Sunday, January 06, 2008

Unseasonably warm

As out-of-touch as I am with the cycle of the seasons of late, I am pretty certain that 54F is unusually warm for a January evening. Tomorrow we're slated to get into the 60s, which is downright ludicrous. Anyhow, given the balminess and the fact that the Munchkin took a three hour nap this afternoon, I decided to take on some long-overdue cleanup outside - specifically, cleaning up all the pots on the front porch. It's really easy to get blasé about them, since they are under cover and the odds are pretty decent that they would survive the winter anyhow, but the pots of dead plants (and a decidedly ex-pumpkin) just made the house look abandoned. Anyhow, the pots are now happily ensconced in the garage, and everything else is in the compost pile. If the weather holds for Tuesday, I might do some pruning around the yard. What else do real gardeners do in January warm spells? I also made brisket tonight for dinner. Other than using an extra garlic clove and substituting a few shallots when I ran short of onion, I actually stuck to the recipe, which is really unusual for me unless we're testing something for Cooks Illustrated. Anyhow, it was amazing. I'd chosen this weekend to do it because it takes four hours or so and I thought it would be nice for the cold weather. Well, it works in warmish weather too. And the beef was spectacular. If we ever get some freezer space back, I'll be ordering another one. Meanwhile, perhaps seconds are in order?

4 people have weighed in:

tommyspoon held forth

Gosh that sounds really good! Oh the sandwiches that will yield!

Alison held forth

That's my hope for tonight's festival of leftovers. Remember the roast beef sandwiches at Colonel Brooks'? That's what I am aiming for (although the beef won't be rare).

lemming held forth

IMHO, you can never have too much garlic.

Alison held forth

I totally agree, lemming. Whenever a recipe calls for a single clove of garlic, we always have to add a second one, just so the first one doesn't get lonely *grin*.