Dazed and confused? Not me. I’m just Lost in the Cheese Aisle.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

AN EVENING FOR COCOONING

Winter has come early to the Atlanta area.

A few days ago, we had snow flurries - enough to leave visible accumulation on the grass. No big deal, especially to anyone who grew up in the Cold North Woods, but still a harbinger of a rough season.

Yesterday morning arrived with temperatures below 20°F, and to make things even more frigid, the winds blew at a steady 20-30 MPH. Sweet.

Today wasn’t much better... and when the sleet started in mid-afternoon, things started to go downhill. As She Who Must Be Obeyed and I were leaving our trainer’s place this evening, I noticed a sinister glaze on the bushes - just in time to prevent us from taking a header on the icy steps. We shuffled our way to where our cars were parked and took it nice and slow driving home. Now the weather reports are filled with winter weather advisories. Ooooooh, slippery!

One good thing about a cold, rainy, icy night like this: It’s perfect for cocooning. It’s the kind of night when you want to have a supper that sticks to your ribs... and then curl up in bed. And when you want a meal that sticks to your ribs, there’s nothing quite like, well, ribs!

Talk about serendipity. Earlier in the day, I had fixed up a mess of braised beef short ribs. These I served forth with some roasted zucchini; baked sweet potato; and sautéed beet greens with red onion, garlic, and dried currants. To wash it all down? A glass of He’Brew Rejewvenator, a seasonal brew containing a whiff of Concord grape juice - a perfect counterpoint to the Cabernet Sauvignon and ruby Port in which I braised the ribs. (And what better to hold that fine beverage than one of my Heroes of the Torah glasses?)

It’s wet, windy, and icy outside, but it’s warm as toast here in the heart of Chez Elisson with my sweet SWMBO by my side. What do you do when the thermometer takes a dip?

3 comments:

Joan of Argghh! said...

I snuggle up with my little Asus notebook and read Lost in the Cheese Aisle!

Danielle said...

(The short answer to your question is I like to bake in bad weather.)

Five hours later, it was a journey worthy of a Gilligan's Island theme song re-write. Except Kay didn't know who Gilligan was, why he had a show about an island or why a 3 hour tour was such a cultural icon in my childhood. I will say she was a trouper even though she did not see the potential adventure in spending the night camping in a Toyota. She also did not find my offer to put the top down so we could look at the stars appealing, either. :)

Laura said...

Oh, those ribs look delish.