7th day of GP Christmas

You know how there are a bunch of new restaurants you've been dying to try, but when put on the spot to choose one, you can't seem to recall a single one? Or how you have so much to tell an old friend, most of which you remember thirty seconds after you hang up the phone?  Or twelve loops around the grocery store to complete your shopping, only to get home and discover you forgot something?  Story of my life.  Is it just me???

I'm the kind of person who absolutely should keep lists and yet I am notoriously bad at it.  I should have made a list for this, um, twelve day list.  I know I have tons to tell you about, but when the pressure to post is on, I find myself blanking.  I quite literally almost bought a six dollar chocolate bar at the Fresh Market today, hoping it was fantastic, so I could come home and tell you about it.  I resisted.

As I seem to group my little tips together, I suppose this one is similar to yesterday's in that I've bragged about Penzey's before and I'm sure most of you are quite familiar with the mid-western spice purveyor.  But, I did introduce foodie friend to Penzey's one birthday, so this totally counts.  Instead of just saying "hey, these guys have good spices" I thought I'd share a couple of their blends that are in current rotation in my house.

The "Trinidad" spice mix is awesome, it's all citrusy and clovey and bright.  I've used it as a marinade for chicken with a bit of apple cider vinegar (drumsticks on the grill - they came out awesome) and most recently I used it for a super easy pork dish.  I'd picked up very thin pork cutlets and I added a healthy dose of Trinidad to some flour, dredged the cutlets and gave them a quick pan sear.  Served with egg noodles, it was a super tasty, cheap and ridiculously quick dinner.

I'm also currently obsessed with the Brady Street Cheese Sprinkle.  I've mentioned my new affinity for Portland Pie Company Beer pizza dough and I have discovered that the dough, with some Brady St. Cheese on top, makes great breadsticks for dipping in pizza sauce.  It's my go to snack lately, although I'll tell you, the breadsticks don't cool all that great, they are best eaten right out of the oven.