après-ski

This might look and sound like a bit of a smorgasbord on a plate, but, actually, I suppose that's exactly what it was. After skiing a couple of weeks ago, there was nothing more I wanted to come home to than a cozy meal and then wrap myself in a heated fleece blanket and sip on Cahors. And when I get something like that in my head, I have no choice but to make it my reality.

So as soon as we got home and I shimmied out of my ski pants, I got to slicing a large yellow onion which got tossed into a cast iron pan with a dash of olive oil. I started to slowly caramelize these guys and when they got to a softened state, I poured in a bit of Sierra Nevada to deglaze the pan with a dash of balsamic vinegar. A sprinkling of sugar, salt, and fresh cracked pepper and they turned into a serious condiment. After cooling, I added a generous dollop of dijon mustard and chopped parsley. Stirred it up and set it aside.

We had Swedish hot dogs in the freezer (I promise you these are unlike any hot dogs you've ever had. Super snappy casing and uber flavorful) so I got a pot of water simmering to slip them into while I simultaneously cut up some new potatoes for a quick potato salad: mayo, dijon, tons of dill, and red onion.

I warmed up french baguettes, cut them down to size, slathered them with the onion-mustard-relish and inserted a hot dog. Out of the fridge came Swedish Cucumbers, the perfect accompaniment to almost any plate and I threw together a tomato salad with campari's and a quick vinaigrette.

Served up alongside an icy cold beer we quietly wolfed down our plates. Or at least I did. I had a heated blanket and glass of Cahors with my name on it, patiently waiting for my satisfyingly sore après-ski body.