Bubble and Squeak

Traditionally Bubble and Squeak is made using the leftover vegetables from a roast. Often times the meat is cut into bits and fried up with the veg, others times, it's served alongside. If you don't happen to have any leftover veggies from a roast, you can still enjoy a wedge of this hearty comfort food by starting from scratch.

Although I used brussels sprouts, you could use shredded cabbage if that's what you had on hand. If you have leftover mashed potatoes, feel free to use those in place of the plain boiled potatoes. You might wonder why I used duck fat AND pork in this recipe. The simple reason is because I had both and wanted to use both up. Duck fat adds excellent flavor, but you can definitely substitute extra bacon grease or butter if you don't have any hanging out in your fridge like I do.

Corn Dodgers inspired by Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

It's time for another vampire book and a movie challenge, and this month Kimberly has chosen Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter for both the book and the movie to discuss. I'd already watched and forgotten the movie when it was first released on dvd. Apparently it wasn't that memorable. So, I figured I'd start from scratch—read the book and then watch the movie again.

What I didn't realize until I had the book in my hands is that it was written by Seth Grahame-Smith, who is also the author of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies...which I read last month and absolutely loved. That was a pleasant surprise. Here's the thing about Grahame-Smith—he's kind of a master at what he does. And whether this says something about the school systems (yes, more than one) that I grew up in or something about me, I'm going to go ahead and put it out there. I learned more about the history of Abraham Lincoln reading this book than I knew before I started it.