Sweet, Sassy, Southern

Drew with Nana, Sept. 2009

Sweet, sassy, southern. I think that pretty much describes my grandma. I’ve talked about Nana before on this blog and how I spent all my summers as a child at her house. Many of the memories I have of her involve food whether it’s shelling peas on her porch, eating ice cold watermelon on newspaper at her kitchen table, making pickles, or waking up in the mornings to her cheesy grits (which were my favorite).

She doesn’t do as much cooking as she used, but she is and will always be one of the main influences for my love of cooking. She could always get in the kitchen and whip up a wonderful meal with anything she had on hand. I always loved her grits, fried corn bread, cobblers, and spaghetti. I hope Drew gets to enjoy some of her cooking one day!

With the holidays coming up, I wanted to post another of my favorite recipes that she makes every Christmas. I do not like fruitcake in the traditional sense but this recipe is so delicious. Give it a try this holiday season! It’s great with coffee on a cold night.

Ice Box Fruitcake

1 box vanilla wafer cookies, crumbled
1 bag of shredded, sweetened coconut
1 large box raisins
1 qt. chopped pecans
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 package candied cherries (maraschino can be used if desired-drain well and cut in half)

Mix all ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. (Using your clean hands to mix works best.) Using a small measuring cup, scoop into quart size freezer bags and press into a 1″ layer. Freeze until hardened. Remove from the freezer and slice into squares when ready to serve. Keep leftovers in freezer.

Makes about 2 1/2 qt bags full.

Restaurant Challenge #3: The Warehouse Bistro

Wow. That was the first word out of my mouth when I started eating my dinner last night at The Warehouse Bistro. And my first thought was why had we not been to this restaurant before after living here for four years! Yesterday was our wedding anniversary and my husband told me to choose where I wanted to go. I thought about it and decided I wanted to go somewhere new and different. I remembered that two of my co-workers had raved about Warehouse Bistro and I decided that’s where I wanted to go.

What’s interesting about this restaurant is that it’s in a very industrial part of our city. It is in fact an old warehouse, surrounded by other warehouses, that has been converted into a casual fine dining restaurant. The outside still has the resemblance of an unassuming brick warehouse, but once you reach the door you realize it has been transformed on the inside. There is a beautiful candlelit courtyard as you enter the restaurant with iron gates and wrought iron tables. It was a little chilly outside last night so we decided to eat inside, but the courtyard would be perfect in the Spring.

Once you enter the restaurant there are small dining rooms on each side, all dimly lit which gives it a very romantic feeling, perfect for an anniversary dinner. One thing the restaurant prides itself on is their service. And I could definitely see why as soon as we walked in. The entire staff was very attentive and each course was served with perfect timing. One thing I cannot stand at restaurants is when your appetizer, salad, and entree come practically at the same time. It seemed like our waitress kept a close eye on our table so she knew exactly when to bring out our next course.

We ordered the hot shrimp and spinach dip to begin with and then I ordered the mixed greens salad with champagne vinaigrette, dried cherries and toasted pecans. Both were outstanding and everything tasted so fresh! My husband ordered the filet with bernaise sauce and I ordered the pork medallions in a marsala wine and porcini mushroom barola sauce. We both couldn’t stop raving about how good everything was. And something that probably only I as a female would be impressed with was the beautiful presentation of each dish. My favorite thing was the little butterflies made from a single slice of carrot. So pretty! And I still can’t figure out how they made them. : P

I so wanted dessert but couldn’t stop eating my entree so I just didn’t have room for it. But if I had, I would have chosen the velvet chocolate torte with raspberry sauce. That sounded divine. Dinner at The Warehouse Bistro was a great experience and I would highly recommend this restaurant to anyone for a special occasion or just a nice dinner out.

Price: $$-$$$

Atmosphere: elegant (but not stuffy)

Reservations required: recommended but not required

Location: Opelika, AL

Tomato-Basil Quiche

Well the weather is finally starting to cool off in my neck of the woods which means Fall is just around the corner I hope. My mind is already starting to ponder all the pumpkiney things I’ll bake and soups I’ll make during the cooler weather. But I thought I’d end Summer on a good note and use up the last little bit of basil on my basil plant. I am so proud of myself for keeping my herbs alive this Summer with my track record for being the grim reaper of plants. I saw this beautiful quiche on Liz’s blog and thought what a perfect dish to make with the few grape tomatoes and basil leaves I had left. The picky one (aka my husband) had a meeting at work tonight (where they’ll be eating greasy chicken fingers and fries which is right up his alley) so I thought I’d make this just for myself. My nose told me before I even took it out of the oven that this would be delicious and my nose didn’t lie. This is a great quiche recipe to send off the Summer.

Tomato-Basil Quiche

(with my alterations)

Ingredients:

• 2 medium or 1 large tomato, sliced 1/4 inch thick(I used 1 cup grape tomatoes, sliced in half lengthwise)
• 2 cups shredded sharp white Cheddar (or you may use Gruyere) (I used sharp Cheddar)
• 1-2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell
• 1 small onion, thinly sliced
• Leaves from 3 small stems fresh basil, torn if large
• 4 eggs
• 1 2/3 cups light cream (I used whole milk)
• 6 tablespoons aged port or sherry (may be omitted, but reduce baking time by 5 minutes) (I omitted)
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 425F. Place tomatoes on a paper towel to absorb excess moisture.
2. In a small bowl, toss the cheese with the garlic. Sprinkle 1 1/2 cups of the cheese mixture evenly on the bottom of the pie shell. Arrange the onion on top of the cheese. Arrange the tomato in a single layer on top of the onion. Distribute the basil on top of the tomato and in the crevices between the rounds. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese mixture on top.
3. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs thoroughly. Add the cream, port, and pepper and beat well. Slowly pour the egg mixture into the pie shell.
4. Bake for 20 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 350F and bake for 35 minutes longer, or until the quiche is lightly browned on top.
5. Let the quiche cool on a wire rack for a few minutes before serving.

And speaking of Liz’s blog, I’d like to give her an award for having a great blog! I was recently given an E for Excellent award from From the French Kitchen, so I’d like to pass it on to some more bloggers that I think are excellent. Thanks for being so creative and inspiring!

And the E for Excellent Award goes to…

Liz’s Cooking Blog

Reading Riting and Recipes

Annie’s Eats

Amber’s Delectable Delights

Elly Says Opa!

Made by Melissa

Please pass this on to other blogs that are excellent!

Charleston

My husband and I just got back from Charleston, SC. We typically take a little trip every year around our anniversary and this year we chose Charleston. I’ve always heard what a beautiful city it is so I’ve always wanted to see it for myself. I had also been told that if I loved Savannah, then I would love Charleston. And it is so true! It has that same historic feeling and down home charm. I do think it has a more “small town in a big city” feeling than Savannah though.

One of my favorite things about visiting a new city is checking out the food. There were so many places I wanted to try while we were there, but we just didn’t have time for all of them. I think the places we did go were awesome though. Charleston is just full of good food! Other than the places we ate, some others I wanted to try were Hank’s Seafood, Jestine’s Kitchen, and Poogan’s Porch. Maybe someday we can go back and I’ll get to visit those places. Here are a few pictures from our trip.

Saturday, we checked out the farmers market. So much to see there from fresh produce, bread, local honey, arts and crafts, and flowers. A nice way to spend a Saturday morning.

My husband’s favorite place to stop, Charleston’s Candy Kitchen. Too many sweets to name but on the top of our list, the chocolate pralines. You can even taste a freshly made praline sample when you walk in the door. So good!

I had to be careful not to drool on the glass. : P’

Mmm gelato. This is what I got at the candy store. It was a very hot and humid day in Charleston and I needed a cool treat.

Our first lunch stop, the Noisy Oyster. My husband got the fried shrimp po’boy and I got the bbq shrimp BLT po’boy. Both delicious!

It’s hard to decide what restaurants to go to in a new city so recommendations are always helpful. This one came from the concierge at our hotel. We were both SO glad we went here. The atmosphere was casual but elegant and the food, amazing.

Our crab dip in a little fondue pot at Coast. Very yummy. I got the crab cakes and my husband got the trio of grilled fish, steak, and bacon and jalapeno wrapped shrimp. We finished off our dinner with the white chocolate banana bread pudding.

Another lunch stop after our walking tour on Sunday, Charleston Crab House.

I didn’t get a picture of this restaurant, but we went to Bocci’s on Sunday night for dinner. It’s a quaint little Italian restaurant on Church Street. I had had my fill of seafood so this was a nice change. It came highly recommended and it was really good!

I had been told I HAD to go to Cupcake while I was in Charleston. I had seen it before on a Food Network show and thought it would be a cute place to visit. We were there standing at the door at 10 am when they opened. We got two cupcakes to go, one chocolate and one red velvet. Oh my goodness what a treat! I found the perfect cupcakes and perhaps my dream job…working in a cupcake store. Wouldn’t that be the best job ever?

LOOK at all those cupcakes!

And don’t forget the pooches! I had seen this pet bakery on the Travel Channel and just had to go by before we left. Unfortunately we didn’t get to go in. They weren’t open yet. Still, what a cute idea to have a bakery for our four legged friends. I know my pups would love it!

We did other things in Charleston besides eat, although you can’t tell that from this post. We took a walking tour and learned some great history about the city. We got to see some beautiful homes and buildings and charming little alleyways and cobblestone streets. We also visited Waterfront Park and walked along the Battery. Charleston also has a great market and shopping which I fully took advantage of.

Some tips I learned from my trip.

1. Wear comfortable shoes if you plan on walking around the city.

The streets and sidewalks are very uneven. I learned this the hard way and hurt my ankle. : (

2. DO take a guided tour if it’s your first time in the city.

I would have missed so much had we not done this. There were so many buildings we had driven by that I would not have known what they were or the history behind them without our tour guide.

We did the Original Charleston Walk tour.

3. DO stay in the historic area of downtown.

It is more expensive but my husband and I both agree it’s totally worth it. It’s the same in Savannah. You pay more but you are within walking distance of most everything and don’t have to worry about finding and paying for parking.

4. Ask for recommendations on where to eat.

If you know someone from the area, ask them where they eat. If you don’t know anyone there, ask the staff at your hotel or in the local shops. You’re bound to get some great suggestions from the locals.

5. Have a plan and get a map.

There is so much to see and do in Charleston you need to have an idea of what you want to do and where certain things are located so you don’t run around circles trying to get from place to place.

And just remember, it is HOT in Charleston even in September. I knew this because I’m from the south, but I didn’t realize the humidity would be so bad. But whenever you go, you won’t be sorry you did! Charleston is a great city both for the food and the history.

Pancakes

In case any of you didn’t know, the other loves in my life other than my husband and cooking, are my two silly Pembroke Corgis, Tag and Riley. I’ve had Tag since he was just a tiny puppy of nine weeks old. Despite being a holy terror the first year of his life, he’s also the sweetest, most inquisitive little dog you’ve ever seen. He’s the reason I fell in love with Corgis. So about a year ago, we got Riley, who was two and a half at the time. She’s also as sweet as can be, but has a totally different personality than Tag.

No one in our area really has Corgis, let alone knows what they are, so I was surprised when the tech at our vet’s office told me she had Corgis growing up. She asked me if had ever read Corgiville Fair by Tasha Tudor. I had no idea there were any books written about Corgis so I was immediately interested. I found the book online along with Corgiville Christmas and also a cookbook by the same author. I thought the books would be really cute to have to read to my future children (oh who am I kidding…they’re for me!), so I put them all on my Christmas list last year.

I decided yesterday morning that I wanted to make some pancakes for breakfast. Instead of going online to look up a recipe I decided to pull out my cookbooks and find a recipe. I opened up my Tasha Tudor cookbook, which contains many of her family recipes, and is also beautifully illustrated by the way, and found this recipe for pancakes. They turned out really good! The recipe didn’t make quite as many as it stated but that could have been because I like my pancakes big. ; P

Waffles or Pancakes

1 1/2 cups unbleached flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons sugar

2 farm-fresh eggs, at room temperature

1 1/4 cups milk

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Sift into a bowl the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Beat the eggs lightly in a second mixing bowl. Stir in the milk and the melted butter. Add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients and blend.

To make pancakes, spoon the batter onto a hot, greased griddle or skillet. When the tops are bubbly, turn them and cook the other side until nicely brown. Place the pancakes on a warm plate and serve immediately.

To make waffles, spoon the batter into a preheated waffle iron. The waffles will be cooked when steam no longer rises from the waffle iron. Serve immediately on warm plates.

Makes 14 4-inch pancakes or 6 waffles.

The Tasha Tudor Cookbook, page 39

And here’s a picture of my little rascals…just because they’re so darn cute.

Weekend Trip

My husband and I decided to take a little weekend trip down to my sister-in-law’s. She lives near Gulf Shores so we thought it would be a perfect opportunity to visit the beach and also visit with our nieces. Each time we visit there we normally go to one of our favorite restaurants, the Original Oyster House. It has great seafood and and a wonderful coastal atmosphere. But instead, we decided to try a new place this time. After we hit the beach on Saturday, we decided to go to Lulu’s. Lulu’s used to be just a little shack down by the water in Mobile, AL, where all the locals would go, but the restaurant has since been moved and expanded in Gulf Shores, AL. What’s interesting about the restaurant is that the owner, Lulu, is Lucy Buffet, Jimmy Buffet’s sister. In fact, Jimmy has mentioned Lulu and her bar, in one of his newest songs, Bama Breeze. The restaurant has a great, open-air atmosphere and they play music by who else, Jimmy Buffet. In fact, Jimmy still shows up every now and then to play music at the restaurant. 

I ended up ordering the fried green tomato blt which was awesome and fattening, but if you ever happen to visit there you must order the crab melt. My sister-in-law ordered that and let me try it. All I can say is it’s heaven on a plate. An open-faced sandwich with crab and tons of melted cheese. Delicious! We also went back to another great seafood place while we were there. R&R seafood, which I’ve mentioned before, is a little hole in the wall place by the bay that serves fresh seafood. My husband and I both got the shrimp po’ boys again and I also tried the gumbo this time, which was very good.

So now we’re back home and it’s time to detox from all the insanely fattening fried food we ate over the weekend. But it was sooo worth it!

Here are a few more pictures from our trip…

My husband with our oldest niece, riding go carts at the track.

And with our youngest niece, in the bumper boats.

Tagged!

I’ve been tagged by Melissa over at Mrs Sac’s Purple Kitchen

So here are the Tagging Rules:
Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

What was I doing ten years ago?

I was 16 years old so that means I was in high school! Gosh that seems like a looong time ago.

What are five (non-work) things on my to-do list for today?

1. Go home after work and feed my dogs.

2. Finish packing

3. Pick up dinner on the road.

4. Drive to my parents’ house.

5. Relax at my parents’ house! Hah not much to do today.

Five snacks I enjoy:

1. Cheese, just cheese, by itself

2. Fat free chocolate pudding

3. Kashi granola bars

4. Chips and dip, any kind

5. Fresh baked cookies with milk

Things I would do if I were a billionaire:

1. Pay off debt

2. Build my dream house, buy my parents and sister a house

3. Pay off my IL’s house/cars etc

4. Buy a boat and DH’s dream car, an old CJ-7 jeep

5. Donate money to certain charities and local animal shelters/rescues

6. Travel all over the world!

Places I’ve lived:

1. Southern part of Georgia

2. Middle part of Georgia

3. Western part of Georgia

4. Alabama, Auburn area

Jobs I’ve had:

1. Kroger- Cashier (in high school)

2. Teleconferencing center- New Hire Trainer, Quality Analyst

3. Home Depot- Install and Special Order Expediter

4. Dealership- Finance and Insurance Manager

I am tagging…

Melissa of Made by Melissa

TPOX of Proceed with Caution

AggieAshley of The Spicy Skillet

Horned Froggy of My Baking Heart

Baking Blonde of Baking Blonde’s Weblog

Restaurant Challenge #1-Jimmy’s

As I mentioned in my previous post, my husband and I are broadening our culinary experience by trying out all the restaurants in our area that we’ve never been to before. So last night we went to Jimmy’s in historic downtown. Let me preface by saying this wasn’t the first time we’ve been to Jimmy’s but it is the first time we’ve eaten there. The first time we went there was actually not a good experience. As it was explained to us on that first visit, half of the staff had come down with a virus and they were understaffed for the night. We were perfectly okay with waiting a little longer on our dinner until after an hour of waiting we were told that our order had been lost and could they take it again. At that point we were starving and so we left and went to grab dinner somewhere else. I wasn’t impressed.

But since we’re starting on this new venture, I figured we’d give it a second try. Jimmy’s is a pretty small restaurant with about 15 tables or so and a bar at the back. It was dimly lit with candles on the tables which gives the place a feeling of casual elegance. The hostess and wait staff were very attentive when we first came in so I figured at least we would get waited on this time. They start you off with some little corn bread muffins with remoulade that was very tasty and also present you with a pretty extensive wine list. See, these are the times I wish we were “wine people”. Neither of us care for it so we skipped the wine and I just had water. But as a side note, if you live in the area, Jimmy’s is hosting a wine dinner on June 23rd where they’ll serve a five course meal with each course being paired with a different wine. The information is on their website.

I had heard good things about their gumbo so I decided I wanted to start with that and I also wanted to try their shrimp and grits. So I ordered the small plate of shrimp and grits as my entree with a side of fried green tomatoes. My husband, the fish lover, got the grouper Jimmy’s. We didn’t have to wait long for our food to come. The gumbo was AMAZING. I’ve never been a big fan of gumbo but this was great. I could order that for a meal by itself. My shrimp and grits were also delicious, but my favorite thing was the fried green tomatoes. SO good. If you’ve never had this crispy southern dish, you must try them! But only try them if you can get good, crispy ones. If they’re soggy, they’ll ruin the whole dish for you. I was very happy with my dinner choice. My husband on the other hand wasn’t really. His fish was a little tough in the middle and he could only eat about half of it. Not being the type to complain he didn’t bother sending it back.

The owner, Jim, came out and was talking to everyone in the restaurant asking how their dinner was. Surprisingly when he came around to our table, my husband spoke up and told him that his fish was tough and he couldn’t eat it all. The owner offered to make him another dish but he declined. So he asked if we’d like some bread pudding on the house. We accepted his offer and I am SO glad we did. We hadn’t planned on ordering dessert since I was almost stuffed, but this bread pudding was amazing! It was so moist and had the most deliciously sweet sauce on top with just a touch of bourbon. Outstanding. I could’ve licked the plate and had I been at home, I probably would have. : )

We ended our evening walking around downtown and I was very pleased with my meal. My husband said he’d like to try a shrimp po’boy for lunch sometime but wasn’t sure he would want to go back for dinner. Overall, it was a pretty good experience. I’m really glad we decided to give it a second try.

Price: $$

Atmosphere: Casual but elegant

Reservations required: no but accepted

The “Non-Cooking” Food Blog Post

You may think that since I have such an interest in cooking (so much that I have a food blog) that I cook every single night of the week. But that’s not true. My husband and I generally eat out about twice a week, normally once for dinner during the week and then either for breakfast or lunch on Sunday. I actually really enjoy taking a little time off from cooking and letting someone else do the work.

As my husband and I were eating at our favorite pizza place this past weekend, I decided that we needed to branch out from the restaurants we eat at regularly. So we are starting on a new venture. We’re aiming to try one new restaurant in our area each week. Now I am guilty of saying “there are nothing but chains in our area”, which for the most part is true. But sometimes I think we just don’t think about all the possibly great restaurants that are tucked away in the little cubby holes of our city. So I’m asking all my friends and co-workers to recommend restaurants they’ve been to and I’m going to make a list of the ones we’ve never been to. This will include everything from fancy schmancy places, little hole-in-the-wall places, and yes, even chains we’ve never visited.

My husband being the picky eater he is will most likely get a cheeseburger or something of the like wherever we go, but I’m going to try and get whatever their specialty item might be, granted it isn’t fish. I’m very excited we’re going to do this and I hope it helps me appreciate some of the less well known restaurants in our little college town.

By the way, I’ll be posting updates about which restaurants we try, what we liked and didn’t like. The first place we’re planning on trying is Jimmy’s in historic downtown. It’s a tiny place that serves southern style Creole and Cajun cuisine. I’ve heard great reviews from my co-workers about the food there so I’m excited to try it.

Hardly a garden

I’ve mentioned before that my great-grandparents were all farmers in south Georgia. That’s how they made their living for many, many years. Somehow along the line, their green thumb passed me by. It’s a well known fact that I don’t do well taking care of plants. For instance the ivy from my wedding that I fully intended on keeping for years to come as a keepsake…dead within 2 weeks. The little maple tree my mother-in-law gave me to someday plant in our yard…may it rest in peace. So why am I now trying to grow herbs? Ever since I really got into cooking I’ve started using more fresh herbs in my dishes. Well have you seen the price of some herbs lately? Not to mention the price of everything else at the grocery store. So I decided I wanted to give herb growing a try. I figured I’d start small and simple, knowing my track record with growing things, and just try sweet basil and parsley to begin with. It’s hardly an herb garden, but it’s a start. It’s only been a couple days since I’ve had them and so far so good. If I can keep these alive and actually be able to use them, I will feel very accomplished! I might even try a bigger garden next year.  I just hope I don’t forget to water them. : P