New Decade, New Chapter, New Hampshire: This and That plus a Thank You.

First up, we got more snow last evening. It must be 3-5 inches. I walked to the post office and it was definitely different depths.

Second, tonight is Cookbook Club. We read Stephen and Evie Colbert's cookbook. I've made this chicken salad recipe and will serve it on mini rolls. There are 18 people coming including some non-cooks like Dan who will enjoy tasting everything.

Third, I finished this book this week. I learned that I didn't know a lot about the Revolutionary War, the development of the Constitution, and how close we came to accepting the creed that all men are created equal. Unfortunately for that we failed because of how entrenched the southern states were with slavery. I also learned about how our treatment of the Native Americans started out with good intent with the Creek Nation but federal strength was too new to enforce the borders to prevent settlers from moving in to Creek lands. Finally I learned that Jefferson was the biggest hypocrite of all the founding fathers.

It's a book worth reading.

Now for a thank you to Denise of An English Girl Rambles. She posted a recipe for Shepherd's Pie on Monday. I was planning to use ground turkey in a turkey loaf but after reading her recipe decided to try the Shepherd's Pie. I tweaked the recipe a bit (don't we all?) I used ground turkey, substituted ground sage for the rosemary, added celery, and also thickened the sauce with a mix of flour and heavy cream (leftover from making a tart).