T.G.I.F., yet again!

So, it's the last day of what feels like a l-o-n-g week, but had really only been three days! Why is that? Is it because you've been off work and have to make a major adjustment of being back to work, or (what I beleive) is it because you are pre-programmed to think the three days will pass quickly and when they don't, you become discouraged? I dunno... I just know I'm glad it's Friday!

My friend B___ had an appointment, so we didn't go to lunch. Instead, I went home and, after a quick inventory of foodstuffs, went out to the nearest Kroger (not the big one I am used to on Five-Mile Road and Merriman, but a much smaller one on Telegraph Road). I just needed a few items, but things got a little weird. When I went to the check out, instead of multiple lanes with baggers, (like "my" Kroger's) there was just one lane (not even an express lane) with NO bagger. I counted and there were 18 people lined up at aisle #6! So, I went to the self-checkout, and that worked okay until I got to my one lousy bunch of green onions. I ended up with having the lady "overseer" come and help me (pissing off the 10 or 12 people waiting for me to finish). Tucked my tail between my legs and took the groceries back home. I ate some cheese and crackers back at the house for my lunch, BTW.

At 5:00 PM, I hit the road for home, again listening to "Bang the Drum." Okay, man, the weekend is here! After folding the laundry load of towels, etc., and putting them away, I got to work on the weekend dinner project. I am making something called "Warm-you-up Beans and Ham." So, I washed, sorted and put one pound of pinto beans in my Dutch oven, added 8 cups of water and (my own contribution) a bay leaf. I got it to boil, then turned the heat down to simmer and let 'er rip for another two minutes. Then I covered the pot, took it off the heat and let it sit for an hour. With a break in the action, I put the Paul Simon "Graceland" album on (loud!) and moved along!

Next, I made the classic Maitre d'Hotel Butter: two sticks of room temperature unsalted butter (I took them out at lunch time), 1/4 cup of fresh fine-chopped parsley, four teaspoons of fresh lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon of fresh cracked black pepper. Being a bit lazy, I used a hand mixer to incorporate everything. I put it on a large sheet of Saran Wrap, rolled it into about a 1 1/2 inch log and froze it. Why? Because it's supposed to get way above freezing this weekend and I have high hopes of grilling a steak outside. If I do, I want to top it with this butter, okay? And, it's good for a variety of meats, fish and fowl and compound butter keeps like forever in the freezer.

The lemon I used was fresh-squeezed from the half left over from Luanne's baked salmon dinner. But, there was a lot more than four teaspoons remaining. So, I took the leftover lemon juice (okay, so it should be lime to you purists) and little salt and a full shot of my Reposado 30-30, 100% agave tequila and saluted the upcoming weekend! I typically only use this tequila for recipes, having had some (okay a LOT) of experience in my youth with shots of tequila. Because of that, I normally no longer drink it! You will perhaps remember the story of the dearly departed Jimmy Hay, standing up (however briefly) on his motorcycle and then sliding on the pavement on his face; that was a tequila moment. Bad juju!!!

I finished and printed off the To Do list for this weekend and hung it on the side of the refrigerator. The timer went off, so I rinsed and drained the pinto beans, removed the Captain's secret touch, the bay leaf, put them back in the Dutch oven with one cup of medium diced onions and almost 2 pounds of smoked shoulder pork hocks, 1/8 of a teaspoon of fresh cracked black pepper and four cups of water. That went back on the burner and was brought up to a boil, then turned down to a simmer for 1 1/4 to 1 3/4 hours. You want to check on the beans every now and again and add more water if necessary. The beans should end up moist, not dried out or runny.

So, its time to think of my own dinner. The answer is clear! I warmed up the leftovers from yesterday's dinner in the microwave. I have a half a container of those little grape tomatoes, some of which are starting to go bad, so I put the remaining good ones in a bowl and topped them with Blue Cheese dressing for a different side salad. I grabbed a piece of the remaining sourdough bread and went to watch some TV.

I took the bean pot off at 1 1/4 hours. There's a bit more liquid than you'd want if you were going to eat it (and, if I was going to eat it tonight, the solution for that situation is to bring it back up to a boil, uncovered for a few more minutes to reduce the water some) but I will finish this off tomorrow, so, once cooled a bit, into the fridge it goes, and I go to bed and book.