Well. It was one of those weekends. You know, the kind where you wake up Tuesday (!) morning and don't even feel like you had a weekend. Despite the extra day (thank you, Mr. Presidents), I have no idea what happened to my time off, except that Boy Scout has new suits (!), I have a new knitting project (!!), and we did an awful lot of Nigella redux cooking.
There was firstly the epic fail version of Grasshopper Pie, which failed probably because I substituted (by necessity, not choice) one cup of marshmallows with one cup of Fluff. We think (because we don't actually know) that this caused a distinct lack of setting. In other words, we ate Grasshopper Soup for dessert on Sunday night, and I continue to weep at odd moments throughout the day.
Last night was much more successful, when the Scout and I re-made the Carbonnade a la Flammande (Beer Braised Beef Deliciousness) for my grandparents. This time we did away with the initial oil and let the bacon (yummy, healthy/happy pig bacon from Vermont) provide all of the grease we needed... The result was much lighter, and much less rich. This might also be due to the fact that we actually used a dark ale this time (hello, Newcastle) instead of Guinness. Also making a HUGE difference: The from-scratch allspice made by Granny Jones (Did you know it's just equal parts cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves? Us neither!), which was far more fragrant and flavorful than its jarred counterpart. Don't buy allspice, kids. Make it.
Whoever named allspice was exaggerating.
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