Pioneer Woman Part Deux

Now I can "finish" my Ree Drummond book signing story.  When I heard she was coming to Little Rock to sign her cookbook, I knew I had to go. If not for myself, for my S-I-L Julia. She is a fantasmic photographer and was enjoying Ree's photography and tips. She introduced me to Ree's site for the recipes because she knows how much I love to cook. I have often gone to The Pioneer Woman for recipes. Of all the recipes  from her site that I've attempted , not a single one has been a failure. Most have been wildly successful in fact. Which brings us to the story of .... duhn duhn duhhhhhhnnn

The Great Bourbon Sweet Potato Disaster of '07

Thanksgiving 2007. My S-I-L and her 2 precious small ones were driving about 7 hours to spend the holiday with us. I was frantically searching for recipes because...I couldn't possibly dream of having a "typical" turkey dinner with comp'ny comin'. I found what looked like an easy sweet potato recipe that did not involve marshmallows. Nothing against that gooey goodness, I was just trying to be ummm I dunno, sophisticated? The recipe called for GOOD bourbon. I don't know what that means. I bought cheap stuff. I figured, the recipe calls for only a little bit and it bakes out right? Smarty pants that I am, I put dinner together the night before so it would be less hassle the next morning. Oh no. Huge mistake. That cheap bourbon clung to those potatoes like a silk suit in summertime. Even after baking them, those sweet potatoes smelled up the entire room like a drunk tank at 4 a.m. on a Sunday morning. They had to go in the trash. Outside.  I have not lived that one down yet! Probably never will.

So I had to get Ree to sign that cookbook because even 2 years later...I am still trying to make up for those potatoes.

Needless to say, 2008 meant the dinner was traditional in every sense. Well except that I had to cook the turkey on the grill because my oven is too small (I have a 70's era kitchen people!).  I greased that bird up good with some rub from Williams Sonoma, no scrimping on the good stuff, unlike the bourbon. It was delish.

Thanksgiving 2009 plans? The Chinese Buffet. Fa Ra Ra Ra Ra Folks, it's all good!!

P.S. Everyone knows I'm not a good photographer. The pictures were taken by my S-I-L, THANKS J!

Fallen off the Wagon

Or the mountain bike. Whatever.

I think I've been trying to block out this little tidbit. In rediscovering my much neglected blog, I realized I wrote an entire post about our trip to the Syllamo without mentioning something very important.

The Syllamo Broke My Finger.
So I had a little accident about 3 miles into the all day ride. So what. I have little oopsies all the time right? Unfortunately, this one involved getting my pinky finger stuck in a pile of wood debris while sliding head first down an embankment. It's not as bad as it sounds Mom, I promise. Except for the breaking the finger part. Really, it dislocated then snapped back into place so I thought it would be okay. When we got back to the car to stop for lunch I just had J buddy tape it and we rode the rest of the afternoon. The next morning my finger was swollen and blue so I went in to the Dr. to be safe. I had an avulsion fracture. I really wish I had the x-rays. So cool! This little bone fragment floating out there in my knuckle space was causing all the trouble. It didn't hurt when I did it or during the night but man was it hurting by day 2 after all the poking and prodding. Splint and compression bandages for 8 weeks, no weight lifting and I couldn't really grip all the way or straighten it all the way without pain so no more crossfit workouts for a while.

Excuses. I luv em. I used the broken finger as an excuse not to workout. But I cooked and cleaned and even did an Adventure Race (without training for it of course) and had an awesome Halloween party that deserves its own post. And then I got the croup. Maybe the flu, maybe just a nasty cold. Whatever, it kicked my butt for a week and a half. Better now. Playing catch up.

Tonight: Pioneer Woman's Red Pepper Risotto
Tomorrow: Garlic Smothered Chicken with New Potatoes. And I'm going to attempt this. Yes the cooking bug is back in full force. I am so happy to have family and friends that can appreciate.
Excuse me, I have to go infect cells with a nasty cow pox now. Later.