The thankful issue

What I am thankful for this season:

My beautiful, magical, amazing kids.  Who are no longer kids.  Who I am in awe of.  Who are a gift, pure and simple.

My sweet, supportive, smart, goofy, lovable husband.  Who I am so lucky to still love and be loved by, 25 years later.

My family.  Fun, smart, supportive, hilarious.  I won the lottery twice.

Hubble.  I love my dog.  And he loves me more than any living creature on earth.  That's pretty awesome.

I am also thankful for
Music - transportive, restorative, gratifying, moving.  And we formed a band this year!

Wine & coffee:  my life would be infinitely bleaker without these two liquids.

CrossFit.  My posse.  They who motivate me to get out of bed at 5:08 every morning, guaranteeing a belly laugh and an insanely high heart rate by 6:30am.

The Dinner Table:  this season, more than any other, I value the simple, wonderful ritual of gathering around the table, everyone home and together.  I thank my parents for making family dinners a given.  I thank my family for enjoying the table we set and the food we put on it. I  love preparing meals for my family and friends because of that instant, satisfying reward.

My friends, many of whom are in the above pictures.  2016 was a bit of a beast.  I truly would not have gotten through it without their support, humor and well-timed cups of cheer.


And I am thankful for the gift in the manger.  It's such a bummer that Christians are often the ones who have sullied Jesus' reputation. He was such a radical, but a uniter, not a divider.  He called out hypocrites and promoted humility.  He defended the poor, the orphans, the widows, the dispossessed.  And women.  He preached mercy.  Compassion.  Forgiveness. Generosity. That no one was beyond hope or help.  That we are all equal.  He preached Love.

Peace and good will toward all.  Happiest of holidays to you and yours.

When you host three Nigerian journalists on a Monday night in December....

What do you serve when you host three Nigerian journalists for dinner? This was the question I was left to ponder this weekend as I planned this week's menus.

We are on the email list for an organization called World Chicago, which is "a nonprofit organization that hosts citizen diplomacy programs that connect the Chicago community with international professional and youth leaders participating in U.S. Department of State exchanges in Chicago."Doug, as you know, served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Africa.  I, as you may also know, grew up in a family that hosted several foreign exchange students.  So when they sent out a solicitation to host visiting Nigerian journalists, we were IN.


Our three guests are all financial journalists in Nigeria and are here with the State Department's International Visitor Leadership Program, which brings future leaders from countries around the world to the US for two weeks of professional development.   The specific objectives for this project are interesting:


Explore methods of data-driven reporting, data sources, analytical skills & investigative techniques,Improve understanding of capital markets, company financials and budget information; andExamine models of cooperation to improving governance, accountability and economic performance.


Our guests were:

Mr Oyetunji Abioye, Chief Correspondent, Finance and Money Market, Punch Nigeria Limited

Ms Nse Anthony, Business Editor, Leadership Newspaper
Mr. Abiodun Dare, Senior Reporter, Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria

They started in Pittsburgh, then came to Chicago, then were heading to NY. And they were lovely.  

First of all, their outfits were freaking amazing.  I felt like I was on a movie set. 

They of course spoke perfect English with that killer Nigerian accent,  were incredibly gracious guests, and had a ton of questions.  They were particularly interested in Doug's journalism stories, and those of his time in the Peace Corps.  (Central African Republic is little-known even to many Africans, and when they heard his village was a two-day truck ride from the capital, they were stunned.  "You are very brave!")    Nigeria follows the British university model in which you choose your specialty before you begin: they were fascinated to hear of the liberal arts model.  They could not believe that they changed time zones from Pittsburgh to Chicago.  When we explained there were four time zones in the US, they were stunned.  Stunned.   Nigeria  is a very prosperous nation with  170 million people, the most populous in Africa, but is in the midst of a recession. They are on their longest stretch of civilian rule in history, almost 17 years.   We talked a lot about the election, theories about why Trump won, how it was perceived in different parts of the world.  (Nse thought the media's reporting was biased and indicated the outcome the media wanted vs what was happening, Oyetunji thought the anger of the disaffected was powerful:  "a hungry man is an angry man.")  They all came to journalism through different routes and motivations, but all love what they do.  All three are parents, and Abiodun's wife had her second baby eight days before he left for the US!  It was a lovely, broadening evening. 

So, what did I serve?  I went with a pot-roast style pork shoulder, rice and a green salad.  They seemed to enjoy it very much  - all three of them said it was 'African-style cooking'.  I think meat cooked in a tasty sauce with a starch is the norm.  And I think they've been eating a lot of fast food so they were grateful for a home cooked meal that reminded them of home. 

Succulent Pot Roast-style pork shoulder

Cut a 2-lb boneless pork shoulder into 6 pieces (I doubled it.) Pat it dry, salt & pepper it and then sear it in a large heavy pot in 2 Tbsp hot olive oil.  Brown on all sides, about 10 min.

 Transfer to a plate and set aside.

 Add 2 finely chopped celery stalks, 1 finely chopped onion and 1 large diced carrot to the pot and cook, stirring often, about 5-7 minutes

                                                             Add tsp minced garlic.

                                    Stir in 2 Tbsp tomato paste and cook about 3 minutes.

                     Sprinkle with 2 Tbsp flour and cook another 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

 

              Whisk in 1 cup dry red wine and simmer until it's reduced by half, about 3-4 minutes.

                                   Return the pork to the pot and stir in 1-1/2 cups beef broth.

                     Add 2 bay leaves and a bunch of flat leaf parsley stems, tied with kitchen twine

 If the liquid in the pot doesn't cover the pork, add enough water to just rise above the top of the pork.  Bring the liquid to a simmer, turn off the heat, cover and place the pot in the oven for about 3 hours, until pork shreds easily with a fork. 

You can serve the pork on a platter with the sauce on the side or the whole thing over rice.

 

Just your average Monday night at the Holts!