Caustic Brownies
We went to BIL/W's (G's bro and sis in law's) new house last night for dinner because we couldn't find a good way to get out of it. This was the second time they invited us. We couldn't go to the first shindig because we were already going to Miss Ali's first birthday party and told them so. I don't think they believed us because they made some snarky comments to G's mom about our not bending over backwards to see their monument to excess, I mean, their new house. Whatever. Then there was the debate about why it's not exactly convenient for us to go up there.
The seem to like the idea of Sunday night dinners. Swell. There are lots of problems with this plan of theirs. First, they live 40 miles north of us and we have no reason to make the drive on Sunday nights. Second, we would just as soon stay home on Sunday evenings unless there is something we really want to do or someone we really want to see. Third, I don't always enjoy their company. Despite all of this, we went, even though we knew we would have our noses rubbed in how they own a house and we don't. It's a beautiful house, but it's not very warm and seems to act like there aren't small kids living there.
It was the whole family: BIL/W and 4 of their 5 kids (the eldest lives out of town with her fiance), G's parents, and G's sister (who has the same name as I do -- which makes things like sending e-mail to G's mom a bit confusing for her). It was fine. Dinner was fine. Conversation was fine, notwithstanding people's efforts to one up each other. I ducked out of that, choosing instead to discuss soap operas with W. It could have been way worse.
Then it was time for dessert. W made brownies: caramel/pecan topped ones for the grown ups and plain ones for the kids. I took a bite and it was pretty tasty, but then I felt this weird burning in the back of my throat. One doesn't expect that from baked goods. Did someone accidentally spill in some bleach? Or cayenne pepper? G's sister finally asks about the burning in her throat. I finally went and asked W about the burning issue, after first complimenting her cooking because I'm all about making nice with the in-laws. She said she used spiced pecans. Hmmmm. Chocolate and spicy.* It might have been nice to have been warned about this, rather than worrying that I had been poisoned. But then W is a big fan of mixing things up, like the Thanksgiving she made "savory stuffing" with too many ingredients or last year when she hosted Christmas dinner and neglected to remove the string from the roast beef. I guess she thought we needed some fiber...
The benefit of dinner on a Sunday night was that it was a short evening. On the way home, we stopped at In n Out Burger for shakes and fries because he thought I needed a treat. God, I love him.
*Alton Brown puts some cayenne in his hot cocoa mix, but only a pinch. Of course, he also explains why. And he's just cool. W, not so much.
The seem to like the idea of Sunday night dinners. Swell. There are lots of problems with this plan of theirs. First, they live 40 miles north of us and we have no reason to make the drive on Sunday nights. Second, we would just as soon stay home on Sunday evenings unless there is something we really want to do or someone we really want to see. Third, I don't always enjoy their company. Despite all of this, we went, even though we knew we would have our noses rubbed in how they own a house and we don't. It's a beautiful house, but it's not very warm and seems to act like there aren't small kids living there.
It was the whole family: BIL/W and 4 of their 5 kids (the eldest lives out of town with her fiance), G's parents, and G's sister (who has the same name as I do -- which makes things like sending e-mail to G's mom a bit confusing for her). It was fine. Dinner was fine. Conversation was fine, notwithstanding people's efforts to one up each other. I ducked out of that, choosing instead to discuss soap operas with W. It could have been way worse.
Then it was time for dessert. W made brownies: caramel/pecan topped ones for the grown ups and plain ones for the kids. I took a bite and it was pretty tasty, but then I felt this weird burning in the back of my throat. One doesn't expect that from baked goods. Did someone accidentally spill in some bleach? Or cayenne pepper? G's sister finally asks about the burning in her throat. I finally went and asked W about the burning issue, after first complimenting her cooking because I'm all about making nice with the in-laws. She said she used spiced pecans. Hmmmm. Chocolate and spicy.* It might have been nice to have been warned about this, rather than worrying that I had been poisoned. But then W is a big fan of mixing things up, like the Thanksgiving she made "savory stuffing" with too many ingredients or last year when she hosted Christmas dinner and neglected to remove the string from the roast beef. I guess she thought we needed some fiber...
The benefit of dinner on a Sunday night was that it was a short evening. On the way home, we stopped at In n Out Burger for shakes and fries because he thought I needed a treat. God, I love him.
*Alton Brown puts some cayenne in his hot cocoa mix, but only a pinch. Of course, he also explains why. And he's just cool. W, not so much.
posted by JenL at
4:59 PM
1 Comments:
Good thing she didn't know about the wasabi nuts they sell in Hawaii. THAT would have been fun.
"But they're green! They looked festive!"
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Anonymous, at 11:37 AM
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