Some food-related (mostly) things we enjoyed this past week:
We took a quick trip to Dallas last weekend — I had a hair appointment and Dan had an appointment with some BBQ. Â Pecan Lodge is by far the best barbecue in Dallas, and it’s well worth the return trip to Texas (so are my highlights). Â Not surprisingly, BBQ this good is also really popular, and people wait in line for hours to get it. Â Our friend Maynard clued us on to an easier way to get our meat fix faster by waiting in a much shorter line for those ordering at least 5 lbs of BBQ. Â Behold, “The Trough” — a sampler that includes brisket, pulled pork, sausages and ribs. Â Our friend was also kind enough to agree to help us eat the 5+ pounds of meat and brought his son and nephew to assist as well. Â Thanks Guys! Â One “Trough” would have been plenty, but Dan lives by the philosophy that anything worth doing is worth over-doing, so he ordered extra brisket and sausages too. Â A lot of meat was consumed that day — enough to satisfy Dan’s Texas BBQ cravings, at least until I’m due to get my roots touched up again.
No trip to Texas is complete without Tex-Mex, and we found a great place right across from our hotel. Â It was even warm enough to sit outside, which was a nice break from the “polar vortex” happening back in Chicago.
We recently discovered a new breakfast food to add to our weekday morning routine — 8 Grain Hot Cereal. Â It’s quick and easy to make, and it’s warm and filling on a cold day. Â It also makes delicious muffins. Â I followed the recipe on the package, but added a couple of overripe bananas, a few drops of vanilla extract and a little lemon zest. Â The muffins were light, fluffy and moist — not at all what you would expect from using whole grains.
I finally tackled one of the last remaining unpacking/organizing projects remaining from our move — my jewelry.  I love any and all jewelry, but most especially the cheap inexpensive costume stuff (lucky for Dan), of which I have a LOT.  It was quite a challenge to figure out how to store and display all of it in our new closet space, but it’s (mostly) done and I even have some storage space to spare.  Chicagoland Charming Charlie here I come!  Texas-based  Sam Moon will have to wait for Dan’s next Texas BBQ craving and my next hair appointment (which may or may not already be scheduled).
I’m a little late here—just recovering from the BBQ coma?—but thanks for including us. Next time, let’s take the BBQ to the hair salon!