Good news, everyone. I’ve successfully gone without sausage for a day and a half now.

Last night for dinner I replaced it with chicken wings and a fried chicken sandwich. Lol. Progress takes time, ok?!

(^ Walnuts on a walnut butcher block, wowwww)

And hey, it’s still the holidays. Christmas is twelve days, Hanukkah is half-way through and the New Year is right around the corner. That means true healthy eating doesn’t really start until around January 6^th. I’m sure we all still have parties and get-togethers to attend, more (or the same) friends and family to see, and celebrations to continue, well, celebrating, right?

Which is why I want to tell you about this maple butter rum sauce. Hot damn! Let me repeat that, slowly. Maple. Butter. Rum. Sauce. Get out your sauce pans right now because you’re gonna want to make this. It’s simple and easy to make. It really only takes a little bit of time.

After making this at my mom’s request the night I arrived home, I decided it to be blog-worthy and I made a double batch on Christmas Eve morning. And then I ate ice cream for breakfast because I’m twenty-seven and I can make my own dietary choices. Maple syrup is an anytime a breakfast food, see?

It’s great to keep in the fridge for when company comes to dinner, either planned or as a surprise. It’s also a great idea for a hostess gift if you’re still heading to parties this week. I’m sure you can put it on many things – pound cake, profiteroles, crepes. But really, ice cream is appropriate any time of year or any time of day as far as I’m concerned and as far as you should be concerned, too.

(fyi – Chris helped me with my breakfast ice cream.)

I hope you’re all having the merriest of Christmases and the happiest of Hanukkahs! Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some more sausage, fried chicken, and maple syrup to eat. Gotta get it all in before January rolls around!

Maple Butter Rum Sauce

From the New York Times

Yields: About one jam jar plus a little

Ingredients:

½ cup maple syrup (any will do, but grade B will yield a thicker sauce)

½ cup light brown sugar, packed

½ cup heavy cream

½ cup (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter

1 tablespoon dark rum

¼ teaspoon salt, plus some more to finish if desired

To serve: ice cream, toasted walnuts, whipped cream

Instructions:

1. In a small heavy-bottomed pot, over medium low heat, stir together all the ingredients. Cook, stirring constantly and scraping down the sides. You’ll want the sauce to coat the back of a wooden spoon.

*The original recipe calls for about 10 minutes cooking time but I found it took closer to 20 and some resting time to thicken up. It won’t be a very thick sauce, regardless. If it seems to thin even after resting for 10-20 minutes, put it back on the heat and try some more.

2. Serve the sauce over your desired dish (ice cream, duh) with your desired toppings (walnuts and whipped cream, duh) and your desired time of day (breakfast, lunch, dinner, anytime, duh).