New Year's Eve!

I'm cooking the fugg outta this year.

So far today:
1. Started the pot roast - my first pot roast ever, complete with the fresh pig's foot that the fanciest butcher in town (their beef tenderloin is $30/lb!) gave me for free (he also gave me a RIGHT ON when I said what I was doing with it... I probably should have invited him over), a 4 lb. roast that my favorite butcher sold to me legitimately, 1 1/2 lb. of carrots, 1/2 lb. mushrooms, 1 red pepper, 1/4 lb. olives, 1 qt. red wine, 1 c. bread crumbs, a bouquet of herbs, salt and pepper, all crammed into the dutch oven my folks gave me for Christmas. Then you seal the pot shut with a paste of flour and water and don't crack it til everyone's seated at the table. It's supposed to be a fantastic aphrodisiac. This is, of course, from Will Jones' Wild in the Kitchen.

2. Made Baba ghanouj- nom.

3. Baked pie crust and filled it with the bottom half of a chocolate pie. My first non-fruit pie ever. Also Will Jones.

4. Washed a pile of dishes.

5. Now I'm avoiding showering and starting the choux dough for my bacon fritters, but I'm sitting here feeling like a fancy pants anyway.

I love spoiling my friends for my birthday. I bought a lot of booze yesterday, including scotch and drambuie so I can make rusty nails to end my Jesus year like Jesus ended his. The fella who runs our liquor store also gave me a bottle of "cake" flavored vodka when I said it was for my birthday party. Hey-o! I had the magic yesterday.