It was a sad, sad night in the world of college b-ball.
But in other news, we made some new friends!
Sarah and her husband Mike, who goes to Duke Med School, were in Cville for the weekend and asked me for a good sports bar recommendation to watch the Duke vs. Carolina game. Of course our house is the best sports bar in town – beer on tap and all! So we invited them over. Then earlier today Matt and Simmons, Carolina alumni, were over at our house and since they were uncool and did not have a party to attend for the game, we invited them over as well. Because Duke fans are good sports!!
VIDEOS
Our party didn’t start till 7:30p, so we were getting quite hungry as we made preparations (Karen also stopped by for a visit on our porch!)
I chugged down some seltzer
And nibbled on nuts and cheese as we prepped for dinner
Salad ready to go filled with romaine, pecans, sunflower seeds and dried cherries. Here’s what our fridge looks like on a normal week when it’s not prepping for vacation!
For the event we made a pot of Frontier Soup’s Michigan Ski Country Chili! We opted out of the 1.5 pound of meat it recommended we add and instead just doubled up on diced tomatoes. The soup was FANTASTIC – I don’t know if I’ve had kidney and cranberry beans mixed before, but they were so hearty we all agreed that we felt like there was meat involved!
For cocktails, we distributed kegged beer and served up some Jefferson Petit Verdot, which we thought would go well with the hearty soup. Great match!!
Soup topped with plain yogurt, shredded pepperjack and jalapeno bits
Simmons brought over the most amazing [Jiffy] cornbread made with creamed corn. It was sooooo doughy – perfect complement!
Wine was necessary during halftime.
Sarah + Mike brought over some Lindt chocolates – these were perfect for a crowd because they were bite-size! Vanilla, Cappuccino, Hazelnut and Caramel – I couldn’t choose a favorite : )
It’s a sad day to be a Blue Devil.
Your fridge has so much room! Ours is never that empty. Well, maybe the first day we moved in! lol that soup looks yummy.
Your fridge is so neat! Even when I don’t have actual food in it – it is filled with condiments. haha
I love how your shirt coordinates with your sofa! 🙂
Those chocolates look magnificent!
I am always in awe of your fridge shots.
I wish my fridge looked like that! so much room!
We only buy what we need but our fridge is never that empty – I am impressed! We have a lot of condiments in ours, though, and always have a pitcher of tea on hand!
SAD (!!!!!) night 🙁
ooh, the food looks delicious! and wow! your refrigerator is SO neat.
yay for new friends!!!
I am a BYU alum so I guess this is a good thing for my school….. and those chocolates look fabulous! I heart Lindt <3 (with my mom being Swiss and all, I must love it, it's in my blood! haha)
yay for Jiffy corn bread! The Jiffy Mix factory is near where I live, and in the city where I go for my internship each day. I drive right by it every morning! It was a staple in my house growing up, so good!
I love it when you don’t en notice missing meat, chocolate is the perfect way to end a lovely day winning or losing.
Watched your alma mater play here in Chattanooga yesterday. They have been decent this year but seemed to have an off day. My alma mater, Chattanooga, had an off night tonight and lost in the tournament too. Bad basketball weekend indeed!
I’d take new friends (and cornbread) over caring about sport any day 😉
Ditto. 🙂
I’m so surprised to see all that you create with such a bare fridge. I’m impressed!
Yay new friends! Your dinner, as usual, looks awesome!
Those chocolates. Oh my.
I used to live in Wilmington/Wrightsville Beach NC and know how SERIOUSLY people down there take their sports teams and events!
I bet there was some screaming and shouting at the tv in your house tonite 🙂
Wow! My fridge is almost always packed!
<3 soup
Cornbread with creamed corn really is so amazing! I love that creamy texture!
Hi! Just found your blog. As a fellow Duke fan, I think it’s fantastic that you guys are as well. Even though tonight’s game was definitely awful.
Can’t wait to read more!!
Lindsey
Welcome!
Do you leave your pumpkin open in the fridge? I did that once and put a chopped onion next to it- blech!
I do – but an onion would never make it into my fridge!
Be careful! Aluminum reacts with oxygen once your can has been opened and it can taint your food.
In food sanitation and safety classes you learn you shouldn’t leave cans in the refrigerator because it has been known to cause Botulism.
Yes. This. I noticed the opened can of pumpkin in your fridge too. For safety reasons, please, please store unused canned food in a separate container and not the can.
Your meal looks delicious! 🙂
Yay for new friends and delicious food! That has to (somewhat) make up for the game, right?!
I love how clean and organized your fridge is!
Everything looks delicious!
As a Michigan State fan, I can’t really lose with a North Carolina vs. Duke game 😉
However, my Spartans lost today…so boo.
I’m shocked to see your fridge so empty! But I’m sure that is less stressful. My parents fridge is so full of things that I don’t even know when the stuff is from! yuck!
I miss college bball parties! I go to the University of Vermont, but I’m abroad in New Zealand….no games aired here, lol
Looks like a fun night. I’m kind of surprised that you eat Jiffy corn muffins, since the ingredients are less than stellar – partially hydrogenated lard, etc. Do you have a “in moderation is okay” approach to those things? I know I do – I try to avoid really bad processed foods but sometimes I end up eating them and I don’t let myself feel badly about it, so I’m just wondering if that’s your philosophy.
When someone else brings a steaming hot pan of cornbread to my house, I don’t turn it down just because of an ingredient. But I wouldn’t purchase Jiffy with my own dollars.
You keep opened tin cans in the refrigerator (the pumpkin)? I’m always scolding my boyfriend for doing that because my mother told me as a child that the food can develop bacteria and make you sick. But if you’re doing it, I can’t imagine that my mother was right on this one.
I’m not really all that worried – but I do think it would be better to transfer to a tupperware
Oops! I commented on this above before reading down. The problem is the aluminum-oxygen reaction.
Can you keep food in their cans that are covered with plastic wrap in the fridge though?? Say like half a can of beans or canned tomato sauce? Or is it better to put it in tupperware?
Thanks!
You should definitely not store it in the can. Use the tupperware. 🙂
Duke forever!
What a fun night, despite the loss! 😀
And I’m kind of jealous of your clean fridge. Mine is always jam packed. The only time it *might* look partially empty is the week before a long vacation. 😉
Hey – you match the couch! Like a chameleon!! Your soup and salad look great, as do the cornbread and chocolate (oh ya!!), but I’m a little disturbed by your fridge. Where are all the condiments? Is today grocery day?
On the door!
I’m jealous of how neat your fridge is! My husband insists on stocking ours to the brim! Sometimes we can’t even see what’s inside!! 🙁
Wow, your fridge looks empty to me! When mine looks like that it usually means I need to go shopping asap!
Fun night! Soup makes the best meal for dinner parties like this.
Wow, that’s your fridge on a normal day?!
Even when you’re home your fridge is immaculate! Mine does not look like that at all! 🙂
I wish my fridge always looked like that! We stock up on veggies on Sundays and that always seems to fill it up – that, and my gluten-free flours, and leftovers.
Your fridge is so clean!! Very impressive. Next time I make chili I’m definitely going to top it with some fresh, jalapenos, love it!
Looks like ya’ll had a fun night! Too bad about the game though… I am also really impressed with your fridge, I don’t think ours has EVER looked like that!
what a fun party the chili looks awesome and so do those truffles
You managed to make your game food look pretty sophisticated! I haven’t had a good chili in ages. Since becoming vegetarian, I’ve tried a dozen recipes, but haven’t found one that satisfies.
LOVE the presentation of the chili – I will have to remember that trick. 🙂 Also, I cannot believe how empty your fridge is! The last time mine looked that empty, I was moving apartments! How do you create such beautiful meals with such few food items?
I wish my fridge was that neat! I have to share mine with 2 roommates, so all my stuff is crammed onto one shelf! 😛
Your fridge is so clean!! Reminds me of what I need to do today on this lovely Sunday…. clean!
I’m with everyone else – your fridge still looks so bare! I wish mine looked like that – but there’s just too much stuff in there! I clean it out once a week!!
What a meal! Salad, cornbread, soup, and chocolate?! YUM! 🙂
Mmm….chili and cornbread always good!
lindt truffles win my heart every time. holy yum!
Seltzer, chocolate, and salad are my faveskies. Glad you got some yums!:)
Re: the open pumpkin can in the fridge. Any worries about the adverse substances released during oxidation? I wouldn’t keep anything in an open can. Usually transfer the content into a glass or ceramic container right away.
I’m usually to lazy to care, and I eat up the pumpkin pretty quickly. I figure if it sits in there sealed for months then sitting in there unsealed for a few days won’t do much. If there’s any leaching, it’s probably negligible. Anything significant I would probably be able to detect in quality of taste.
I should probably do some research on this, but I’ve been told unsealing starts the process of oxidation. The can inside is covered with a protective layer, sterilized and void of air. Once you open it, acidic substances in the food react with metal producing potentially poisonous oxides, very little of which may cause adverse effects. Having said that, I am sure that canning practices have improved with time. I mean, there are many people who do not transfer canned foods and we don’t hear of mass poisonings.
The other issue is BPA in cans linings. So many people have ditched the bpa in their plastic containers and water bottles, but it’s still in cans that touch your food, and there are studies that say it does leach. I know we can’t walk around being afraid of everything out there and potential harmful effects, but I also think we have to acknowledge that the risks are out there, whether we choose to consume these products or not.
Okay, my favorite part of all of this is that you blend in with the couch! 🙂
Looks like you guys had a great time despite the sad game 🙂
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO go tarheels 😉
Your fridge is immaculate! You have inspired me to clean mine today. It is pretty scary in there, there might be something living in it…
Yayyyyyy Tarheels!!!!!!!!!! (PS. the pic of those truffels in the container is so pretty!)
Pumpkin has been transferred to a glass container
I’ll bet everyone will sleep better knowing you will possibly be more safe from your pumpkin now. It sure is wonderful to hear Karen is getting out and about just a day later. 🙂
yayyy!
Kath, your last response has me cracking up!
Since we started buying fresh food, we shop more often but we waste less and our fridge stays more roomy and clean. I hope my fridge is this roomy one day!
we watched this game last night too! I was rooting for UNC though, oops
TAR HEELS!!! gotta rub it in a little, hehe 🙂
I love soup and cornbread! So satisfying :_)
My husband and I brewed on Saturday, too, and I was going to write and see if he uses an all-grain system as well (and if not, was going to invite you all to join us for a brew-in one day). Looks like he does. 🙂 Maybe someday we can trade some beer samples! In the meantime, your whipped banana oatmeal has become a staple at our house, and we’re now adding chia seeds to practically everything (we didn’t know you could actually bake with them and had never thought of putting them in our oats). Thanks so much for all the great info and ideas. Can’t wait till your GH opens!!
We’d love to get together for a brew session sometime! Matt is brewing this weekend. If y’all are around..email me!
I’ve never made cornbread on my own but a friend makes AMAZING cornbread…she adds fresh corn, peppers and cheese to it. Amazing!