dutch oven.

Well, we didn't come close to winning Team Trivia last night, but 1) we did have a perfect first half 2) good god was our waitress cute 3) Mara impressively guessed that the airline begun in 1948 whose name means "skyward" is El-Al but 4) she talked herself out of it 5) we learned that if the question is "what movie beat out Scent of A Woman, The Crying Game, and A Few Good Men for Best Picture Oscar"...

...the year is 1992 (we were off by one), and the answer is The Unforgiven. What a shitty year for Hollywood movies that must have been: Scent Of A Woman is unwatchable, and A Few Good Men is one step up from a Grisham movie. No wonder we didn't get it. Well, OK, it was probably also the year that the four of us were least likely to care about movies in general: we had probably all just realized that we were supposed to be adults soon.

So, New Year's has changed a bit. We're now doing pulled pork with sides. Against the wishes of my advisers I am lobbying for a good coleslaw, a corn pudding, hoppin' john, and a collard green/andouille  soup. I have to do the collards b/c I already bought them.

Here's the up-to-the-minute menu.

Carolina Pulled Pork Sandwich.
Mara's Homemade Buns?
Jeanie's Slaw.
Pepperoni Niblets.
Deviled Eggs.
Gorgonzola + Whisky Spread.
Collard Greens and Andouille Soup.
Corn Pudding.
Corn Pudding (substituting cornmeal for the flour).
Corn Pudding.

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 collard green + andouille soup.

EVOO
2 links andouille sausage, diced
1 medium onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
1 pound collard greens, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 large sprigs fresh thyme
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
salt and pepper to taste
4 tbsp butter, browned
2 cloves garlic, minced

grated parmegiano reggiano for garnish

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