A late happy new year

Boy, have I been a lazy blogger.  I may even have given the impression that I've stopped eating.  Or cooking.  Or reading.  Or watching movies.  Nope to all of the above.  I am just behind.  I wish I could say it's due to jetting off the south of France.  But I have no excuses.  Just enjoying a relatively computer-free break.
I had a delicious New Year's Day.  New Year's Eve was quiet.  I think I even graded exams.  I saved my celebrating for January 1.  The BFF has joined Slow Food Triangle and she and Daddy-O invited the Ex-Ex and me to a traditional New Year's Day dinner at Fullsteam Brewery in downtown Durham.

We did indeed *find our cool* and lots of good food and drink.  Wine Authorities and 3Cups wines were available as well as Fullsteam's beer.  Daddy-O enjoyed Moon Pie.

Chef Marco Shaw of Piedmont cooked up 300 pounds of collard greens for the assembled hungry mass.

Hoppin' John, a mixture of black-eyed peas and rice, was also served.  But the cornbread was my favorite.  I do not know who made it.  It was perfect.  Moist.  Just a little bit sweet.  With a creamy layer in the middle-- sour cream, maybe?  I was running around taking photos of plates and talking to some friends I hadn't seen in a long time and eyeing the slices of cornbread on other people's tables.  A very nice lady then offered me a slice from her table to whet my appetite. (I really hope I wasn't drooling...)

We were asked to bring our own plates and silverware. It was interesting to look at all the different ones... just basic white ones for us.

And then mine was all empty.  I was a good girl and cleaned my plate.

That meant I could have dessert!  Sweet potato pie from Scratch. 
After such a satisfying meal, I look forward to a very fulfilling year.
Thank you, BFF!

Bon appétit, 2011!