I was just sifting through my "drafts" folder and, to much dismay, have come across many half written posts so it's time to catch up! I don't care if it's almost Februrary, I'm sure there are people that still have Christmas trees and decorations up so without further ado... Holiday Eats in Ohio! Momma called me a few weeks before Christmas emphasizing that she wanted it to be "easy" this year and not have to do a bunch of traditional labor intensive holiday food. The happier my Momma is during the holiday, the happier I am. Lord knows a stress bomb can be dropped at any moment. "I have no problem with that, and I'm willing to help however I can Momma." "We should do something that will allow for tons of leftover options... (dramatic pause) PORK SHOULDER!" 
My parents have a bitchin' smoker/grill that they've become quite good with. They even have this hi-tech thing-a-ma-jig that keeps track of temperature in the chamber AND the meat by a remote indicator in the house. It's not lazy, it's just when you have this many absent minded ADD adults under one roof during the holidays it's crucial to have reminders within an eye-shot. So the pork shoulder was in there for about 10 hours at 200 degrees. After removing from the smoker we let it rest briefly before we couldn't bare the aroma of smoked pork any longer. Mom and I unwrapped the foil to reveal perfectly browned skin, pink flesh at the tips, and ridiculously perfect fatback. Mom tore off the first bite and offered to to me as I was opening a bottle of 2006 Zind-Humbrecht Gewürtztraminer. 
The pork was probably one of the few things that will stop me dead in my tracks and forget about what I was doing. Fortunately, that perfect bite led me to open the bottle even faster so I could taste the two together. Because I rarely ever have only one thing open on an occasion such as this, alongside the Gewürtz I opened a seasonal release from Jolly Pumpkin the "Maracaibo Especial." Both just exquisite with the pork by itself. So Christmas Eve was taco night: pork shoulder tacos w/avacado, frisée tossed w/olive oil, lime juice, cumin & scallion.
Christmas day we made BBQ pulled pork sandwiches with plenty of snacks throughout the day. My Nana at one point yelling at me from the other room, "Hey, it's noon somewhere! where's my cocktail?" The ladies were squeezing fresh grapefruit all morning long so I threw in some vodka, and St. Germain to keep the pack happy. Most families indulge around the holidays so I was happy to help out with Momma for a stress-free good old-fashioned celebration with plenty to eat and drink. Love ya Moms. <3
