holiday beer and birthday brownies

We’re officially one year out from Thanksgiving 2024. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday last week, filled with pie and (fried) turkey and whatever amount of alcohol you needed to withstand the company you were with. I was in St. Louis, where many turkeys were fried, some alcohol was consumed and I got to see some of my favorite people in the world. Back to reality, now, which means I guess I need to stop eating dessert after all three meals.

this year's fried bird + creamed spinach, which was my contribution to the abundance of sides at our dinner

… omelettes for dinner. This was a staple in my house growing up. Every few weeks, it was breakfast for dinner, and dinner-breakfast centered around my mom’s cheesy omelettes. Somehow, I ended up with her best omelette pan in my kitchen, and lately, I’ve been following in her footsteps. I’m working on refining my methods — which is to say, pretending I’m Julia Child and going ham with butter — and I have to say, I think I’ve found the perfect hack for nights when I don’t have time to cook and would rather not get takeout.

… brownies. It’s my birthday on Wednesday, and I don’t know that I have it in me to make my own cake. But as someone with an extreme sweet tooth, I will definitely require a birthday dessert, and I think I’ve landed on brownies. Ina Garten’s, specifically — but without nuts. I’m not a nuts-in-brownies lady.