Sunday, July 29, 2012

~ Crawling Along

I am a little behind on getting out this 'review' of last weekends events. I had to go from the Clayton Crawl straight to a week long training and have just returned home. But I do want to share a few things with you from last weekend.

Last weekend I drove to Rabun County to hangout out at the Clayton Crawl. Myself and a couple of girlfriends hooked up and headed out to this annual, yet young, event. Basically what happens is this mountain town, where I dragged town and sipped Boones Farm on more then one occasion during the eighties, shuts down main street and lines up tables and tents housing local wine from the nearby vineyards and cuisine from the local restaurants.

You start off at the front gate and you pick a glass;


A wine glass or a beer glass. Oh, yes, this year they added beer. Then, you pay $15 and you get your glass. From there you are free to take your glass to every booth along the crawl and someone will happily fill it for you. As it turned out, there was only one beer vendor there. Even though I had chosen a beer glass, I didn't want to wait in that long line so I enjoyed wine in my beer glass all evening long. It was a crisp, lovely summer Moscato. I got a little confused because it kept appearing booth after booth so I am not sure if it came from the same vineyard or multiple vineyards produced the same thing with the same label and everything; or I was having my glass filled too many times. 



I have no idea about the beer. But like I said, the line spoke to its popularity.

OK, now the food. You had to buy tickets to purchase the food. Which just seemed like extra work considering the 2-3 block party. The only thing I am going to say about the food is that I thought it would be so much better given the fact that several of the mother ships were actually on the same street. But non the less; I didn't fill up on food at the Clayton Crawl.


I did however fill up on food at the Universal Joint. This restaurant is in an old mechanic's garage and has great outdoor seating, a slightly bitter waitress and a phenomenal pimento cheese plate.  This place also sported the boy who was widely considered the best looking boy in the class of '80 something (yeah the actual year would give it away and that would be crass). I can say thank God for 'progressive' lenses. It is worth noting that the Joint did have a table at the Crawl as well but I didn't get to it before the group decided we needed to sit down and rest from Crawling.And as a side note from a band groupie; this is the best place in town for live outdoor music. And I say that as if I know if there is any other venue that offers outdoor venues for bands. 

A block away and an hour later we ended up at a bar with boys. 


Boys who swore to us their mothers made sure they learned ballroom dance but neglected to say they only retained two moves. Good young men non the less.

There was something nice in the swing dance and fraternity shots that said hey, we got your back and this is a good band; so that made that stop a really sweet memory. And of course a really cruel hangover.

The next morning we searched for some fried food and a Bloody Mary. We found uncooked Fried Green Tomatoes and a town that doesn't serve alcohol on Sundays (remember it is city by city not county by county. Clayton = Bloody Mary; Rabun Gap (where we were staying) = Water with Lemon).

The only thing I am going to say about the dining establishment we chose for our Sunday meal is this: It is a restaurant that used to be a bank and Judy Fountain sure didn't train those waitresses!

When I was driving home to Athens in my car with the faulty air conditioning I thought about the great fun, great food, great wine and sure, the great free shots.But mostly I thought about how much a trip to those Mountains feeds that Soul and how it is really cool to retrace the KEDs Steps you once took, now, with your worn black boots and strong, beautiful women who knew you then and know you now...and still wanna hang with you.


















Friday, July 20, 2012

July 20th ~ My Belly's Doing Flip-flops!


Yes, one would think this was the best part of my day! But wait there is more.

Today was my birthday and my niece and nephew who have been hanging out with me this week treated me to my favorite local restaurant, Bob's Small Town Grille in Royston, GA.I arrived home from work to a beautiful handmade card and a glass of wine and the news of where they were taking me. Those kids are good!

When we arrived at BSTG we were greeted by the best waitress ever, I have no idea why I didn't ask her name. We decided on the Blackened Shrimp over Cheesy Ranch Grits special; a Salmon BLT and Lobster Ravioli for appetizer. 

The Lobster Ravioli was so good and gone so fast that I didn't have time to figure out the camera on my new phone. So I don't have a picture of it. But our awesome waitress did bring us bread to sop up the extra sauce after my niece said 'I could eat a smoothie of that stuff'!

Then our Shrimp and Grits came.


Oh my Lord. It was like my stomach started cartwheels just at the sight of it. I kept thinking of that childhood song, Goody Goody Gumdrops, My Heart is Doing Flip-flops...but inserted Belly for Heart!

The Salmon BLT went the way of the Lobster Ravioli. Once we sliced it in thirds, tasted it, oohhed and aahhed, it was gone and we forgot to get a picture. But trust me it was so yummy!

But of course the best part was, K-Poo;


and the Quarterback!


Yeah, we got the Red Velvet Cheesecake to go...we didn't want to embarrass ourselves in front of Bob and the world's best waitress as we dove in face first! 

Ya'll gotta go there I am telling you! Live music tomorrow!! Check it out, I think Elvis will be in the building!




Sunday, July 15, 2012

Sans Coconut, Shrimp Ceviche

For this entry I wanted to make Ceviche. So I Googled recipes and landed on one called Shrimp Ceviche in Coconuts...I just so happened to have a coconut on my kitchen counter.. I know, coconuts aren't usually hanging around so I have to make this recipe right? Even though it is from Tyler Florence (I can't decide if he is pretentious or not...or do I get him confused with Bobby Flay?), I am going for it.

I gather my ingredients:


Cilantro, Serrano peppers, limes, a lemon, garlic, bay leaves, red onion, salt and peppercorns; which I am out of so we have to use the ones in the pepper grinder that I can't get out without grinding. So, we will variate. And I am sure I am not using that word in context.


Shrimp, that coconut and Dad's hammer.


And a can of coconut milk.

It starts with putting a halved lemon, three bay leaves, salt, pepper (uncorned), and garlic added to water that is brought to a boil. 


Now I get very confused because I thought ceviche is 'cooked' through citrus juices but instead Tyler is telling me to poach my shrimp. Since I don't have 7 shows on the Food Network, I oblige. But I question why I don't have a show of course.


The shrimp are only poached for 2 minutes even though the recipe says 3-5. Then I put them in the fridge to chill. Now, I mix the coconut milk, chopped peppers, lime juice, cilantro and red onion. 


Then after the shrimp has cooled, I slice it down the middle and add it to the mixture; let refrigerate for an hour.


OK, so now I go to work on the Coconut. Tyler says to tap it with a hammer along its equator and eventually it will split down the middle.


Apparently I have a Coconut for Dummies as the equator is clearly marked on mine!

I commence to tapping and tapping and more tapping and then remember it did say, eventually!

Finally it cracks opened and it looks like I am going to have to back up and punt.  


I think this is passed its prime. That is what you get for buying a coconut just because it is in the grocery store, where in my grocery store it never is. I had no plan for it and now I am paying for it. This is what I come up with.



I am going to sit on the porch with a white wine spritzer and eat my Sans Coconut Shrimp Ceviche!


It is really very refreshing! Try it, tell me what you think!









Wednesday, July 4, 2012

July 4th ~ Red, White & Blue Burgers!

Happy 4th of July everyone. This is a favorite holiday of mine. I have fond memories of our family gatherings on this holiday and as all our family gatherings go; it is all about the food. Today I am sharing with you the Red, White & Blue Burger; I made up the name and stole the idea from Guy Fieri. I saw a segment with him on The Today Show where he made these burgers he called the Outside In Burger. Over the years I have made them with several different combinations of ‘insides’ but in honor of the 4th, we will go with this version.

Yeah, go ahead and get your beer on ice too.

You will need ground beef, blue cheese, red onion, salt and pepper to make these burgers.


I take the meat and form a boat.


Fill the boat with blue cheese.


Then a grilled red onion

And then I make a boat of beef for the top and form it so no one has any idea it is stuffed!


Now let it hit the grill. Be sure not to ever puss down on your burger while you are grilling so you retain all the juices.

People cook their burger to their own liking but remember you have some cheese to melt in there so give it enough time for that.

Now I serve it with watercress, a fresh herb mayo and sliced tomato.


And a cold beer of course.


Honestly, no matter how I have ever made this burger...stuffed with cheddar and bacon, chorizo and jalapenos; mushroom and Swiss...it is always a big hit. You can't go wrong, I promise.


I am making these for the 4th, because I am practicing for the day Bob's Small Town Grill calls me to help on Burger Night. What are you cooking for the 4th?

 Be safe and eat well!