Back in early January, I proclaimed my intention to re-do the 21 Day Challenge (after being primal for 2 years). After a long road trip, subsequent vacation, long road trip back, and then a long, cold, dark winter, I felt as if I needed a primal re-fresh. The 80/20 was slipping to 70/30 or even worse. So on 1/6, I started The Challenge. Some of my friends at work were also trying to eat better, so I invited everyone over for a Primal Potluck to be held on 2/8 to celebrate our success.
Well, if you read this blog, you know that my plan ran into some snags, so I fell of the wagon. We still had the Potluck, however. This winter has been brutal, and hanging out with friends and eating good food makes one evening of it less brutal.
I originally invited 6 other couples, which including Tim and me, would have made 16 people and one oblivious chihuahua in our little house. I would have loved to have everyone though – the more the merrier, right?? Well, it ended up that only 2 other couples could make it, and the 6 of us made a full, merry household.
For the main course, I made this Texas Oven-Roasted Beef Brisket. I usually use honey instead of sugar, but we were all out, so we used organic sugar instead. Also, instead of the beef stock, I used home-made bone broth. It turned out very tasty!
For a side dish, I made Chipotle Slaw. To be more exact, Tim and I made Chipotle Slaw. As I was chopping the cilantro, I wasn’t paying close enough attention to what I was doing. I sliced off the right 1/3 of my left index fingernail. It hurt like a mother. Tim had to take over chopping duties, after tossing the fingernail-tainted cilantro. Despite the drama, the slaw turned out quite tasty and went well with the brisket. I also defrosted the chicken liver pate I made a couple of weeks ago (read more here). We served it with Blue Diamond Almond Nut Thins. People said it tasted better than it looked as if it would taste – which is a compliment I will take. I think the flavor did improve whilst in the freezer. It tasted more like braunschweiger the second time around, which is a good thing.
For dessert, I hazarded a new recipe – Lemon Basil Cookies. I was intrigued by the idea of basil in a sweet dessert. These turned out fabulous! They have the consistency of a peanut butter cookie – very dense and flavorful. They go great with coffee and are not too sweet. I cross-hatched the top with a fork like you do with peanut butter cookies, and they looked beautiful when baked. Everyone liked them, or at least said they did. 😉
Our guests brought a delicious array of food as well – French wine, a salad with endive, radicchio, apples, walnuts, capers, avocado and a lot of other stuff, baked salmon with fresh dill, dark chocolate bars, bacon-wrapped shrimp, and bacon-wrapped pineapple. It was a smorgasbord of tastiness. Oh! And we bought a Bota Box of wine – the Redvolution. For $17.99, you get a box full of the equivalent of 4 bottles of wine. It’s pretty good too, for wine that average $4.50 a bottle. While searching for wine, I picked up a bottle of Pinot Nior for $9.99 and a bottle of Malbec for $10.99, but then I heard Mr. Money Mustache’s in my ear. I decided to be frugal and smart instead of a fancy pants, and went with the cheaper (probably just as tasty) alternative.
Hmm. Am I forgetting anything? Oh yes. Well, this is not primal at all, but a friend of mine got me a cheesecake for my birthday. While I absolutely love cheesecake, it does not love me. I had a piece at work on Friday, and on my way home experienced one of my old anxiety spells at a stoplight. I just can’t handle the sugar/dairy that well any more. However, my adoration of cheesecake is so intense, that I will continue to eat it if it’s in my house, despite the deleterious affects. To relieve myself from that personal demon, I served the rest of the cheesecake to our guests. Everyone loved it.
While the whole supper was not strictly primal, it was a really fun evening, with interesting company, really tasty food (that was mostly really good for you), and good conversation. Maybe we’ll do it again in February 2015!
Well, Tim and I need to head off to the pool before we cross over that hump where we don’t get out of our pajamas all day. Hope you have a great Sunday!
