January DNI: A Winter BBQ

If I could speak to myself on the day of my wedding, this is what I would say…

I understand you’re a bit scared. You’re young and you are about to make a decision that will affect the rest of your life. You think it’s the right choice; you think you love him. But what really is love? I know that is what you are thinking because I am you.

                -Ashley Rodriguez, DNI p. 217

Ashley and I are soulmates. She is just far better at expressing ourselves in words than I am. I am thankful to have someone, albeit someone I have never met personally, a few years down the road in marriage and parenting who can express so vividly and poignantly the journey. Her words are reassuring and challenging. And her food is unbelievable. (We are not soulmates in this area…I’m just a copycat.)

Roy and I picked this DNI for a couple of reasons. It has a cocktail, but we don’t have to hide the fact anymore that I’m not drinking cocktails, so those DNIs are back on the table. It also has a BBQ pulled pork sandwich that looked out of this world incredible. We did NOT pick this DNI for baked beans, because neither of us care for baked beans. They are too sweet and syrupy and mushy and overpowering. This should indicate to you how badly we wanted the pulled pork.

Menu:

-BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Apple and Radicchio Slaw

-Baked Beans

-Oranges with Avocado, Olives, and Mint

-Milk Punch

-Ritz Cracker Mendiants

This was a time-intensive DNI. There were marinades and sauces to make, salads to assemble and bread to bake. Crackers to dip in melted chocolate and lots of and lots of garlic and salt. We got the whole family involved.

Owen helped me smell the Tangy Muscovado Barbeque Sauce as it simmered on the stove. I wish I could replicate his face—normally he’s up for tasting/trying any new adventure. He stuck his nose over the pot and his eyes shot up to the sky as he coughed out, “SPAH-CY!!” I couldn’t get him to taste it. (It was pretty spahcy.)

James is a pro at making the mendiants by now. He was eager to help decorate the dipped crackers with dried cherries, cashews, and flake salt. We made a couple cashew-less for Owen to enjoy as well.

Roy and I worked pretty much all day Tuesday to get everything finished and ready. I rubbed the pork down on Monday night and made dough for the rolls. Tuesday was go day. We stayed at home ALL DAY. Seriously, didn’t leave the house (I think I might have stuck my head out the door to check the mailbox but that was IT). The boys ran around and we read books and drank coffee and had Sabbath. And after the boys were happily bedded we sat down to feast.

I should preface our feast with Roy burning the baked beans, which we weren’t excited about anyway. They definitely stuck to the bottom of the pan “because Ashley didn’t say anything about stirring them.” My response, “So you probably stirred the burned part all through the rest huh?” “…Yeah…”

We weren’t expecting much there.

But. BUT. GUESS WHAT?

The baked beans were UNBELIEVABLE. Like, how fast can we make these again unbelievable. They reminded me a little bit of the pumpkin gratin dish withshallot crumbs we had last year. They were baconey and a little sweet, but not wet or sickly overwhelming. The “burned” bits added a nice caramelization without tasting burnt. I don’t know, maybe that’s what she meant us to do… Anyway, we devoured them and are both converts. Roy commented, “I’m eating baked beans AND olives in the same meal and actually LOVING them.”

Just trust me on this, OK?

Awww. We’re growing up.

The sandwiches were incredible. We didn’t ever doubt this. We topped our rubbed, marinated, BBQ-sauced pork with a light slaw of tart apple, radicchio, and cilantro. The buns were buttered and toasted. The sauces dripped out and got mopped back up again (with rolls…or fingers). 3 lbs of pork makes a lot of sandwich materials, so we had more the next day and I’m already counting down the minutes ‘til lunch. Daniel and Emily, we thought of YOU with this dish.

Cilantro is the herb of the gods.

The salad of oranges, avocado, olives, mint, and salt was refreshing. One of those combos where we’ve just learned to trust that she knows what she’s talking about. We don’t doubt her anymore. It was very light and sweet/salt/tangy/bright all at once. Simple and elegant.

Look at that little triangle of salt. So fancy!

Mendiants are good. We know this. Not really a very DNI dessert as far as being super-rich/drowned in cream, but that was fine for a change. And we skipped the milk punch. We didn’t have bourbon and Roy opted not to make a big investment in a bottle if only one of us would drink it.

On a personal note, it was really, really nice to eat DNI food and enjoy it. The sausage pizza from December was rough. I knew it was amazing but I could barely choke down a single tiny piece. Hooray for second trimester and food being incredible again. (Hopefully not too incredible…those checkups always involve the scale!)

“In case you do read this, you should know that you are making the right decision. But you don’t really know love. The love you feel, anxiously awaiting that glimmer in his eyes when he sees you for the first time in your wedding dress and for the last time you aren’t his wife, that love is just the start.

There will be days when the butterflies don’t flutter as rapidly as you think they should and you will question love. You will resent him for shining light on parts of you that are selfish or unflattering. He won’t complete you in the way you expect. But love isn’t simply about how he makes you feel; love is a choice and love is action.”

DNI, p. 217