Last week one of my favorite people returned from a semester of travel in the South. We celebrated with rye and a delicious seafood stew that she made in my kitchen. (I helped. And by “helped,” I mean I poured the rye.)
Mussels!
Sitting down to dinner: big bowls of stew, good cheese, and fancy olives. Yum!
Also, (local and happy) bacon and brussel sprouts. This year, one of my Christmas presents to myself was a small share in a local charcuterie CSA. On my way back into town from my parents’ house, I stopped in for some bacon to go with a huge bag of brussel sprouts I already had in the car. (Big bags of brussel sprouts were on sale in the grocery store near my parents’ house, and I couldn’t resist.)
This meal was so good I made it twice, including on New Year’s Eve. I can’t find the recipe I loosely followed (it might be this one), but basically I cooked the bacon in my big cast iron pan, added the brussel sprouts and a generous amount of salt and pepper, and then put them in the oven for about half an hour, stirring occasionally. The second time I made them, I added a little bit of balsamic at the end. These are pure magic.
Alright, off to make soup (and manhattans) at M’s place tonight! More soon.
barefoot rooster 
I love mussels, and the idea of cooking them in rye (instead of beer or wine) sounds amazing. We’re on a huge bourbon kick here at Caffeinated Yarn right now.
And a charcuterie CSA?!? You just blew my mind. I made Heidi’s recipe for gougères (that you recommended) twice in the past week, and they’re terrific. Not so terrific, however, was our friends’ insistence on calling them “cheesy biscuits.” :(
Yay for all of this! In fact, you just might have found the perfect way to start the semester.
Oh that seafood stew looks heavenly! I can smell it from here :)
You always peak my foodie interests with your amazing dishes. Brussel Sprouts with bacon are going to be a must for me this year!