RWood

Dunno yet. We do a lot of meze, charcuterie type meals, so probably with cheese and such. And my mother is a fiend for anything pickled or garlicky, so I’m sure they won’t last.

Picked and pickled the garlic scapes this morning.

Thanks! The building in the photo is actually a detached garage. The pool house is cool looking, but the design is iffy, especially when it’s the middle of summer. The sun sets right in that opening, and it’s miserable. We are looking into some kind of screening maybe. Pardon the mess, still getting it set up.

Caprese in the pool house, pool got opened yesterday.

Toasted coconut pound cake for the mama.

I haven’t made these in years, but I found some really nice sun dried tomatoes at the Buford Hwy Farmers market. These are soaked in vinegar with sliced garlic, herbs, parm, olive oil and capers. Really good with goat cheese or burrata and grilled bread.

Tried a pasta dish from Gordon Ramsey. I looked for something to do with a leek, mixed mushrooms and some tarragon. Found a pasta recipe, used up a bag of pappardelle. Pretty tasty with the tarragon.

Mushroom tart. Shiitakes, creminis, shallot, garlic, crème fraiche and Gruyère on puff pastry. With a salad and Chardonnay.

Romaine “wedge” with bacon, crispy shallots and Campari tomatoes

Yeah, they just tasted like chicken coating.

Made a salad and ranch dressing, then fried some enoki mushrooms like I fry chicken. Didn’t taste any different 🤷‍♀️

They are headed to my aunt’s later, so I have to bake us some more 😊

Finally used the salted caramel chips from Trader Joe’s in some brown butter oatmeal and pecan cookies. Pretty tasty.

So exciting that our garlic is all happy! And my mom got her potatoes planted next to it. Behind a little because I’ve been down with my back bothering me. Hopefully can get more done soon.

Alter Bridge, Tremonti and Mammoth WVH. And sometimes my mother's stuff (Eagles, Bob Seger, ELO) if she's in there. But, I'm usually the one cooking.

80F today in N Georgia. Got the pizza oven out. Pepperoni, castelvetrano olives, onion, garlic oil Pear, Gorgonzola, prosciutto, smoked Gouda, caramelized onions, hot honey.

Really old thread, but I was looking through the Southeast section. The Choo Choo has been remodeled recently, and it's still in progress. It's been taken over by a hotel and the boxcars are all being redone. It's looking really nice. But, the prices are going along with it. We stayed at the hotel while it was being worked on. A music venue called the Signal moved in and its a nice place for concerts. They have added some good restaurants. Nic & Norman's and Stir are two that have nice brunches on Sunday with $2 double Champagne and Mimosa's. That area has changed quite a bit. Really good places to eat, nice coffee shops, Chattanooga Distillery is across the street. And a great bakery (Neidlov's) and Italian restaurant (Alleia) are right behind it. I wish they would spiff up the Choo Choo sign though. It still looks pretty ragged.

Date Bread. This is good, and I can’t remember if I tweaked the recipe. It had too much flour originally, and I think this is the right version. DATE BREAD INGREDIENTS X1 X2 X3 DATES, CHOPPED 1 1/2 CUPS BROWN SUGAR 8 OZ SALT 1 1/2 TSPS BOILING WATER 6 OZ WHOLE EGGS 2 EA VANILLA 1 TBS AP FLOUR 10 OZ BAKING POWDER 1 1/2 TSPS BAKING SODA 1 1/2 TSPS CHOPPED PECANS 3/4 CUP MELTED BUTTER 3 OZ YIELD: 1 LOAF. BAKE AT 325F. COMBINE DATES, BROWN SUGAR, SALT AND BOILING WATER. ALLOW TO SOFTEN AND COOL SLIGHTLY. WHISK IN EGGS AND VANILLA. COMBINE DRY INGREDIENTS AND WHISK IN. ADD PECANS, THEN FOLD IN BUTTER.

Halloumi with cherry tomatoes, garlic, hot honey and thyme. Grilled bread and Chardonnay, tasty!

I started this morning, with a few breaks in between since my back has been out for the past week. I finished about an hour ago.

Another strawberry cake for a benefit for a local dog rescue. They are having a cake walk as part of the event.

Got around to finishing my birthday cake (somewhat). Ran out of buttercream for the layered retro piping thing that’s going on now. All chocolate throughout (and the one Rocher on top, even though I decided against hazelnuts inside this time).

She didn’t say. I don’t know if they use different cocoa butters in the other varieties, as that was the culprit in the price increase.

I went by Pastry Depot in Atlanta last week to pick up an order. I got an 11lb box of Ariaga Blanche and they told me that the price is gonna jump by 70%(!). I got it because it was around $75, and for Valrhona, thought that was pretty good. The owner said that the cocoa butter they use is the reason. She said that she doubts anyone would pay that much, so she would be keeping the Satilia white instead. I think Valrhona is already overpriced, but that’s just crazy. Dunno if that is going to affect any others.

Strawberry cake for a childhood friend of my dad’s. His mom always made him a strawberry cake, and she just passed away at 98 last week.