The Lee Bros. are coming to the Morris!

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For those of you who don't know the Lee Bros., they are two brothers from Charleston who have made it in the food world. You can read about them here.  To be so young, they have become so accomplished with such humble beginnings.  I mean, they got their start by selling boiled peanuts, for goodness sake.  How much more humble can you get? 

Anyway, we have finally, after years of begging, gotten them to make a stop in May at the Morris for a talk and demonstration on their 2011 tour.  Yay!  That got me thinking about their cookbooks.  I have made several, actually many, dinners from their cookbooks.  I love their take on Southern food--simple yet elegant, traditional yet updated, delicate yet decadent.  From their traditional recipes like pimento cheese and crab cakes to their new favorites like boiled peanut soup and sweet potato buttermilk pie, the Lee Bros. conjure up sweet memories from my youth, but recreate my Southern favorites in ways that are fit for even the foodiest of foodies. 

Their first cookbook is one of my all-time favorite cookbooks.  It's 589 pages of pure cooking magic.  They give tips, variations, sourcery and recipes for ingredients in recipes.  It has everything. It even won the coveted James Beard Award for cookbook of the year in 2007.  Their new cookbook is a new take on an idea from their first book, QKO (Quick Knock Out) dishes. Whether it's from the new or old book, every recipe makes my mouth water.

In honor of their upcoming weekend at the Morris, I decided to treat Adam to a Lee Bros. feast.  I only had the first cookbook on hand so I made their
Oven BBQed Picnic Shoulder

Hot Slaw A La Greyhound Grill

Macaroni and Cheese

Finished product!

It was amazing. Truly, those books are a must buy.

The boys are coming to the museum on May 7 for a talk, demonstration, tasting and book signing.  There are two sessions, 10:30 a.m. and 3 p.m.  Each ticket is $35.  If you want up close and personal time with the brothers, we have a VIP ticket that includes one session, a book and a private reception after session 2.  These tickets are a steal at $75 each.  Call the museum to get your tickets today!

Strawberry Bread

I love Publix. It is my most favorite grocery store in Augusta. It's always clean, the people are friendly, it has a wonderful balance of "health nut" to "normal" food, and the produce and meat departments always have the freshest selections.

Probably my favorite thing about Publix is that they don't have those VIP reward cards, but they always have 2 for the price of 1 on most of the items you buy, except every week, they change up the brands. But unlike a lot of stores, you can still get the deal even if you only buy one. So, you get a carton of orange juice for half price. It's great, as long as you not always a one-brand kind of person.

Last week, they were having a huge sale on strawberries. It was a tremendous savings. Three pint size containers for $5! I love strawberries in my yogurt (fresh strawberries, not strawberry flavored yogurt--gross) so I thought I'd buy a couple pints and see how long they lasted. Turns out, it's not so easy to eat 2 pints of strawberries before they go bad. So, I devised a plan to rid the fridge of the leftover strawberries...make strawberry bread on Sunday morning.

I love my mom's recipe, but couldn't find it so I found one on the internet. Luckily we were housesitting so she had everything I needed in her pantry. It's always nice to know you can make a perfectly delicious breakfast without having to go to the grocery store. Publix is great, but at 9:30 in the morning, being home is even better.

Strawberry Bread
Adapted from Joy of Baking

1/2 stick of unsalted butter, softened
3/4 c. sugar
3 large eggs, lightly scrambled
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 c. AP flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 c. sour cream
1/3 c. pecans
2 c. roughly chopped strawberries

Preheat oven to 350. Butter and flour an 8x4-inch loaf pan.

Place pecans on baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes or until fragrant. Let cool and coarsely chop.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter for about one minute. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition. Add the vanilla and beat until just mixed. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture (in three additions) and sour cream (in two additions) alternately, starting and ending with the flour. Mix only until combined. Gently fold in the chopped strawberries and walnuts.

Pour the batter into prepared pan and bake for one hour and 15 mintues. Insert a toothpick to see if comes out clean. Place on a wire rack to cool and then remove bread from pan. Serve warm with lots of butter.

How to Pair a Rosé

I've had a good bottle of rosé in our wine refrigerator for I don't know how long, and I was starting to worry about it going bad before we could drink it. The problem is that I didn't what to drink it with. I don't think of rose as a sipping wine, but a wine that needs to be drunk with some kind of food.

I started my search and quickly found that rosé goes particularly well with tomato based dishes that contain seafood. So a shrimp creole would have been perfect. Problem was, last night, I was determined not to go to the grocery store. I made it my goal to prepare dinner with only what I had in the kitchen. Upon further searching, I learned that egg dishes go well with rosé, too. And there I had it...a frittata.

So, I grabbed some chipotle chicken sausage links and tortillas from the freezer, some leftover manchego cheese, and my last 4 eggs from their carton and went to work on my creation. Turns out that rosé pairs perfectly with a frittata. We should have figured that out earlier because we have missed out on rosé and frittatas for way too long.

Chicken Sausage and Manchego Frittata
Serves 2 with leftovers for breakfast the next morning

1 tbs. olive oil, divided
1/4 red onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 link of spicy chicken sausage, cut into thin disks
4 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup shredded manchego cheese, divided
1/2 tsp. chili powder
salt and pepper
two small flour tortillas
Frank's Red Hot Sauce

Preheat the broiler. In an oven-safe small skillet over medium-low, sauté the onion and garlic in 1/2 tbs. olive oil until softened. Add the sausage disks and heat through. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, small handful of cheese, chili powder, and salt and pepper. Take the skillet off the heat, add sausage mixture to bowl with egg mixture. Whisk to incorporate everything.

Wipe skillet with a paper towel. Heat 1/2 tbs. oil over medium low heat. Add egg and sausage mixture. Cook until the bottom sets and starts to brown and the top begins to set. Transfer to a low rack of oven. Let broil for about 5 minutes or until the top has set and is beginning to brown, but making sure it doesn't burn. Meanwhile, toast tortillas until just brown, about 3-5 mintues.

Remove frittata from the oven and transfer to a plate. Place one tortilla in skillet and top with cheese. Slide fritatta on top of the tortilla. Top with another tortilla and sprinkle with cheese. Put back under broiler until cheese melts. Cut into wedges and serve with chopped tomatoes and hot sauce.

Low-Key Valentine's Dinner

As I've mentioned before, our anniversary is the 13th of February, and after our Atlanta and Cuscowilla weekend, we were so full from all of the delicious food that we decided to order a pizza when we got home on Sunday. We knew we made the right decision when we saw Papa Johns website advertising their Valentine's Special, a heart shaped pepperoni pizza. How appropriate for our anniversary? Looks like we have our next few anniversaries planned.

And so the next day was Valentine's Day, which seriously took a backseat to our anniversary. That's ok with us because we were never really into Valentine's Day to begin with so Monday came and went with almost no recognition of the day. Except, of course, dinner.

We had a true, romantic steakhouse dinner. Filet mignon topped with sautéed mushrooms, salt crusted baked potato, creamed spinach and french rolls. Pure perfection. What better way to celebrate love than with a full belly?

Creamed Spinach
Serves 2 with big appetites or 4 smaller portions

1 box of frozen spinach, thawed and water squeezed out
1 shallot, chopped
1/2 tbs. butter
1/2 cup low-fat milk
1 1/2 tbs. sour cream
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper
2 tbs. Parmesan cheese
Italian style breadcrumbs

Preheat the broiler. In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat and sauté the shallot until softened. Add the flour and cook for 3 minutes until it just starts to turn light brown, stirring constantly. Add the milk, and whisk constantly until it boils. Continue whisking and simmer for 3-5 minutes. Add the spinach, sour cream, nutmeg, lemon juice and salt and pepper and heat, stirring, until it is heated through. Divide creamed spinach among two buttered baking dishes. Top with Parmesan and breadcrumbs. Broil until the breadcrumbs start to brown.

Anniversary Weekend

In the Lobby Lounge at the Ritz Carlton

Last weekend, February 11-13, Adam and I celebrated our first year of marriage. We had a fabulous weekend and even more fabulous food. I had a day-trip planned to Atlanta on Friday for work so we decided to meet and spend the night there and go to Lake Oconee on Saturday night. Adam's fabulous groomsmen gave us a night and a round of golf at Cuscowilla on Lake Oconee so we thought there was no better time to go off on a romantic getaway than our anniversary.

Adam picked me up from the High Museum on Friday afternoon to begin our celebration of year-long wedded bliss. We checked into our favorite boutique hotel in Midtown, Hotel Indigo, and then headed out to grab a beer before we decided on dinner. I wanted Italian so with the help of Janna and Opentable.com, we decided on Veni Vidi Vici. From the moment we entered, we felt like we were at our favorite Italian restaurant in Lucerne, Switzerland. Our entrees were even the same, with a few little American twists. I chose the pappardelle with duck breast and mushroom ragu, and Adam had the spinach and ricotta gnocchi with gorganzola, speck and cream. From the warm ambiance and impecable service to the crispy bread sticks at the bar to the to the luxurious and decadent chocolate dessert, our meal was a huge success.

The next morning, after a quick shopping marathon, we check in for our lunch reservation. The Buckhead Diner is one of those iconic Atlanta restaurants that reminds me so much of my childhood. Whenever the Powell girls would go shopping with Mom in Atlanta, she would always treat us to the Buckhead Diner. After a huge plate of their sinful homemade blue cheese chips, I indulged in their Croque Madame and Adam devoured the equally delicious chicken pretzel club. Just let your imagination run wild with that one!

After lunch, we left the big city for a quiet night surrounded by nature. Well, if you consider multi-million dollar houses and a lakefront view with a two-boat dock to be nature. We arrived to our destination to find out immediately that Cuscowilla is a beautiful gem on Georgia's Lake Oconee. Our villa was perfectly placed on the banks of the peaceful lake and surrounded by trees, boats, fishermen and, oh yeah, one of the highest consistently ranked golf courses in Georgia. It is the sort of place that golfers and their wives can really enjoy themselves, even if that means separately.

The Ritz-Carlton at Reynolds Plantation is only 20 minutes away from Cuscowilla so for our anniversary dinner, we decided to make reservations at their upscale restaurant, Georgia's Bistro. We arrived about 30 minutes early to have a cocktail in the Lobby Lounge where the leather couches, roaring fireplace, jazz trio greet you with an unapologetic sense of luxury. With a quick toast of Champagne and reminiscent tales about surviving our first year, we relaxed and took in the beauty of the place.

At dinner, I was greeted with a long-stemmed red rose (it was Valentine's Weekend, don't forget) and shown to our romantic table for two. Our server immediately brought over a bottle of bubbly and a card that read, Happy Anniversary! We love you, Mom, Dad, Katie and Scott. That sneaky Mom! As we enjoyed our drinks, we ordered our dinner. We started with the Taste of Georgia Artisans sausage and salami, cheese and homemade preserves plate which was heavenly. We moved on to our entrees of crab cakes and shrimp and grits. And then we made it to our delicious Swiss dessert. On the rim of the plate that housed our chocolate fondue, fruit and cakes, our "Happy 1st Anniversary" was written in warm, melted chocolate. What an end to a perfect meal. Except that when it came time to settle our bill, our server told us it had already been taken care of by Mom, Dad, Katie and Scott. Dinner and Champagne at the Ritz is definitely the best anniversary present!

The next day, Adam's parents came to Cuscowilla for Sam to play the earlier mentioned round of golf with Adam. Although I'm learning to play and I even have an awesome new set of clubs thanks to the Lands, I thought it might be a waste of a round on that spectacular course to have me play about six holes and ride in the cart until number 18. Needless to say, Sam was eager to meet us there. Sam and Dianne treated us to a deliciously hearty breakfast at the golf club, and then the boys started on their round.

Dianne and I hit the road for our spa day at the Ritz. Who knew a 25-minute manicure could be so fun and relaxing? We talked about what we were doing exactly one year before (which was just what we were doing that day and time...getting manicures!) and how much fun we had at our wedding. As an added surprise, Dianne treated me to my manicure. No one could ever say I don't have a terrific mother-in-law!! After our spa treatments and antique excursion in Madison, Dianne and I met the boys for our farewell lunch at the golf club. After all the rich food we'd had I chose their grilled chicken salad and Adam opted for the chicken caesar salad wrap.

It was the perfect way to spend our first anniversary. I'm sure not every anniversary after this will be as luxurious and painstakingly thought out, but this was a wonderful end to our first wonderful year together. Now, if only we can figure out a way for our parents to pay for another weekend at Lake Oconee. I guess we need to start begging now!

Heathlier Take on Buffalo Wings

Adam and I love anything with buffalo sauce, and I mean anything. I think we would even eat a piece of Styrofoam if it was covered in buffalo sauce. Obviously, deep fried chicken wings are not part of a healthy weekday diet (but we do indulge on the weekends on occasion) so I have to figure out ways to get that delicious buffalo taste without all the fat.

While I was looking up recipes for Super Bowl Sunday, I found all things buffalo. From wings to salad to chili, it seems that we aren't the only people in America who are having a love affair with buffalo sauce.

I stumbled upon Rachel Ray's recipe for Buffalo Sloppy Joes. We love her original Sloppy Joe recipe so I thought this would be a slam dunk. And, boy was it?! The combination of ground chicken, buffalo sauce and all the fixing's was perfect until the last bite. It was so good, that Adam even ate the leftovers the next night. Now that means it must have been good.

Buffalo Chicken Sloppy Joes
Adapted from Rachel Ray

1/2 tbs. olive oil
1/2 lb. ground chicken, white meat only
1/2 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1/2 Vidalia onion
1 clove garlic, chopped
salt and pepper
1/2 tbs. red wine vinegar
1/2 tbs. brown sugar
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup Frank's Red Hot
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 hamburger rolls
1/4 cup blue cheese crumbles
dill pickle chips

Heat skillet with olive oil over medium-high heat. Add meat and break it up, cook for 5 minutes. Add in carrots, celery, onions and garlic, season with salt and pepper, cook 7 minutes more. In a bowl combine vinegar, sugar, Worcestershire, Frank's, tomato sauce and stock. Pour into pan and stir. Simmer for about 10 minutes, or until thick. In the meantime, put blue cheese crumbles on the bun tops and toast tops and bottoms for 4 minutes. Pile sloppy joe mixture onto buns and top with pickle slices. Serve with blue cheese coleslaw (recipe to come later) and oven roasted potato wedges.

Happy Birthday!

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I found out this morning that today is my culinary and lifestyle idol's birthday. Today, Ina Garten is 63 years old. Ina's zest for life and and affinity for all things delicious and beautiful are traits that make her so personable and inviting, even if the only reason I know her is because she has a TV show which invites millions of people in her home everyday. I can't help but think that we'd be great friends. Every time I have a cooking quandary, need a flower arrangement idea or have a table setting mishap, I always go to Ina. Her show always makes her party, her house, and her food and drink look effortless, clean and classic. Never do I think I'll have her knack for style or the money to pull it off, but a girl can only dream to be like the Barefoot Contessa when she grows up.