Margs
This weekend was one of those weekend where the evening activities made it feel like a non-stop weekend, even though the daytimes were relatively low key.
Friday was the annual meeting for my company. That evening, spouses and significant others joined us for our annual dinner out. I don’t talk about work much here and I’m not going to start today. But, this is my 10th year with the company. And after a strong year for our firm, plus some closures personally for a few employees, let’s just say everyone was in a really good place personally and professionally, and it was one of the best dinners we’ve had in years.
Saturday, Sweets and I got started on Mexican Style Pulled Pork* in the slow cooker and then I was off to an AAUW luncheon with Sweets’ mom. On my way home, I stopped by Whole Foods to pick up a few items I had forgotten. Our friends arrived around 6:00. First, it was a friend who owns a salon, his wife (whom I worked with about a decade ago) and their two beautiful girls. Next up was a woman who was my roommate about a decade ago (who now lives in L.A.) and her boyfriend (who lives in the Chicago suburbs).
We started with homemade salsa and guacamole with chips. We made Foolproof Margaritas* that we sucked down entirely too quickly (and then made more batches, because yes, they were that good!). We made fried plantains. A cabbage salad with homemade lime-cilantro vinaigrette. Pulled pork tacos with all the fixin’s. And we finished off the meal with these stupid, good chocolate chip cookies with brownie in the middle (I’m not quite sure how they’re made, but damn they were good)!
These friends are people I’ve known for a decade. I’ve grown up in front of them. A night with them is an incredibly special treat. I mean, seriously special. We laughed hard. Drank hard. Ate hard. And loved hard. It was such a fun night. Maybe too much fun based on how some people felt on Sunday morning.
Not me, of course. I was a champ. I went to a morning Bikram yoga class with a girlfriend. (Let it be noted, I would not have made this class alone. However, she stayed out until 4AM and was able to muster the energy to go. I had to join her!) But, it felt good to sweat out those toxins. In fact, I probably should have stayed for a second class, because I had a lot of toxins to sweat out! Ha.The rest of the day was spent with laundry and dishes (though my gal pals helped in a major way the night before – there was minimal clean-up on Sunday) and SoMi and my couch. It was a glorious way to spend a damp, chilly Sunday afternoon.
What was a highlight from your weekend?
* Foolproof Margarita involves a bottle of beer, tequila, triple sec, frozen/condensed limeade, ice and a quick go-round in the blender. Holy shit, they’re good!
The Mexican Style Pulled Pork is a simple and aromatic recipe that takes a few minutes to prepare, but cooks all day without much attention from you!
Ingredients:
1 boneless pork loin roast, about 2½ pounds (we used pork shoulder instead)
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 cups barbecue sauce
½ cup salsa
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon oregano
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper, or to taste
½ teaspoon salt
1 small green bell pepper, cut into strips
1 small red bell pepper, cut into strips
10 small flour tortillas (we used corn instead)
Directions:
Remove excess fat from pork. Place in 3½ – 6 quart slow cooker; arrange onion on top. mix barbecue sauce, salsa, herbs and spices; pour over pork.
Cover and cook on low heat for 8-10 hours or until pork is very tender.
Remove pork; place on large plate. Use 2 forks to pull pork into shreds. Pour sauce into bowl; stir in pork. Saute pepper strips in a little oil. Spoon filling onto tortillas; top with a few pepper strips and roll up. (We prepared the peppers ahead of time and we warmed the tortillas in a pan on the stove before serving.)
Serves 10.
January 25th, 2010 at 6:40 am
Oh my GOD, your food sounds delish. Mexican food is my favorite cuisine, so of course I was salivating all over my monitor. :)
The highlight of my weekend was spending time with my friends on Saturday night for a Godfather themed birthday gathering. Italian food, wince and good times ensued.
January 25th, 2010 at 7:38 am
I don’t have friends over for dinner enough. I love to cook and share with friends. I think I am going to make an effort to do that more. Sounds like a great weekend.
January 25th, 2010 at 7:56 am
Oh the pulled pork looks amazing, I’ll print that out for Mister!
I just don’t have enough friends like this who still live in these parts of the country, somehow doing this over skype just isn’t quite the same.
January 25th, 2010 at 8:35 am
Mmmmm….margaritas…
That’s all my brain is capable of on a dreary Monday morning. Sorry. But seriously…those margaritas…mmmmm…
January 25th, 2010 at 9:10 am
Nights with friends like that are always so much fun. I’m glad that you and your company had such a great time. Those drinks and dinner sound incredibly delicious. My weekend was a bit of a whirlwind as well–my cousin and his fiance tied the knot, I may have had a beer too many based on the headache I had yesterday. But as Nora said, that means the evening was successful. You and your friend are a champ for tackling bikram yoga!
January 25th, 2010 at 9:14 am
Pulled port in the slow cooker is so wonderful. We love it and it is on our menu for next weekend.
My highlights were spending time with a friend of mine from college who lives only a few blocks away but we never see. We had them over Friday night for onion soup and again on Saturday for a Scotch tasting and then drinks at the bar. It was a blast!
Oh I tried your bread but my yeast was old and did not foam. So i have to get some more yeast and try again. I did make the onion sage mix with the prosciutto and will toss it with some pasta. the smell of that alone was amazing.
January 25th, 2010 at 9:20 am
Wow, definitely sounds like a jampacked weekend!
Highlights of my weekend: holding a friend’s baby on Saturday morning & falling in love with him; working on a new volunteer opportunity; buying presents for a baby shower I’m going to soon, two weekend naps, a fun night out on Saturday, and lunch with a friend on Sunday to talk about her wedding. And I finally signed up for the Soldiers Memorial run :)
January 25th, 2010 at 9:24 am
Your eatin’ sounds divine! And coming from this pregnant girl whose appetite is out of control as of late, that’s a huge compliment! THanks for sharing the recipe, too! YUM!
January 25th, 2010 at 9:57 am
Beer? In a Margarita? Really?
I may just have to try that…of course, I should probably wait a few more hours. ;)
January 25th, 2010 at 10:04 am
Nothing like a night spent with good friends! I always find them to be re-energizing.
I would say I had a couple of highlights this weekend, but now I just wish the weekend lasted a little longer (as I always do of course).
January 25th, 2010 at 10:14 am
we make the same margs. they are the only ones that i will typically drink. i LOVE THEM.
highlight from the weekend: new furniture. i’ll post pics as soon as i can move my arms again.
January 25th, 2010 at 10:31 am
sometimes I wish I lived in Chicago so I could come over your house for dinner. My highlight was that the torrential rain finally stopped and it was sunny (but chilly) so I played volleyball.
January 25th, 2010 at 10:46 am
Sounds like a lovely weekend! And a delicious meal.
January 25th, 2010 at 11:58 am
Whee~ just last night, we decided the theme for our first friend’s “Chef night” is mexican. I’m totally pulling out your pork recipe.
January 25th, 2010 at 12:23 pm
that recipe sounds amazing, i’m definitely going to have to try it. also, bikram yoga, another thing for me to try…i’m just waiting to grow some balls, haha.
January 25th, 2010 at 12:38 pm
we had pulled pork on Saturday too – I shit you not
January 25th, 2010 at 2:34 pm
i graduated from pole classes! i am now a Pole Master! i’d say that’s my big weekend highlight.. ;-)
January 25th, 2010 at 3:05 pm
i think that i need the homemade salsa/guac recipe! i have a new food processor that’s dying to be busted out!
sounds like a great weekend! the highlight of mine… well, there were two. one was the yummy meal m and i made on saturday night and the other was surprising my girlfriend with a baby shower!
January 25th, 2010 at 6:26 pm
I am a big fan of pulled pork. That recipe sounds so good.
And adding the salsa guacamole to that… Yum!
January 25th, 2010 at 6:55 pm
Rock band until 3:30 am. Full stop.
January 25th, 2010 at 7:18 pm
Your menus for guests are always so cool. How do you come up with them?
January 25th, 2010 at 10:10 pm
Sounds like a great weekend! And that pulled pork sounds amazing. Might be the way to break in the slow cooker.
January 26th, 2010 at 9:04 am
That sounds like a blast. The highlight of my weekend was watching Harper’s Island for 8 hours and knitting. I had a very boring and low key weekend, just how I like it.
January 27th, 2010 at 5:58 pm
This post almost made me eat my hand.