{Food, Beverage, & Entertainment Edition}

While I’m a major Christmas Freak, Fall is by far my favorite season.  Unfortunately, we get so little of it down here in Texas that I tend to get all wrapped up in tinsel and holly and eggnog before I’ve truly taken the opportunity to stop and smell the cinnamon sticks and crunchy fallen leaves.

Happily, I think I might have just created the optimal “Get the Most Out of Fall” itinerary!  Here’s the skinny on how I’d fill a totally-unencumbered, totally-lazy, totally-Fall day…

Voluntarily extricating myself from underneath our cuddly pick-stitch quilts is somewhat easier when there’s pumpkin cream cheese in my future!  It’s a slightly odd combination, but lately I’ve been cheering for a toasted mini-”everything” bagel (yep, the kind with the onion and the garlic) topped with the pumpkin-y sweet stuff.  Einstein Brothers makes my mornings simple with their take-away Pumpkin Shmear, but you can always go all fancy-pants with the homemade variety!   Add a few slices of a Honeycrisp apple and I’m one happy gal!

After a jog (note: “jog” is a relative term when it comes to my athletic capabilities) around White Rock Lake (insert favorite neighborhood route here!), I’m ready to kick off my tennies and curl up with my new go-to, get-ready-for-the-holidays read, Wishin’ and Hopin’.  I’ve always loved Wally Lamb for his brutally honest, sometimes uncomfortable, yet unbelievably relateable novels (think: She’s Come Undone; I Know This Much Is True), but this little gem is something different entirely… a light-hearted and poignant tale that I’ll surely be sneaking into my dad’s stocking (a kindred feisty ex-parochial schoolboy spirit if there ever was one!).  My Main Man Van plays softly in the background… Bonus Points if you know all the words to some of my personal (lesser known) favorites: Coney Island, Queen of the Slipstream, Tore Down a la Rimbaud, the Comfortably Numb collaboration, and Whenever God Shines His Light.

We’ll pretend I was so engrossed in my reading that I somehow forgot about lunch (in reality, this would never happen… I’d be quickly boiling whole wheat pasta shells, steaming broccoli, tossing both together with white truffle oil, and shredding Tillamook extra sharp cheddar over the whole shebang for a comforting, quick “broc-mac-and-cheese”).  I’ll rest my eyes a bit with a cuddle on the couch and Good Will Hunting on my television.  I was recently reminded of how much I love this film after Evs admitted he’d never seen it!  I tracked it down on one of our many movie channels and it’s now permanently saved on the DVR for posterity (I actually own it on VHS… sigh… technology marches onward without me).  While not a “seasonal” movie by any stretch of the imagination, there’s something about this flick that just feels like Fall to me.

After Will heads to Palo Alto to “see about a girl,” it’s supper time!  Cooking Light’s Cider Glazed Chicken makes my mouth water on command!  You are welcome to give the companion Brown Butter-Pecan Rice recipe a whirl, but I much prefer pairing the slightly sweet, rustic chicken with Roasted Asparagus Risotto…  Preheat your oven to 450.  Spread a bunch of asparagus over an olive-oil-spritzed cookie sheet.  Give the asparaus another good spritz with the olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt.  Bake for 8-12 minutes.  Chop into small pieces.  Then, stir into a basic risotto (if you don’t know risotto by heart, here’s a great place to start!), toss with Parmesan, and devour!

I’m always game for a companion beverage, so I’m just going to shake a bit of vodka together with a glug from that spiced apple cider jug I had to purchase in order to make that magical chicken dish come to fruition.  Most likely, I’ll sip this concoction from a juice glass, but a cinnamon-sugar rimmed martini glass can transform any old evening into a festive affair (even if you’re sporting your dingiest sweat pants!).  Is wine-ing more your style?  Give your favorite dry white wine a dash of apple cider plus an apple slice floater, and you’re sipping a “Languid Winter Sangria” in no time flat!

Now that my tummy is full and there’s a drink in my hand, my lazy fall day is primed for the perfect ending, double feature style!  Out with the Matt Damon and in with the Diane Keaton… it’s all about The Family Stone!  I’m not sure why this wasn’t a bigger hit back in 2005, but this ensemble cast makes me belly-laugh and ugly-cry every damn time.  While it’s probably impossible for me to nudge White Christmas and National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation too far down on the ladder, The Family Stone is definitely my favorite holiday movie of the past 20 years.

Ending the day with the cuddliest of flannel pajama pants (mine feature pink coffee cups!), I snuggle back under the covers, novel in hand, eyelids heavy from the relative inactivity enjoyment of the day.

One delicious Fall day… it’s enough to make you consider logging a “mental health day,” yes?

What does your perfect November day off include?

Photo Credits: Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bagel; Apple Harvest; Van Morrison; Wishin’ and Hopin’; Cider Glazed Chicken; Asparagus Risotto; Good Will Hunting; Apple Cider Martini; The Family Stone.