COOKIN' UP SUNSHINE

We’ve had sunshine!! It’s been scarce and sparse, and sorta grudging of its rays, but the twinkle on the shining glass pitchers on the fridge, and the pattern of the lacy beams---I just stood and looked my eyes full.




And Chris has not been deterred. You know that snow/gloom of night thing? Well, I do believe there are die-hard Weber owners whose grilling would go on in a blizzard. I’ve stood out there and held an umbrella over the food so as not to let the snow/rain fall upon it as it sizzled and he turned and sauced and plattered. I am married to the Champeen Griller of all time.

One night during the iciest, snowiest time, with a little break in the downfall, he was out there with a big platter of country ribs, just working away.

I did a skillet of “baked” beans and a little bowl of baby red potato salad (I SO apologize for my lack of camera skills---I do well to get my hands dried before I go scurrying for the camera, to get a quick snap while the food's still hot or cold).

Along with a pan of stir-fried cabbage with garlic and soy, some snow peas and dip, and some of those just-made bread and butter pickles, you might think you were at a summer cook-out.

About four of these same ribs, left over, went into the oven in foil a couple of nights later, with Sweet Baby Ray's, brown sugar, and lots of onion and garlic. We had those with jalapeno cornbread, a pot of snap beans and baby potatoes, and a salad.

We didn’t do anything to observe the Superbowl. We DID have a nice supper while it was going on---a Sam’s rotisserie chicken, warm and savory and perfect. Caro made some black-skillet-on-the-stove salt-roasted potatoes---little scrubbed half-size bakers with a couple of cups of Kosher salt in the bottom of the skillet, and a handful of fennel seeds thrown in.

I got out the dish of leftover spaghetti---made on a whim the day before, with nobody home but me---a can of diced tomatoes and a packet of plain old store-brand spaghetti-sauce seasoning. It’s one of the comfort foods from long ago, when the ease and the economy of a meal in a hurry was the thing, with everybody in from school and doing homework, and the short time we seemed to have at home evaporating into the night.

I two-layered the pasta into a pie plate, with a layer of mozzarella between and on top, and baked it a bit while I made the slaw---finely-shredded cabbage, with a sweet sesame dressing. The last hunk of the loaf of Italian bread, all slathered with garlic butter and nestled in foil, went into the oven to crisp the crust and let the buttery middle get all melty.

We ate on little trays,

and spent the still-icy evening watching several of our saved-up White Collars of the new season. We love a clever plot (especially if it’s plotted against the bad guys---like Burn Notice and Leverage both are, as well) and after Indiana Jones as #2, ole Neal Caffrey rocks a hat in the #3 spot (With Chris in #1, of course). And the wonderful married couple are so rock-solid and real, it's a joy to see on TV. (Isn't that an odd thing to say---the dearth of TV families who LIKE each other is astounding and dismaying, isn't it?)

And to account for all this good cooking, we’ve been doing a lot of dancin’.

And you?