge in some good eats.

That's a lot to be grateful for.

What about you? Did you weather the storm? Go on, be grateful!

thankful thursday #214

Thankful for these memories of late:

These people I work with. There's so much goodness in that snap, I'm shocked it's not exploding.

The one who couldn't be with us sent us this happy. She sent it to us on the day her first child was born. Honestly, she's too much. I love her.

We got to sit in regular seats and be regular fans. In the upper deck. It was glorious.

The Italy crew got to reunite.

We ate at this new dive in Athens. So tasty.

There's a lot to love, heading into Valentine's Day weekend. Go on, be grateful!

the crock pot recipe from my super bowl party {boston butt}

Thoughts from this year's Super Bowl:

• The lovely Lori was not here again to co-host, and I was still sad about it.


• I was so pleased that this game was better than last year's.


• But I still wish the New England dynasty would end. I'm kinda over New England-themed menus.


• Parties are not fun when battling a fever and cough.


• A fever and cough also clouded my brain, and I forgot to snap any photos. Oops.

The menu included these items from the west coast ...

• Seahawks Nachos (Translation: tortilla chips on the nacho bar were blue, green and white. I do what I can in the name of theme development.)


• Voodoo Donuts Bread Pudding with Chocolate Sauce (Someone told me Voodoo Donuts is a thing in Seattle. It worked.)


• Seattle Coffee Bar (Exploiting the Keurig.)

... and these ones from the east coast ...

• New England Crab Dip (I made way too much of this. But it was tasty.)


• Cape Cod Kettle Chips with Truffle Oil and Parmesan (A new go-to in a pinch.)

... and this, the shining star and sole recipe worth sharing:

Boston Butt with Rolls, Pickles and Sauce

Makes about 20 sliders

3/4 c. packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp. favorite steak seasoning
1 Tbsp. kosher salt
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1 Tbsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. cayenne pepper

5 lb. shoulder blade roast (Boston butt)
8-10 dashes Worcestershire sauce

BBQ sauce of choice
Frozen yeast rolls (or other rolls of choice)
Dill pickle chips for serving

The day before, make your dry rub by combining the brown sugar, steak seasoning, salt, chili powder, garlic power and cayenne pepper. Keep this in an airtight container and have it ready to go. You'll thank me the next morning.

The day of, at the crack of dawn, stumble to your kitchen, place the meat fat-side down in your crock pot, sprinkle with Worcestershire sauce, and rub it down on all sides with the dry rub that's sitting very handy on your counter.

Cover the crock pot, and set on the low setting for eight hours. (But wait! You still have four more hours to go.)

Now set the crock pot on the "keep warm" setting for four more hours. Now listen. That's twelve hours total. So when you're hosting a party at say, five o'clock, you'll need to be setting and forgetting this at approximately five o'clock in the mo'nin'. Don't say I didn't warn you.

But ooooh my goodness gracious. If you commit to the low and slow method, you will not regret it. At serving time, shred it up -- it'll fall right off the bone -- and for looks, put the shredded meat in a big cast iron skillet. Serve it up with warm rolls, sauce, and pickles.

This was my fan favorite from the Super Bowl. Make it yours next year!

i have some recipes to share

Work and a nasty case of bronchitis-or-sinus-infection-or-something-similar has had me completely off the grid of late.

And cooking. Whoah, it's taken a back burner. Literally.

But I have some recipes to share now. And this first one might make you turn your nose up at first. But oh, it's so tasty. Be open-minded.

For some reason I've recently been intrigued by Brussels sprouts. I ordered them in a restaurant, roasted, and decided I could make them and like them. Here's how it happened:

Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Butternut Squash
Serves 6-8

1 package of fresh Brussels sprouts*
3 small packages of fresh cubed butternut squash*
EVOO
salt and pepper
2-3 handfuls of dried cranberries
Balsamic vinaigrette of choice

* Let's talk first about these vague quantities. In my grocery store, the Brussels sprouts come wrapped in a styrofoam tray, and are stocked over near the asparagus. My "1 package" looked something like this:

And the butternut squash. You can totally cube one up yourself, but I splurged on convenience and bought three of these:

So anyway, judge quantities as you need.

And then do this:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Screaming hot.


2. Slice Brussels sprouts lengthwise into quarters (or halves, if they're small), and trim off the stems. They're pretty cute, like baby cabbages. Place in a large mixing bowl, and add the cubes of butternut squash.


3. Toss with a few tablespoons of EVOO, and salt and pepper to taste.


4. Spread onto a large baking sheet, into a single layer.


5. Roast for 25 minutes, tossing and rearranging once during cooking.


6. Remove the pan from the oven, and add a couple of generous handfuls of dried cranberries. Roast for 5 more minutes. The sprouts caramelize, the squash softens up, and the cranberries kinda explode with sweet goodness.


7. Before serving, drizzle with balsamic vinaigrette, just to barely glaze it all.

That's it. A healthy side dish that, according to the recipe, would have been a "perfect addition to your Thanksgiving meal," but well, it's February now, so there's that. I enjoyed it in the winter. You can too.

More recipes coming this week!