I love a good long weekend, don’t you? Mine was extra long and extra good. And let me just say – if you’re hungry you might want to click away right now because other than a cute photo of Jackie and documenting that we took down our Christmas tree, well, the rest is ALL food.
So. Here’s the cute photo of Jackie. I took him off Eryk’s hands for a while on Friday afternoon and we had a grand time. He ate and slept and I took pictures of him and tried to get him to laugh. I think Eryk appreciated the break as last week was Jessica’s first full week back to work and I know I loved having him all to myself for an extended period of time. Look for more of this on future Fridays.
Nothing interferes with Friday Night Snacks, though. I feel like I should trademark that term since so many people tell me how much they enjoy seeing this photo every week. Seriously, wherever I go around town and such, someone stops me and tells me how good our snacks always look. I’ve got to tell you, 90% of the time it’s just cheese & crackers but stick it on a pretty plate and wa-la you’re Martha Freakin’ Stewart. All joking aside, I am a firm believer in the concept of food needs to look good in order to taste good and if I’m going to repeatedly not cook on Friday nights then I need to make it look like more than just cheese & crackers on a plate. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
On Saturday we took down the Christmas tree. Boo. But it was time and, even though I miss getting up every morning and saying “Alexa, turn on the tree” it does feel good to have the living room back to normal.
And just in time for the Pats game, too. Jo-Ann and Shawn joined us and we had a great afternoon of football, first watching the Eagles beat the Falcons (sorry, Mary) and then seeing the home team send the Titans right on back to Tennessee. We had special snacks because play off games are special occasions and these Salted Brown Butter Crispy Treats from Smitten Kitchen made for a fantastic dessert after the chicken alfredo dip, buffalo chicken wings and meatball sandwiches!
Sunday, in an attempt to redeem ourselves, we had fruit with our poached eggs instead of bacon or sausage. Did I tell you about these poached eggs already? I’m using the Julia Child method and it is working so well for me. Poached is one of my favorite ways to enjoy eggs and I’ve never been good at it until now. So yeah, basically I want a poached egg every day now.
We went to the movies in the afternoon and saw The Darkest Hour. So so fabulous. Gary Oldman was fantastic as Churchill and the movie is great. We came home and made homemade ricotta to have with some toasted baguette. It was delicious and really pretty simple. Oh wait – did I tell you we took a cheese making class last week? We did and it was fun and we were eager to try out what we learned before we forgot how to do it.
On Monday we hung around, took care of some errands and stuff at home and then watched Dunkirk. Yes, the Oscar challenge of seeing every best nominated picture is ON. The nominees won’t be announced until a week from today but any advance watching we can get in is good and we’ve seen some great ones so far, including Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missourri, The Beguiled, and Get Out. Hopefully we will see The Post this week as well.
We ended the evening with several episodes of The Crown, along with a nightcap of bourbon and licorice pipes. It was lovely.
Wowza! We packed a lot into that weekend! Hope yours was great and full of all the things you love to do, too.
Y’all really know how to throw a weekend, y’know??? 🙂 Great fun; great food; great entertainment. Plus Jackie! XO
Thanks for the food warning! I’m fasting for some tests later this morning, and was doing okay until I got to the crispy treats. I am glad you didn’t post photos of the chicken alfredo dip and buffalo wings! I don’t watch football, but I’m thinking I might need to start just for the snacks.
What a great weekend Carole! I may just have to plan some special treats for next Sunday!
I’ve had Oscar Nomination Announcement Day on my calendar for a while… I CAN’T WAIT!! I’ve seen a few likely noms already, but have also penciled in the dates for another year of the Best Picture Festival! Yahoo!
What a fantastic weekend! Good company, good food, good times! XO
You put on a great weekend!
Awesome looking food as always ? Love seeing what you put together!
Never heard of licorice pipes before. I love black licorice so I’m sure they’re awesome! ?
(They were supposed to be smiley faces, not question marks that showed up 🙂
Silly me!!
You pack more into your weekends than most of us do in a month. Love the last picture with bourbon and licorice pipes!
When my kids were growing up, Friday night was usually pizza & on Sunday night I served “Picky Supper”, which was basically a roll out of left overs from the week, supplemented as needed with extra stuff. The kids could *pick* what they wanted to eat.
I’m glad the obligatory picture of Jackie was on this post. It sets the tone, makes me smile. As usual, I am very impressed with your weekend. You cram so much into a weekend, Carole! While staying at home, you continue to live large! The food all looks scrumptious, and I am going to have to try the poached egg method. I stink at poached eggs, but we both like them, especially with toast points. And I have never actually seen a licorice pipe even though I have read about them repeatedly via Armand Gamache.
Wowza! that WAS a weekend! I love that Jackie Fridays really might be a thing. and since it’s almost 6pm as I’m reading this, I LOVE all the food. We’ve made Smitten Kitchen’s (we call her Deb 😉 homemade ricotta with roasted grapes and olives as a holiday appetizer the last few years. Obviously it’s a favorite (and it’s easy … as long as you have the ingredients and start the day before).
OK, because I find the concept of these digital assistants a little off putting, I’d probably still be telling Alexa to turn on the tree. Just because it would annoy her. But then, we also ask Siri if she knows Alexa and if they are friends or frenemies. We’re not luddites, just ornery. And you might need to show us more about that ricotta making thing.
“Alexa turn on the tree”-ha I LOVE it. Hopefully next year I’ll live in a place big enough where I can justify getting my own Alexa-maybe by then she’ll learn to fold laundry and do the dishes!