This morning, I found myself waking up from a holiday coma while wearing all my clothes inside out at the gym. It’s that season- full of food and (too) much festivity. And, once again, I’ve gone slack with cooking and recipes while eating and drinking my way from one holiday party to the next. Yesterday afternoon while sipping a mimosa in a friend’s front yard huddled over a fire, someone said “the blog has really slowed down these days.” Internally, I said “whoops.” So before officially checking into Betty Ford, I decided to give ya’ll an update and share a couple easy recipes that maybe helpful for your own holiday survival.

Saturday night I was pleased to get back into a kitchen and have some downtime away from Bing Crosby and Wham Christmas Carols. I spent a quiet evening with a friend (and a pack of dogs) testing some new twists on easy recipes. We made a new variation on brussels sprouts with balsamic vinegar and pomegranate seeds, some extremely simple hassle-back potatoes with rosemary and North Carolina shrimp cooked in butter, lemon and garlic. While these recipes were perfect for an impromptu night in, they would also be great dishes to accompany your holiday meals in the weeks ahead. I’ll share the recipes this week.

PS: How festive is my photo of this pomegranate? I’ve never associated pomegranates with the holiday season but they sure are pretty and bring a splash of nutritional value to an otherwise deadly time of the year!