Ringing in 2013

Well Happy New Year, y'all! I'm a little late on this, aren't I? Like everyone else, I'm winding down the craziest time of year for me. Let's have a look at how it all went.

I rang in the New Year in Alabama with the Moon Pie Drop.

Christmas brunch had two kinds of Eggs Benedict-- the traditional and a crab version. And probably the best hollandaise I've ever had, courtesy of my cousin Casey.

I finished off my birthday night with a shot of peppermint schnapps in a little chocolate cup. It was rough...and delicious.

My cousin Erin totally surprised us all by decorating the table at my birthday lunch. It was so sweet and so wonderful. She's an event planner. You should totally hire her.

Erin had also set up a little bottle of champagne and chocolates. Oh and Bistro 217 also surprised me with tiramisu. Honestly, I'm not even a big tiramisu fan, but it was beyond lovely. Seriously, a great birthday lunch.

My sister and I made a tacky Christmas sweatshirt for an oyster roast. It turned out awesomely bad, including an actual bow pinned to it and jingle bells sewn on.

I've only recently moved back to Columbia full-time, but I tell you the cover bands at Tin Roof never disappoint. This here is the Twang Bangers from Johnson City, Tennessee.

Roast beast! No really, it was a massive prime rib that Roddy cooked beautifully. 

I was SO ready for our bowl game. I had my cup, scarf, sweatshirt, t-shirt, and bracelet. A win made it all worth it. 

Naked buns. These Gingery Cinnamon Rolls were a decadent birthday morning treat.

I still am craving orange & cinnamon together. Look for that combination to make an appearance soon.

A New Year means new goals. So far I've got:

• Run a 10k. I accomplished my goal of running a 5k last year, so this year I'm aiming for a 10k. I'm pretty sure I'm doing the Charleston Bridge Run in April, which will make sure I train and get it done.
• Make my own butter. Mostly because Emily got me a little DIY kit. C'mon, if anyone's going to make butter it's gonna be me.
• Make good bread to go with that butter. It was on my list last year but got lost in the shuffle.
• Visit a city I've never explored. Now that I work in the travel industry, I feel like this is important and quite likely.
• Find a place to live and make it my own. It'll be my first grown-up apartment, and I want to start collecting pieces that mean something to me. I've got a few things already, so I'm not starting from scratch. It's more about the atmosphere I create for myself moving forward. Maybe I'll even give y'all a tour.

New Year's Supper

Well I certainly hope y'all are having a wonderful start to the new year.  I know I am with a Carolina win today and our first 11-win season.  It was a great game...for us.  I could say some not-so-nice things about Nebraska, but in the interest of keeping things positive I'll keep my mouth pleasantly closed.

I celebrated in Alabama, where I'm still staying.  The new year also marks my 4-year anniversary with Will.  I intentionally made our anniversary a memorable date since he's famously bad with months and dates and such business.

In Mobile, they drop a big ol' Moon Pie.  It's the best product placement I've ever seen.  I can only imagine the crowd celebrates with an RC Cola instead of champagne.  Because no other beverage complements a Moon Pie like an RC Cola.

We had a pretty traditional Southern New Year's supper.  Black eyed peas cooked with some bacon over rice represents good luck in the coming year.  Many Southerners eat the peas as Hoppin' John, a lovely dish of black eyed peas with onion over rice...cooked with pork of course.  Even our vegetables aren't really vegetarian.

I cooked up some collards, and for the first time ever actually enjoyed them.  Y'all, I've been trying to like collards for years now.  I think my taste buds finally changed because I thoroughly enjoyed these silky greens cooked down with a ham hock, fatback, a little vinegar, and some sugar.  At the top of the picture you can see the bottle of hot pepper vinegar.  Hot pepper vinegar is a must for greens of all kinds.  Cornbread is a must for greens as well.  Collards represent prosperity in the new year, so it's best to eat a whole mess of 'em.

The most ironic portion of the plate is the fatback.  Not everyone in the South eats fatback as part of the New Year's meal, but my family most definitely does.  It's supposed to represent good health in the new year.  How eating a bunch of salty pork fat makes you healthy, I'll never know.  But I eat it because it's tasty.  You can also render the fat and use it in your cornbread.  Truth.

I filled up a cookie jar and have slowly been working on its contents.  I've had a little help :)  I'm hoping to get a real post up while I'm here in Bama, so keep a look out this week!