 | |
| Salad Copy #1 |
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Hot & Hot Tomato Salad: First Attempt
Monday, September 12, 2011
Foodie/History Safari Part II: Nashville, TN, DAY 2
The next day we toured the Ryman, the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Parthenon. On Broadway we stopped in at Hatch Show Print and Ernest Tubb Record Shop for souvenirs.
I grew up on country music, so finally entering the Ryman was special for me. I was amazed at the character of the building. The floorboards around the pews are gloriously worn. The exhibits at the Country Music Hall of Fame are really excellently curated. There was a lot to see and good music to hear. I was born in Tennessee, but I'd never seen the Parthenon in person. Truly stunning.
In the middle of the day we tried lunch at a spot our waitress at City House suggested, Arnold's Country Kitchen. Oh my. This is where we finally did ourselves in. Good, but TOO MUCH LUNCH after too much other rich food!
Woof. Edward had barbeque on a cornbread tortilla thingy, a cornbread muffin, fried green tomatoes, greens, mac and cheese AND strawberry pie. I had fried catfish and hushpuppies, fried green tomatoes and mac and cheese. This mid-day massacre humbled us at last. We had to return to the hotel for a nap!
Because we had to be rested up for that night's reservations at the Bluebird Cafe! Once we were slightly recovered from lunch, we knew we couldn't do justice to Capitol Grill, so we opted to sample it instead by ordering a couple of appetizers in the Oak Bar. Good decision. What did Edward have? I've forgotten. But my fried chicken livers were keen and just the right amount to tide me over for the evening. And what a GREAT evening it turned out to be. I thoroughly enjoyed the In the Round performance by Thom Schuyler, Fred Knobloch, Tony Arata and Jelly Roll Johnson. Schuyler is a great songwriter with lots of hits: "16th Avenue" by Lacy J. Dalton; "A Long Line of Love" by Michael Martin Murphy and "Years After You" by John Conlee to name only a few. I loved Fred Knobloch's Mississippi Delta bluesy sound. And Tony Arata wrote a little ditty called "The Dance." I think some guy called Garth recorded that song. I've always said that Charlie McCoy is the best harmonica player in the world, but now I know Jelly Roll Johnson gives Charlie a run for his money. I do NOT know how these musicians can sit together and play together this well. There was a young kid visiting who got to sing one song. I couldn't believe the way the others backed him up. It was absolutely recordable! I'm so glad I got to go to the Bluebird Cafe. I wish Athens had a spot like this where adults could go and LISTEN to good music without getting amped-up eardrum damage. I do miss real country music, but Nashville's still about the music and the songs.
That's about it for Nashville, but I do want to share one little scene, a display of paper cranes outside a church door on a downtown street. Some people disparage demonstrations such as this as meaningless. I appreciate any time anyone spends focusing on peace. There are many different kinds of heroes.
Two more stops on the 2011 Foodie/History Safari!
Back in 2006 Edward and I thoroughly enjoyed a Wiskey Tour of several bourbon distilleries in Kentucky, along with a tour of Jack Daniel's in Tennessee. At that time we stopped by George Dickel, but didn't have time for a tour, so we made a point of returning to Casade Hollow on this trip. Now that we've toured the Dickel facility, I wished we'd done it the same day as Jack Daniel's, because the juxtaposition would have been interesting. Jack Daniel's is big-time production, including computerized plant management. There's not a lot of high tech going on in Casade Hollow. George Dickel has, including the touring staff, only about 35 employees. But they produce an incredible amount of whisky (Dickel spells it without the "e"). If you've never visited a whiskey distillery and you're in the least interested in the process, I'd sure recommend a tour of at least one. I find the whole business and its history fascinating and many of the distilleries are in beautiful settings. At Dickel you won't get to share in the angels' share; you don't get to tour the barrel houses there, but it's a cool, free attraction.
Are we finally hungry again? After further navigational spats, we ended up eating lunch at a neat little spot in Tullahoma, Tennessee, Gondola Pizza and Steak House. Edward had a Greek salad and shish kebob and I had a calzone. This is exactly the kind of place (other than BBQ) we like to find for lunch when we're on the road. Nothing fancy, outrageously hideous decor, and the waitress was of the bullish throw-it-in-front-of-you school of service, but there was a guy smoking briskets and ribs out in the parking lot. If we'd been closer to home we'd have invested in a rack of ribs.
The Old Bailey was glad for Edward and Donna to get home. So was I. I'm not a great traveler, but I sure appreciate being able to travel freely, discovering new food adventures and visiting interesting, historical venues. Wonder where our next trip will take us?
 |
| The Mother Church of Country Music |
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| Bill Monroe's Mandolin |
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| Nashville's Parthenon |
I grew up on country music, so finally entering the Ryman was special for me. I was amazed at the character of the building. The floorboards around the pews are gloriously worn. The exhibits at the Country Music Hall of Fame are really excellently curated. There was a lot to see and good music to hear. I was born in Tennessee, but I'd never seen the Parthenon in person. Truly stunning.
In the middle of the day we tried lunch at a spot our waitress at City House suggested, Arnold's Country Kitchen. Oh my. This is where we finally did ourselves in. Good, but TOO MUCH LUNCH after too much other rich food!
 |
| Arnold's |
 | ||||||||||
| Too Much Lunch |
Woof. Edward had barbeque on a cornbread tortilla thingy, a cornbread muffin, fried green tomatoes, greens, mac and cheese AND strawberry pie. I had fried catfish and hushpuppies, fried green tomatoes and mac and cheese. This mid-day massacre humbled us at last. We had to return to the hotel for a nap!
Because we had to be rested up for that night's reservations at the Bluebird Cafe! Once we were slightly recovered from lunch, we knew we couldn't do justice to Capitol Grill, so we opted to sample it instead by ordering a couple of appetizers in the Oak Bar. Good decision. What did Edward have? I've forgotten. But my fried chicken livers were keen and just the right amount to tide me over for the evening. And what a GREAT evening it turned out to be. I thoroughly enjoyed the In the Round performance by Thom Schuyler, Fred Knobloch, Tony Arata and Jelly Roll Johnson. Schuyler is a great songwriter with lots of hits: "16th Avenue" by Lacy J. Dalton; "A Long Line of Love" by Michael Martin Murphy and "Years After You" by John Conlee to name only a few. I loved Fred Knobloch's Mississippi Delta bluesy sound. And Tony Arata wrote a little ditty called "The Dance." I think some guy called Garth recorded that song. I've always said that Charlie McCoy is the best harmonica player in the world, but now I know Jelly Roll Johnson gives Charlie a run for his money. I do NOT know how these musicians can sit together and play together this well. There was a young kid visiting who got to sing one song. I couldn't believe the way the others backed him up. It was absolutely recordable! I'm so glad I got to go to the Bluebird Cafe. I wish Athens had a spot like this where adults could go and LISTEN to good music without getting amped-up eardrum damage. I do miss real country music, but Nashville's still about the music and the songs.
 |
| Schuyler & Johnson |
That's about it for Nashville, but I do want to share one little scene, a display of paper cranes outside a church door on a downtown street. Some people disparage demonstrations such as this as meaningless. I appreciate any time anyone spends focusing on peace. There are many different kinds of heroes.
 | |
| A Time for Peace |
Back in 2006 Edward and I thoroughly enjoyed a Wiskey Tour of several bourbon distilleries in Kentucky, along with a tour of Jack Daniel's in Tennessee. At that time we stopped by George Dickel, but didn't have time for a tour, so we made a point of returning to Casade Hollow on this trip. Now that we've toured the Dickel facility, I wished we'd done it the same day as Jack Daniel's, because the juxtaposition would have been interesting. Jack Daniel's is big-time production, including computerized plant management. There's not a lot of high tech going on in Casade Hollow. George Dickel has, including the touring staff, only about 35 employees. But they produce an incredible amount of whisky (Dickel spells it without the "e"). If you've never visited a whiskey distillery and you're in the least interested in the process, I'd sure recommend a tour of at least one. I find the whole business and its history fascinating and many of the distilleries are in beautiful settings. At Dickel you won't get to share in the angels' share; you don't get to tour the barrel houses there, but it's a cool, free attraction.
 |
| Dickel Tour Guide Wearing Their New Slogan |
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| Edward in Cascade Hollow |
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| Old-Fashioned Eats |
Foodie/History Safari Part II: Nashville, TN, DAY 1
It was still overcast as we rolled out of Birmingham on our way to Nashville, but it had at least warmed up a bit.
You'd think we'd never be hungry again, but a few miles on up the road we stopped for lunch in Franklin, Tennessee, at Riff Burgers and Fries. This is a burger joint sort of a la Five Guys. They grind their own meat and serve beef, lamb, salmon and turkey burgers with trendy toppings. We both opted for the classic beef burger though. I was excited to see "skinny fries" on the menu, but was disappointed that they were the dark, limp kind I'm not that crazy about. Edward's onion rings were really good. How does he always end up ordering better food than I? I enjoyed eating here because it's in an old Gulf service station. Can't ever see that orange and blue sign without sweet memories of my dad.
Awhile back I read, thoroughly enjoyed and recommend The Widow of the South by Robert Hicks. Hicks did a masterful job with this novel based on the life of Carrie McGavock and the Civil War Battle of Franklin that was fought in her back yard on November 30, 1864, the bloodiest single-day battle of that horrible, bloody war. The battle lasted about five hours, with around 9,500 casualities and/or MIAs. Almost 7,000 were Confederate troops, who were mowed down as they charged across McGavock's Carnton Plantation. Many of the wounded and dying were carried to the McGavock's home. The next morning, the bodies of four Confederate generals, Patrick R. Cleburne, Hiram B. Granbury, John Adams and Otho F. Strahl, were laid out on Carrie's back porch. By 1866, the hundreds of field graves around Franklin were neglected, deteriorating and/or being destroyed. John and Carrie McGavock, recalling the tragedy of the Battle of Franklin, designated two acres at Carnton as a Confederate cemetery and set about removing remains from around Franklin to a final resting spot on their plantation, where Carrie McGavock would watch over them for the rest of her life. I had to see this place.
War is such a tremendous waste of our God-given opportunity on this earth. I'm afraid we'll never, ever learn. And our children will continue to pay for our stubborn human pride.
Leaving this solemn spot behind, Edward and I ventured on into Nashville. I won't bore you with all our navigational spats, but we finally arrived at our next lodging place, the superb Hermitage Hotel in downtown Nashville.
The Hermitage Hotel has been awarded the AAA Five Diamond Award eight years in a row and the Forbes Travel Guide Five Star Award five years in a row; it's currently the only hotel in Tennessee to hold either award. Let me tell you, 5-stars mean something. We were treated as if we were royalty. Check their website if you're interested in details on the up-and-down-and-up history of this hotel: http://www.thehermitagehotel.com/homepage.aspx, but I will mention that Gene Autry AND Champion were both guests here in the past (we stayed on the top floor, so I guess we didn't get Champion's room). Superior service starts with a doorman in tails and a top hat and just keeps going from there. Everybody knows you by name. If there's anything you want, all you have to do is look like you might ask for it. Fresh cherries and strawberries and fancy glass-bottled spring water in your room. A little basket you can place outside your door with your shoes inside and an hour later they'll come back to you shined. Free Wi-Fi. A fresh rosebud on the desk. A stack of cool magazines in your room, and a TV Guide in a special notebook. Luxurious robes of course, and an umbrella. Turndown service includes homemade cookies, fresh bedroom slippers and little mats next to the bed in case you don't want your bare toes to touch the carpet. Really. And get this, personalized printed hotel stationery. And that's just the stuff. As I said, what really shines is the personal service and attention to every detail.
The Hermitage Hotel is also home to an excellent, award-winning restaurant, The Capitol Grill, and we were tempted, but after two FINE dining evenings, we were ready to try out one of Chris Hastings' recommendations and after cocktails in the hotel's beautiful Oak Bar, we made our way to City House for supper. Good recommendation, Chef Hastings! But I must have had an extra manhattan at the Oak Bar (yes, I did, and they served hot boiled peanuts and spicy popcorn as bar snacks!), because I can't recall exactly what I ate at City House. It was a special that evening, so it's not on their online menu. It was pasta, just the way I love it, shells with a garlicky, no tomato sauce. I think Edward had the House Made Sausage with green tomato agrodolce and Abbey Ale mustard, but I wouldn't swear to that either. I do know we had the trip's best bottle of wine, a 2007 Elyse Nero Misto. I love Elyse wines and tried to abscond with the winery dog when we visited there back in 2007.
Whew, two more days to go. I'm getting full. Let's let Day 2 be its own post.
You'd think we'd never be hungry again, but a few miles on up the road we stopped for lunch in Franklin, Tennessee, at Riff Burgers and Fries. This is a burger joint sort of a la Five Guys. They grind their own meat and serve beef, lamb, salmon and turkey burgers with trendy toppings. We both opted for the classic beef burger though. I was excited to see "skinny fries" on the menu, but was disappointed that they were the dark, limp kind I'm not that crazy about. Edward's onion rings were really good. How does he always end up ordering better food than I? I enjoyed eating here because it's in an old Gulf service station. Can't ever see that orange and blue sign without sweet memories of my dad.
 |
| That Good Gulf Gasoline |
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| Riff burger and skinny fries |
Awhile back I read, thoroughly enjoyed and recommend The Widow of the South by Robert Hicks. Hicks did a masterful job with this novel based on the life of Carrie McGavock and the Civil War Battle of Franklin that was fought in her back yard on November 30, 1864, the bloodiest single-day battle of that horrible, bloody war. The battle lasted about five hours, with around 9,500 casualities and/or MIAs. Almost 7,000 were Confederate troops, who were mowed down as they charged across McGavock's Carnton Plantation. Many of the wounded and dying were carried to the McGavock's home. The next morning, the bodies of four Confederate generals, Patrick R. Cleburne, Hiram B. Granbury, John Adams and Otho F. Strahl, were laid out on Carrie's back porch. By 1866, the hundreds of field graves around Franklin were neglected, deteriorating and/or being destroyed. John and Carrie McGavock, recalling the tragedy of the Battle of Franklin, designated two acres at Carnton as a Confederate cemetery and set about removing remains from around Franklin to a final resting spot on their plantation, where Carrie McGavock would watch over them for the rest of her life. I had to see this place.
 |
| Carnton's Back Porch |
 | ||||||
| Carrie McGavock's Tombstone |
War is such a tremendous waste of our God-given opportunity on this earth. I'm afraid we'll never, ever learn. And our children will continue to pay for our stubborn human pride.
Leaving this solemn spot behind, Edward and I ventured on into Nashville. I won't bore you with all our navigational spats, but we finally arrived at our next lodging place, the superb Hermitage Hotel in downtown Nashville.
 | |||||
| Hermitage Hotel |
The Hermitage Hotel is also home to an excellent, award-winning restaurant, The Capitol Grill, and we were tempted, but after two FINE dining evenings, we were ready to try out one of Chris Hastings' recommendations and after cocktails in the hotel's beautiful Oak Bar, we made our way to City House for supper. Good recommendation, Chef Hastings! But I must have had an extra manhattan at the Oak Bar (yes, I did, and they served hot boiled peanuts and spicy popcorn as bar snacks!), because I can't recall exactly what I ate at City House. It was a special that evening, so it's not on their online menu. It was pasta, just the way I love it, shells with a garlicky, no tomato sauce. I think Edward had the House Made Sausage with green tomato agrodolce and Abbey Ale mustard, but I wouldn't swear to that either. I do know we had the trip's best bottle of wine, a 2007 Elyse Nero Misto. I love Elyse wines and tried to abscond with the winery dog when we visited there back in 2007.
Whew, two more days to go. I'm getting full. Let's let Day 2 be its own post.
Foodie/History Safari Part I: Birmingham, AL
We didn't make it to Oregon wine country this fall, so where to go on vacation instead? Really, Alabama and Tennessee? Good choices!
We've been wanting to eat at Frank Stitt's Highlands Bar and Grill for quite a while, but never found a reason to travel to Birmingham. So with no place else to go, Edward planned a short culinary tour of two neighboring states. Good food (too much good food in fact) all along the way, with some history sites thrown in, made for a good little trip.
On our way to Birmingham we ate lunch in Anniston, Alabama, at Goal Post Barbeque. It was good and the service was BBQ quaint, but I wish the neon sign of the field goal attempt had been working. The star of the meal here was Edward's side of fried squash. It tasted pretty fresh.
We stayed in the very nice boutique Hotel Highlands at Five Points South, a 1920's medical arts building that became the Pickwick Hotel in the 1980's. Decorated with a modern flare and Brazilian furnishings, the hotel was comfortable and interesting. We had reserved just an ordinary King room, but when we started to settle in, discovered Tropical Storm Lee had drenched the carpet in front of one of the windows; we were moved to a Luxury King Suite! This was a very nice suite with a spacious sitting room, wet bar and bistro table and a very large bedroom with a view of Vulcan. This is the first time we've ever gotten such an upgrade. Accommodations such as these could spoil a person. We only have one TV at home; here there were two.
Disaster # 1: The storm had dropped the temperature by twenty degrees or so. It was still raining and I was wearing shorts and hadn't brought any kind of jacket.
Disaster #2: I forgot to pack Edward's sport coat. He wasn't going to be a happy camper if he had to go to Highlands without a jacket. We had enough time to go out to buy something. We asked the girl at the desk where we could find a men's shop and she suggested Walmart. We were able to locate a mall with a Belk and Edward lucked into a Ralph Lauren sport coat on clearance for less than $30.00! I found a sweater to at least fend off a bit of the chill.
Disasters averted, that first night we walked to the Highlands Bar and Grill (http://www.highlandsbarandgrill.com/) and were treated to a wonderful meal. Signature martinis (Stitt insists on regular Bombay, but I'm still a Sapphire fan myself) hit the spot. For starters, Edward had a Charcuterie Plate of pork pate with foie gras and pistachios, duck rillettes and grilled chicken-apple sausage. I had Cornmeal Fried Mississippi Quail with fresh chicken livers with scrambled farm egg salad and warm bacon vinaigrette. Both these dishes were stellar. We had a bottle of 2009 Ken Wright "Abbott Claim" Pinot Noir with our entrees. Edward selected Grilled Veal Chop with Provencal zucchini gratin with Vidalia onions, parmesan and comte; I had Colorado Lamb Porterhouse Chops with herbed roasted fingerling potatoes with red onion, eggplant and olive oil. The entrees were good, but Edward's veal was not outstanding and my potatoes were potatoes. Perhaps we should have selected items less like Edward does so well himself. The zucchini gratin was really good. To finish off, we shared a Sweet and Salty Cake, chocolate with sea salt. SO good! And our waiter, who has been with Stitt since his beginning, added gratis moscatos! I think he couldn't stand the thoughts of us having dessert with nothing to drink. Our dinner at Highlands Bar and Grill was my idea of quintessential fine dining. Quiet, sophisticated, good, comfortable. The service was absolutely impeccable, probably the best I've ever experienced.
The next morning Edward played golf at Highland Park Golf Club (http://www.highlandparkgolf.com/highlandpark.asp?id=13&page=348), the oldest golf course in Alabama. For lunch we ate at Saw's Barbeque (http://www.sawsbbq.com/) in Homewood, where Edward had what he says is the best barbequed chicken of his life. This is saying a lot. Edward lives for barbequed chicken. It was done, smoked and juicy and served with white sauce. It was really good.
Later that afternoon we found Reed Books: The Museum of Fond Memories in downtown Birmingham. This eccentric book store looked like what E. Brumby Bookseller might be today if we'd stayed in Murphy.
One more dinner in Birmingham and it was a doozy! Just before our trip Edward had purchased ANOTHER cookbook, Chris and Idie Hastings' Hot and Hot Fish Club Cookbook and was already falling in love. I'd heard about Hot and Hot from Athens' FourCoursemen. Everyone was right, this is a really good dining experience. We ordered cocktails of course. Edward had a special manhattan with house-made sour mix and honey. It was excellent and something we plan to try to recreate soon. I had something with peach puree and bubbly. To start our meal Edward ordered one of the chef's signature dishes, Hot and Hot Tomato Salad with field peas, sweet corn, fried okra and applewood smoked bacon. This one is definitely making onto our "try this at home" list. I had an interesting (and I mean that in the best way) Hot and Hot Rabbit Tamale with black bean salsa, Ancho chili sauce and cilantro creme fraiche. For our main courses, Edward had 13 Mile Florida Hoppers (shrimp) with sweet corn and lobster mushroom risotto and oven roasted baby okra. There were six big shrimp in this nice dish. I had a really good Pan Roasted Long Island Duck Breast and Confit Leg with Anson Mills' white grits, sweet corn, chanterelle mushrooms, Petals From the Past muscadines, scuppernongs and red wine gastrique. Here we let the waiter select glasses of wine to pair with our meal. For dessert we shared a wonderful Elton's Chocolate Souffle with creme Anglais and whipped cream. Yum. Yum. Yum to this entire meal. The Hot and Hot dining experience wasn't as polished as Highlands, but the food was incredible. Chef Hastings came out and talked to us for several minutes. When he heard we were on our way to Nashville, he went to get his own phone to give us contacts for great places to eat there. He was so nice. He really believes in what he's doing and seems intent on staying where he is and making Hot and Hot Fish Club the best it can possibly be, which is already pretty darned excellent. Overall, our dinner at Hot and Hot was exactly the kind of experience we were hoping for on this food safari. Thanks, Chef Hastings. Right now there's a jar of cream and buttermilk sitting on the counter in my kitchen. What's Edward brewing up from the Hastings' cookbook?
That's it from Birmingham, on to Nashville in the next blog!
We've been wanting to eat at Frank Stitt's Highlands Bar and Grill for quite a while, but never found a reason to travel to Birmingham. So with no place else to go, Edward planned a short culinary tour of two neighboring states. Good food (too much good food in fact) all along the way, with some history sites thrown in, made for a good little trip.
On our way to Birmingham we ate lunch in Anniston, Alabama, at Goal Post Barbeque. It was good and the service was BBQ quaint, but I wish the neon sign of the field goal attempt had been working. The star of the meal here was Edward's side of fried squash. It tasted pretty fresh.
 |
| Anniston, AL |
We stayed in the very nice boutique Hotel Highlands at Five Points South, a 1920's medical arts building that became the Pickwick Hotel in the 1980's. Decorated with a modern flare and Brazilian furnishings, the hotel was comfortable and interesting. We had reserved just an ordinary King room, but when we started to settle in, discovered Tropical Storm Lee had drenched the carpet in front of one of the windows; we were moved to a Luxury King Suite! This was a very nice suite with a spacious sitting room, wet bar and bistro table and a very large bedroom with a view of Vulcan. This is the first time we've ever gotten such an upgrade. Accommodations such as these could spoil a person. We only have one TV at home; here there were two.
 |
| Vulcan View |
 |
| Suite at Highlands Hotel |
Disaster # 1: The storm had dropped the temperature by twenty degrees or so. It was still raining and I was wearing shorts and hadn't brought any kind of jacket.
Disaster #2: I forgot to pack Edward's sport coat. He wasn't going to be a happy camper if he had to go to Highlands without a jacket. We had enough time to go out to buy something. We asked the girl at the desk where we could find a men's shop and she suggested Walmart. We were able to locate a mall with a Belk and Edward lucked into a Ralph Lauren sport coat on clearance for less than $30.00! I found a sweater to at least fend off a bit of the chill.
Disasters averted, that first night we walked to the Highlands Bar and Grill (http://www.highlandsbarandgrill.com/) and were treated to a wonderful meal. Signature martinis (Stitt insists on regular Bombay, but I'm still a Sapphire fan myself) hit the spot. For starters, Edward had a Charcuterie Plate of pork pate with foie gras and pistachios, duck rillettes and grilled chicken-apple sausage. I had Cornmeal Fried Mississippi Quail with fresh chicken livers with scrambled farm egg salad and warm bacon vinaigrette. Both these dishes were stellar. We had a bottle of 2009 Ken Wright "Abbott Claim" Pinot Noir with our entrees. Edward selected Grilled Veal Chop with Provencal zucchini gratin with Vidalia onions, parmesan and comte; I had Colorado Lamb Porterhouse Chops with herbed roasted fingerling potatoes with red onion, eggplant and olive oil. The entrees were good, but Edward's veal was not outstanding and my potatoes were potatoes. Perhaps we should have selected items less like Edward does so well himself. The zucchini gratin was really good. To finish off, we shared a Sweet and Salty Cake, chocolate with sea salt. SO good! And our waiter, who has been with Stitt since his beginning, added gratis moscatos! I think he couldn't stand the thoughts of us having dessert with nothing to drink. Our dinner at Highlands Bar and Grill was my idea of quintessential fine dining. Quiet, sophisticated, good, comfortable. The service was absolutely impeccable, probably the best I've ever experienced.
The next morning Edward played golf at Highland Park Golf Club (http://www.highlandparkgolf.com/highlandpark.asp?id=13&page=348), the oldest golf course in Alabama. For lunch we ate at Saw's Barbeque (http://www.sawsbbq.com/) in Homewood, where Edward had what he says is the best barbequed chicken of his life. This is saying a lot. Edward lives for barbequed chicken. It was done, smoked and juicy and served with white sauce. It was really good.
 |
| Saw's: "The BEST BBQ Chicken Ever" |
Later that afternoon we found Reed Books: The Museum of Fond Memories in downtown Birmingham. This eccentric book store looked like what E. Brumby Bookseller might be today if we'd stayed in Murphy.
One more dinner in Birmingham and it was a doozy! Just before our trip Edward had purchased ANOTHER cookbook, Chris and Idie Hastings' Hot and Hot Fish Club Cookbook and was already falling in love. I'd heard about Hot and Hot from Athens' FourCoursemen. Everyone was right, this is a really good dining experience. We ordered cocktails of course. Edward had a special manhattan with house-made sour mix and honey. It was excellent and something we plan to try to recreate soon. I had something with peach puree and bubbly. To start our meal Edward ordered one of the chef's signature dishes, Hot and Hot Tomato Salad with field peas, sweet corn, fried okra and applewood smoked bacon. This one is definitely making onto our "try this at home" list. I had an interesting (and I mean that in the best way) Hot and Hot Rabbit Tamale with black bean salsa, Ancho chili sauce and cilantro creme fraiche. For our main courses, Edward had 13 Mile Florida Hoppers (shrimp) with sweet corn and lobster mushroom risotto and oven roasted baby okra. There were six big shrimp in this nice dish. I had a really good Pan Roasted Long Island Duck Breast and Confit Leg with Anson Mills' white grits, sweet corn, chanterelle mushrooms, Petals From the Past muscadines, scuppernongs and red wine gastrique. Here we let the waiter select glasses of wine to pair with our meal. For dessert we shared a wonderful Elton's Chocolate Souffle with creme Anglais and whipped cream. Yum. Yum. Yum to this entire meal. The Hot and Hot dining experience wasn't as polished as Highlands, but the food was incredible. Chef Hastings came out and talked to us for several minutes. When he heard we were on our way to Nashville, he went to get his own phone to give us contacts for great places to eat there. He was so nice. He really believes in what he's doing and seems intent on staying where he is and making Hot and Hot Fish Club the best it can possibly be, which is already pretty darned excellent. Overall, our dinner at Hot and Hot was exactly the kind of experience we were hoping for on this food safari. Thanks, Chef Hastings. Right now there's a jar of cream and buttermilk sitting on the counter in my kitchen. What's Edward brewing up from the Hastings' cookbook?
That's it from Birmingham, on to Nashville in the next blog!
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Southern Food Culture on the Skids? Part II
From the introduction to the tenth anniversary edition of Joseph E. Dabney’s Smokehouse Ham, Spoon Bread, & Scuppernong Wine:
“There may well be as much to learn about a nation from the food and drink its people consume as from the laws it passes and the wars it fights...for food and drink are daily matters that intimately reflect the spirit and tastes of a people.” --quoted from the Washington Post review by Jonathan Yardley of Joseph Dabney’s Mountain Spirits.
Smokehouse Ham... isn’t a Southern cookbook; as its subtitle explains, it’s a book about The Folklore and Art of Southern Appalachian Cooking. “Southern cooking” breaks down into distinct subsets. For instance, shrimp and grits are lowcountry, not mountain (I did see a recipe for “Tennessee Shrimp and Grits” in a Southern cookbook today; needless to day, I didn’t buy that cookbook!). City food didn’t used to be the same as country cooking. You could have asked Edward’s mother, Mary Faye, about that. She famously declared “Once I tasted city eating I was never going back to county food again.” I respect Mary Faye, but I can’t totally agree with that; I still prefer country vittles myself.
So what can one learn about America from what Americans are eating these days? That we’re all in a great hurry I suppose. Hurrying for what reason I’m not so sure.
Anyway, I’ve been after Edward to post a list here of his favorite cookbooks, but he’s definitely NOT hurrying on this one, so even though I’m not the chef in this Brumby household, I’m going to share with you a few of my own favorite cookbooks.
Smokehouse Ham, Spoon Bread, & Scuppernong Wine: The Folklore and Art of Southern Appalachian Cooking, by Joseph E. Dabney
Edward gave me this great book a couple of Christmases ago. It took me the better part of a year, but I did read the entire tome from cover to cover. Fascinating -- a wonderful mix of history, geography, culture and personalities. And my mentor, Ethelene D. Jones, is featured on page 440. I’ve not cooked many dishes exactly from the recipes printed here, but I return to my little cast iron cornbread skillet more often since reading this book.
Southern Cooking from Mary Mac’s Tea Room, by Margaret Lupo
I have the little old plastic comb-bound version from 1983. I don’t know where I got it, but it’s signed by the author. Since I just cook, and not very often, I return to this book time and again for ideas and advice for fixing such vegetable basics as fried okra, baked squash and fried green tomatoes. I’ve never eaten at Mary Mac’s btw.
“There may well be as much to learn about a nation from the food and drink its people consume as from the laws it passes and the wars it fights...for food and drink are daily matters that intimately reflect the spirit and tastes of a people.” --quoted from the Washington Post review by Jonathan Yardley of Joseph Dabney’s Mountain Spirits.
Smokehouse Ham... isn’t a Southern cookbook; as its subtitle explains, it’s a book about The Folklore and Art of Southern Appalachian Cooking. “Southern cooking” breaks down into distinct subsets. For instance, shrimp and grits are lowcountry, not mountain (I did see a recipe for “Tennessee Shrimp and Grits” in a Southern cookbook today; needless to day, I didn’t buy that cookbook!). City food didn’t used to be the same as country cooking. You could have asked Edward’s mother, Mary Faye, about that. She famously declared “Once I tasted city eating I was never going back to county food again.” I respect Mary Faye, but I can’t totally agree with that; I still prefer country vittles myself.
So what can one learn about America from what Americans are eating these days? That we’re all in a great hurry I suppose. Hurrying for what reason I’m not so sure.
Anyway, I’ve been after Edward to post a list here of his favorite cookbooks, but he’s definitely NOT hurrying on this one, so even though I’m not the chef in this Brumby household, I’m going to share with you a few of my own favorite cookbooks.
Smokehouse Ham, Spoon Bread, & Scuppernong Wine: The Folklore and Art of Southern Appalachian Cooking, by Joseph E. Dabney
Edward gave me this great book a couple of Christmases ago. It took me the better part of a year, but I did read the entire tome from cover to cover. Fascinating -- a wonderful mix of history, geography, culture and personalities. And my mentor, Ethelene D. Jones, is featured on page 440. I’ve not cooked many dishes exactly from the recipes printed here, but I return to my little cast iron cornbread skillet more often since reading this book.
Southern Cooking from Mary Mac’s Tea Room, by Margaret Lupo
I have the little old plastic comb-bound version from 1983. I don’t know where I got it, but it’s signed by the author. Since I just cook, and not very often, I return to this book time and again for ideas and advice for fixing such vegetable basics as fried okra, baked squash and fried green tomatoes. I’ve never eaten at Mary Mac’s btw.
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| Fried Green Tomato @ Home |
The New Southern Basics, by Martha Phelps Stamps
I bought a copy of this book weeded from the Snellville branch of Gwinnett County Public Library (books we’ve purchased from this source could make an entire blog). I check these recipes too when attempting the basics. Here you can find guidance for making pimiento cheese, chicken salad, fried corn, fried sweet potatoes and lots of other things I ought to cook.
Starr Recipes from Greystone, by Mary Starr
This is another little plastic comb-bound recipe book. This one belonged to my maternal grandmother, Gertrude. Her check marks of approval and notes for alterations can be seen in the margins. For many years Mary Starr was “Hostess on the Homemakers Show” for WATE Radio 620 / Television 6 in Knoxville, Tennessee. This book is a 1970 compilation of her favorites. There are some recipes in here we might call frightful or laughable these days (South Carolina Chicken with minute rice and two kinds of canned soup.....), but again, there are some “Easy and foolproof” standards. The page containing the recipe for Quick and Easy Coconut Pie boasts stains and a red checkmark. Granny, who was a superb cook, also gave her thumb up to Ground Beef Stew, Banana-Walnut Bread, Chocolate Covered Cherries and Coconut Mounds and Apple-Date Cake. She X’ed through Mary’s Caramel Icing.
Those cover Southern cooking, but here are a few other cookbooks I particularly like and/or use:
Better Homes and Garden New Cook Book
Yes, I bought myself a copy of the red-and-white checkered notebook back around 1981. Talk about pedestrian, there are no foodie fantasies or homey historicals here. But even today, when the Internet can supply one with myriads of recipes in a heartbeat, I still open this old standby for basic information about cooking times and temperatures. Wonder how many women have learned to cook from this book?
Another cookbook I read entirely is Two Fat Ladies: Gastronomic Adventures [With Motorbike and Sidecar], by Jennifer Paterson and Clarissa Dickson Wright. I used to LOVE to watch their show on BBC America. What incredible lives they enjoyed! And if I ever need to know how to cook grouse or rabbit or Scotch eggs, I’ve got the word from the experts handy. Whatever I’m cooking, their recipe will probably begin with “line the bowl with bacon,” and how could that be bad?
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| Andrew Swallow's Field Salad |
Of course my really favorite recipes are the ones I’ve copied out on cute little file cards in the nice wooden recipe box my aunt Johnnie gave me years ago. And my more recent notebook full of photocopies, Internet printouts and newspaper and magazine clippings.
No, I’m not the Brumby chef, nor am I the Brumby cookbook aficionado, but these are my favorites for reading and cooking. (My real favorites of course are the ones which inspire my chef Edward to experiment, usually with tasty results!)
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Southern Food Culture on the Skids?
Pollan would say I don’t, since I grew up in mid-20th century America. Except that my mid-20th century American experience was in a small (and I mean really small) town in a rural county in the South.
Back then, was I more connected to my food?
We ate a lot of store-bought big name brands of processed food: Heinz tomato ketchup; Jell-O; Tang; Kool-Aid; Hormel bacon; Aunt Jemima pancake mix; Log Cabin maple-flavored syrup; Hershey’s chocolate-flavored syrup; Kelloggs’ and Post cereals (Sugar Frosted Flakes, Sugar Smacks, Sugar Pops -- notice a pattern here?); Minute Rice; Duncan Hines and Betty Crocker cake mixes; Lipton tea bags; Rice-A-Roni (the San Francisco treat!); Lay’s potato chips; Campbell’s soup; Gerber’s baby food; Bluebonnet margarine; Wesson corn oil; Crisco shortening; Libbey’s fruit cocktail; French’s mustard; Van Camp’s pork and beans; Karo syrup; Bird’s Eye concentrated orange juice; Oscar Meyer wieners; ReaLemon; Borden’s Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk; Kraft Miracle Whip, mayonnaise and Cracker Barrel cheese; La Choy (makes Chinese food SWING American!) chow mein noodles; Nestle’s chocolate chips; Carnation evaporated milk; Star-Kist tuna; Bisquick; Wishbone dressing; Jolly Time pop corn; Quaker oats; Nabisco everything (Premium Saltines, Ritz crackers, Cream of Wheat, Barnum’s Animal Crackers, Oreos, Fig Newtons, Lorna Dunes); Chef Boy-Ar-Dee spaghetti sauce and Beefaroni; Morton’s salt; McCormick’s ground spices; Underwood Deviled Ham; Armour Vienna Sausage; Spam......
Many of these foods, margarine, corn oil and shortening for example, were supposed to be vastly better, health-wise, than the butter, grease and lard they were replacing. And we did have our “local” brands for some staples. Coffee was JFG or Maxwell House, but now I realize both were pretty bad. Flour was White Lily, Martha White, Southern or Red Band, but of course it was then, as now, processed into absolute whiteness. Even our corn meal mostly came from these companies. Sugar was Dixie Crystals or Domino. Bread, wonderfully, was Kern’s ("Kern's is good bread'); sliced or buns, all-white-all-the-time. And anything milk related (milk, buttermilk, ice cream, cottage cheese) was Mayfield’s.
But I didn’t mean for this to turn into just another nostalgic list; more to my point, there are probably some reasons why I can recall all these food brands so easily.
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| Grandma putting cornbread dressing into the oven |
1. My mom cooked. She made breakfast every morning and supper almost every night. And on weekends and in the summer (my mom was a high school English teacher) she made lunch. Or we walked across the street to eat at my grandmother’s house. No, I can’t claim I had any real notion about where flour came from, but I watched it being made into lots of biscuits and pie crusts. I knew even less about restaurants. There were no chain eateries within my realm of experience. Maybe a “steak house” out on the highway or a drive-in grill with burgers, fries and milkshakes, but that’s about it and those were frequented only rarely.
2. Frozen food was just getting started. Our refrigerators weren’t frost-free and only had very small freezer compartments. Preserved foods we bought or put by were mostly canned or dried.
3. My dad’s family (those grandparents who lived across the street with my unmarried aunt) had been share-croppers since the Depression, but my grandmother no longer made a garden. My grandfather was diabetic (I guess I should have listed some brand of saccharin tablets above) and in a wheelchair and Grandma was 71 years old when I was born. No one else in the family was interested in making a garden for her. All those wonderful, convenient foods listed above meant no one had to.
4. My own family (Dad, Mom and my older brother, Bill) got a television when I was born. I’ve never lived a day without the presence of TV and its accompanying waves of advertisements. Brands were BIG business. Advertising worked.
BUT, we lived in a rural county where farming was still a way of life for many people we knew. So I did understand from early days that corn picked from the stalk only 30 minutes ago tastes so much better than anything bought from a store. Tomatoes ripened on the vine and still warm from the sun need only a little salt to satisfy a mid-day hunger. We spent summer days and evenings stringing beans, shelling peas, shucking corn, peeling tomatoes, drying fruit and making pickles and jelly. My aunt always complained that she never got to eat fresh fruit because Grandma would have it made into jelly before anyone got the chance to eat it.
There was always a jar of sorghum syrup (not molasses) on the table.
I’ve picked and eaten poke salad.
I’ve picked blackberries and scratched the chiggers afterwards. But not many. There were always less-wealthy kids who needed and enjoyed the extra money peddling buckets of berries in town could bring their families.
Fishing, and even hunting, were still normal activities, but venison or bear were uncommon meats at our tables. I’ve never been fishing myself and I’ve never cleaned fish or even seen anyone dress game. I’ve never seen a hog killing or cattle slaughtered. Grandma did keep chickens for several years however, so I know where eggs come from and I’ve seen her ring a chicken’s neck for Sunday dinner. I’m positive the resulting fried chicken was great, but I bet it was made in an electric skillet instead of an iron frying pan (her wood-burning kitchen stove had been removed by the time I came along). Would I really have appreciated yesterday’s barbequed pork more if I’d watched the pig die? I wouldn't object to seeing that, but it really doesn’t feel necessary to me.
I’ve never successfully raised a tomato plant. I’m ashamed of that. But at least now, after years of suburban living, I enjoy the freshness of basil, parsley, oregano, sage and thyme from our own little herb plot.
I’m really not panning food origin consciousness. I think it is good to know where my coffee beans are coming from and what it takes for someone to provide them for me. I like the thought of supporting people around me who want to produce and share wonderful, locally grown meat and vegetables. The more I’m introduced to “heirloom” varieties, the more I know that they taste better (more like the food I knew growing up)! And even a Southerner can learn that maple syrup tastes better than maple-flavored sugar syrup.
So I do get it, but I still won’t capitulate that, as a mid-20th century American, I do not have a food culture. But as this particular food memory has gone on long enough, I’ll address that here again on another day and in another entry.
In the meantime, Edward and Hunt will be back from the golf course in a few minutes so we’ll be having Coca-Colas and Hebrew National hotdogs with Patterson’s Hot Dog Chili and chopped Vidalia onions on Colonial Bread hotdog buns for lunch. Oh, and some chopped, locally grown cabbage!
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Gorgeous Rustic Vidalia Onion Tart
(From the Edward)
Started by slicing the onions thin, then melting 3 tablespoons of butter in a 12 inch saute pan. The oven was pre-heating at this time. Put chopped rosemary, salt, and pepper into the onion mixture. Cooked the onions on medium high for 10 or more minutes. Unrolled pie crust onto a baking sheet. Brushed the pie crust with beaten egg white. Covered it with about a half cup of cheese, leaving a two inch perimeter. When the onions were done (I added a little more butter toward the end), spooned them onto the cheese. Then turned the reserved ends of the pie crust up and over the mixture. Brushed with more egg white. Topped the onion mixture with some more cheese (I added the regiaano at this point). Baked about 19 minutes. Let cool for at least five minutes before serving.
Friday, June 3, 2011
Grazing on the Deck
My car said the temperature in Athens, GA, yesterday was 101 degrees. That's on June 2!
Thank goodness it was more temperate last week and for the Memorial Day weekend. We enjoyed a very nice evening on the back deck of our friends' the Finches in Watkinsville. Princess Lily entertained and the Welles were there too, with a son each from the visitors showing up later to chauffeur the revelers home.
Just a nice, casual, potluck time with friends, but we ate and drank well of course! Food samples: smoked salmon; mozzarella/roasted tomatoes/ basil on toast; Thai tossed salad w/ chorizo, cantaloupe & peanuts; "barbeque" shrimp (recipe from the aforementioned SC Shrimpers cookbook); watermelon and more. Drinks included: Aperole gin fizzes; a magnum of 2002 Schramsberg Blanc de Blancs (really nice on a warm spring evening!); several crafted beers; a magnum of Williams Selyem Pinot and a taste of some liqueur Hugh Acheson brewed up some while ago....
For dessert there was Key lime pie and wonderful ancho chili chocolate (flourless) cake. Roy broke out cigars and the evening wound down to a quiet close.
Let's do it again soon, guys! Good living.
Thank goodness it was more temperate last week and for the Memorial Day weekend. We enjoyed a very nice evening on the back deck of our friends' the Finches in Watkinsville. Princess Lily entertained and the Welles were there too, with a son each from the visitors showing up later to chauffeur the revelers home.
Just a nice, casual, potluck time with friends, but we ate and drank well of course! Food samples: smoked salmon; mozzarella/roasted tomatoes/ basil on toast; Thai tossed salad w/ chorizo, cantaloupe & peanuts; "barbeque" shrimp (recipe from the aforementioned SC Shrimpers cookbook); watermelon and more. Drinks included: Aperole gin fizzes; a magnum of 2002 Schramsberg Blanc de Blancs (really nice on a warm spring evening!); several crafted beers; a magnum of Williams Selyem Pinot and a taste of some liqueur Hugh Acheson brewed up some while ago....
For dessert there was Key lime pie and wonderful ancho chili chocolate (flourless) cake. Roy broke out cigars and the evening wound down to a quiet close.
Let's do it again soon, guys! Good living.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
The Athens-Clarke Co. Library Building Renovation: See What's Growing at Your Library!
The Athens-Clarke Co. Library Building Renovation: See What's Growing at Your Library!: "Background In the past 20 years, the ways in which people use the Library have changed. Collections of library books, DVDs, CDs and other m..."
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