I suspect it will be just my daughter and me, and possibly a toddler grandchild if I get pressed into babysitting duty (which would be fine). I will assuredly be watching bowl games, so I go with the snacky stuff for the entire holiday weekend:
- Beer candied bacon. Bacon on a rack in a roasting pan, brushed two or three times with a combo of beer and brown sugar while it's cooking at 400 degrees.
- Blinis and caviar, with mimosas, for NY Day morning while watching the parade. Also latkes, also with caviar. I intend to eat an entire two-ounce portion of caviar.
- Black eyed pea "cassoulet," peas cooked with tomatoes and smoked sausage, seasoned with smoked paprika, then baked with a breadcrumb topping.
- Cole slaw (since I don't care for cooked greens)
- Scalloped pineapple, mostly because I have fresh pineapple and cherries I need to use
- Fig and olive tapenade (which I need to go ahead and make today or tomorrow so the flavors can be blending in the fridge)
- Cheese, crackers, pickles, olives, etc.
Must make some small baguettes to cut up and toast for crostini.
That should be a gracious plenty. I have in the past made a big baked Reuben -- rye bread dough rolled relatively thin, topped with corned beef and swiss and Russian dressing, sides cut into strips and woven over the top, cut into sandwich sized chunks and served with a side of sauerkraut. Good, but lends itself to a crowd and I don't plan for one of those. I'll save that for taking to a Super Bowl potluck.
A happy, happy anniversary to you and Ronnie, Shelby! Many more!
