Hi all! Crazy around here… Sorry for the lack of posts. We are in the airport in Nashville headed home from a few days of food, music, and fun…. Our Friends Rebecca and Kim gave us great recommendations. Here are a few of our favs!
First stop. Burger Up. Yum! I highly recommend this as a stop. All local food and just a good burger. I had the lamb burger with truffle fries and Mark had the burger with bacon and cheddar with a chipotle pumpkin soup. Definitely a required stop on future trips.
Park Cafe was a nice cozy stop for dinner. I had the special which was great. Meridees in Franklin for breakfast.. Hello biscuits and gravy. Plus Franklin is such a cute place to walk around and shop. After that we drove through Leiper’s Fork then in to the Loveless Cafe… A definite classic. The biscuits were awesome! Then another must do was Patterson House for drinks. I had the the Vodka Cobbler. They have such interesting combos and I loved the atmosphere. Then Margots, 308, Noshville, and Whiskey Kitchen rounded out the trip. Nashville may be known as music city but is also a great place to grab a bite to eat or an awesome drink. Here are a few photos from along the way.
Xo,
Paige
I love a simple supper. Days are long sometimes at the office. This is the PERFECT meal to prepare when you get home… so easy, so simplea and works with so many things… peas, green beans, a great salad, asparagus, brussel sprounts, etc. etc. etc.
Here it is…. straight up and simple.
Roasted Chicken
1 chicken (I prefer organic)
Olive Oil
kosher salt
pepper
garlic salt
thyme
Preheat Oven to 375
Coat the chicken with salt, pepper, garlic salt, thyme. Place in a 9×13 casserole dish. Drizzle olive oil over the the chicken. Place the chicken in the oven for 55-65 minutes (make sure it is completely done… because it is chicken) Always check the temp per the directions with a meat thermometer.
Let it sit for a few minutes. Slice and serve
Enjoy!
XO,
Paige
Remember the fried oyster post? Well here are a few in process shots that I found whil cleaning off my computer tonight. Makes me realize that I need to make these again soon. Dinner party anyone?
Definitely will be serving these soon!
XO,
Paige
Tomatoes, avocado, cilantro, limes, tortillas….sign me up! We love to have Mexican night at our house.
Last year we went to Austin on vacation to visit our friends Stuart and Tony. We had a great time and had A LOT of great food. One item stands out above all others from our trip. It was the fried avacado tacos. Yep, you read it right. Fried Avacado.
OK. So how do you get to this photo above?
Slice the avocado. In a bowl mix one egg and approx 3/4 cup of milk. On a plate to the side mix 1 part all purpose flour and 1 part fine white cornmeal. Dip the avocado in the milk/egg mixture then dredge in the flour/cornmeal mixture. Fry in canola oil turning once until golden brown. Place on paper towel and sprinkle with salt.
Let me tell you… it is really good.
Enjoy in a taco or as a side. A little twist to your average Mexican Night!
XO,
Paige
Turkey Burgers. Sometimes means ho hum. Not this way! You can add so many fun flavors to turkey burgers. Turkey burgers are a week night staple at our house.
Ingredients:
1-1.5 lbs of ground turkey
1 egg
italian bread crumbs
cilantro
Step by Step process:
In a bowl add the turkey, 3/4 cup of italian bread crumbs, 1 egg, chopped cilantro, 2 pinches of salt, and ground pepper to taste. Mix together with your hands.
Create patties and place in pan.
Brown on both sides until cooked thoroughly.
Serve and enjoy!
XO,
Paige
Cauliflower is great so many ways, steamed, roasted, in a soup…. but today I am going to show you mashed cauliflower.
Ingredients
1 head of cauliflower
1/2 stick of butter
salt
pepper
Cut the cauliflower into large chunks. Throw away the large center stem. Place in pot of boiling water.
Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt to water. Boil for approx 10 minutes.
Drain the water. Add 1/4 cup of butter. Sprinkle with sea salt and fresh ground pepper. Then MASH! Use a potato masher of if you don’t have one use 2 large forks.
I served the mashed cauliflower with turkey burgers and cabbage. Yum.
I am actually making this for dinner tonight here in Seagrove Beach. Have a great Sunday!
XO,
Paige
I loved my grandmother. She was a great southern cook. My grandmother was a wife, mother, teacher and a farmer’s daughter. This is her cornbread recipe. Ask anyone that has had a piece of this cornbread and they will tell you that it is addictive. One of my favorite things about it. It is simple.
Ingredients:
Extra Fine Cornmeal
Water
Olive Oil
Salt
Recipe:
OK… here I have to admit. I don’t really measure. If you have questions please email me. Preheat Oven to 375. In an iron skillet or 2 (I usually make 2 pans at once). Add enough olive oil to just cover the bottom of the skillet. JUST is the main word. The oil needs to barely cover the bottom of the skillet. Place your skillet(s) in the oven. Leave in oven for approx 4-5 minutes. While oil is heating mix extra fine corn meal with water and salt. Start with about 1 cup of cornmeal. Add water until slightly soupy. It can not be thick but not to thin. Like pancake batter. With about 1 cup of cornmeal add 1 teaspoon of salt. Remove heated oil from oven. Spoon cornmeal mixture into 2-3 cakes in the skillet. The mix will sizzle when you add it to the oil. Place pans back in oven. Bake approximately 15 minutes. Once crispy and light brown on edges remove from oven.
This is so easy and great because the ingredients are always in your kitchen. Try it a few times. you will get the hang of it. It is a favorite among our family and friends.
XO,
Paige
Spaghetti was always a classic supper served at my house when I was growing up. I still love it for our family dinners. It is almost fall (I hope it comes soon) and it is a great, fast and easy dinner. When I don’t have time to make a sauce from scratch (which is most of the time to be honest) I like to buy a really good sauce. This is a sauce I found recently. I bought it at the Cowgirl Kitchen Market in Seagrove. The phone number is 850.534.0770 if you would like to order some of this great sauce.
This is a very simple dish. But sometimes that is best!
First sautee one white onion until it becomes translucent.
Then add approximately 1.5 lbs of groud italian sausage or ground turkey. I do both depending on what looks good when I grocery shop. Sautee the onions and meat together. Add 1 tsp of kosher salt and 1 tsp of black pepper.
When meat is mostly cooked (approx. 5 min). Add sliced white mushrooms. Sautee an additional 2 minutes.
Add sauce a cook until it is bubbling.
Then serve!
Enjoy!
XO,
Paige
This is an adaptation of a few recipes I found. This is like a Bruschetta but using eggplant as the base. I made this for a party that was featured in Birmingham Home and Garden. Here is the feature including a photo of the appetizers served at the party.
Eggplant Blanco
2 White Eggplant, cut in ¾ inch round slices
2 tablespoons good olive oil
1 white onion, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped garlic (3 cloves)
1 bunch of parsley, chopped
8 fresh basil leaves
2 teaspoons kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
In a skillet, heat the olive oil and sauté onion for 10 mins until caramelized. Add the garlic over medium heat for about 1 minute, but not until it’s browned. Add all the parsley, fresh basil leaves, the salt, and pepper to the pan, toss it with the garlic and oil, and cook it for 5 minutes. Set mixture aside.
In the skillet, heat the olive oil, and saute eggplant 4-5 mins on each side.
Top the eggplant with the caramalized mixture. Add a sprinkling of sea or kosher salt. Serve hot.
Enjoy!
XO,
Paige
As a girl from Alabama this recipe is regional for the state. I grew up in south Alabama on vinegar based barbecue sauce… A traditional sauce using vinegar and tomato sauce. This sauce hails from north Alabama. From everything I have read it seems it was first made in Decatur, Alabama.
I personally enjoy this sauce best on chicken. Now to the sauce
White Barbecue Sauce
1 cup mayonaise
1 cup white distilled vinegar
1 tsp salt
2 TBSP ground black pepper
Wisk all together in a bowl.
Marinate your chicken 8+ hours in the sauce place in your fridge covered. The sauce above is for approximately 6-8 chicken breasts.
Grill your chicken and slice to serve. Then make another batch of the sauce and serve in gravy boats on the table for additional sauce during dinner.
Confession: I only eat mayo on Tomato sandwiches and even then only a thin layer. I do not like mayo but I love this BBQ sauce. It is really really great and such an easy recipe to enjoy with your family and friends.
XO,
Paige
