i have said this time and time again, we are so lucky to have an all year growing season. it always makes me happy to see winter gardens. the plants look tough and strong which helps then get through the cold nights.
yesterday we visited a lovely garden of a couple who moved a big farmhouse to their lot 19 years ago. they have created this amazing space and eat from their garden all year long. i left their country home….feeling inspired.
they also had a room of vines that was magical.
you can get mac and cheese at just about anywhere you go in the south- and everyone does it different. some cheesy..some creamy. some better than others.
yesterday i made this recipe which i cannot take any credit for. it was surely worth mentioning though. this is one of the best mac and cheeses that i have ever eaten. the nutmeg in the recipe may sound strange but trust me it makes it amazing.
this time of year you see collards everywhere. the frost has sweetened them up, and out in the country, you might see a whole truck load of collards. if a crowd is coming for new years, you may see people cooking up a black cast iron pot full over a fire. some people still do it that way, but most cook a big pot full in the house. we picked a pile of leaves and simply chopped them up, and cooked them down. we ate them seasoned up with a little soy sauce and apple cider vinegar. we had enough to eat for 4 days, just keeping them in the pot on the back porch at night. good eatin’!
this weekend was filled with lots of celebrations to bring in the new year. amongst the collards and black eyed peas i made a spinach artichoke dip to share. this one is always a crowd pleaser.
for our holiday feast, my contribution was sweet potato pie. we ran out of vanilla so i added some bourbon. i think that this will be my new standard sweet potato pie!
there was enough filling for one full pie and another partially filled pie. glad that there was left overs.
click to read recipe
i always love getting our weekly box of fresh vegetables from our farm. this week was especially exciting when we opened up our box and saw this amazing romanesco cauliflower. last night we made some soup with it. one of many wintry soups to come.
recipe follows
we hope that everyone had a great thanksgiving! we sure ate well this year! i have been so busy lately so i loved spending the entire day in the kitchen, cooking away. one of my favorite things that i made was a chanterelle and leek gravy.
this year we harvested lots and lots of chanterelle mushrooms, too many to eat. we thankfully dried a few jars full and now get to eat chanterelles all year round. if you don’t have dried chanterelles in your kitchen, you can also find dried and sometimes fresh chanterelles at your local health food store. I had a beautiful bundle of leeks from a local farm and they made a great pairing.
click below to read the recipe (more…)
DESSERT: mimi maumus of home.made catering and kristen bach
if you have ever been driving through the northeast mountains of georgia, you may have visited one of the many orchards selling fried pies. while on a recent trip to the mountains, we were inspired to make these pumpkin fried pies. we used a fresh mountain pumpkin, local sorghum, and pecans from our own tree.
click to see recipe (more…)
DRINK: Chris Luken of the National
the national’ is a quaint and cozy restaurant and bar in downtown athens, ga. using fresh and regional ingredients, they serve up some great food. located next door to our art house theater, it makes a perfect date night!
autumn mojito
this is the national’s take on the classic southern summer drink, the mojito. this variation is filled with southern soul and is made entirely from ingredients produced and grown below the mason-dixon line.
over ice
juice half a lime (florida)
2 oz pritchards’s rum (tennesse)
1/4 oz. minted steen’s cane syrup* (louisiana)
top with blenheim’s milder (green cap) ginger ale (south carolina)
*steen’s cane syrup, fresh and/or dried mint and a little bit of water to thin the mixture out. Put over low heat and let the mint steep for about a half an hour.
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