Lan4Dawg

I assume you mean REBELS. We here in Georgia are the DAWGS (& that other team fr/ Miss like to pretend). I have always enjoyed our trips to Oxford. There is some thing about watching a drop dead gorgeous co-ed in a dress that must have cost several hundred dollars and high heels, enough jewelry to keep most stores stocked for a year, and coiffed to the utmost walking along dragging a cooler and sipping fr/ a can of Coors Light that just does the heart good. I have wanted to attend the symposium ever since I received the notice for the first one but, unfortunately, the thing always lands on a date when the DAWGS are, hopefully, winning some where and that is where you will find Fuss & me. I read w/ great interest about Benton's smoke house and then forgot to take the information w/ me when we were in that direction so did not have a chance to visit.

Things went very well (thank you for asking) but no pictures. The sea food risotto was a hit w/ every one. The only issue was w/ the salad. I specifically do a black and gold sesame vinaigrette just for Vandy but add the sesame seeds to the salad as I dress it. Imagine my surprise when I got home and was un-packing only to find the package of mixed, toasted sesame seeds that I had forgotten to add to the salad---duh! That was some game but as I told an acquaintance as we were leaving--if I did not drink before that would have started it. Oh & speaking of drinking the Vanderbilt cocktail was very popular. Fuss decided she liked it enough to make it a part of her cocktail "itinerary". On a side note: Flyte was absolutely fantastic but Hawg Heaven has lost some thing since the last time we sampled them. If I realized I was as close to Rotier's and Elliston Place Soda Shop we would have just wandered over in that direction. HDHD

I think I have all of the books mentioned here but can not believe that no one said any thing about Natalie DuPree (yes I know she has her detractors but her books are pretty good), Mrs. SR Dull (UGA press just re-released her cook book), Camille Glenn (her book has been re-released as well)--Mrs SR Dull was the food editor for the Atlanta Journal (before it merged w/ the Constitution--or vice-versa) and Camille Glenn did the same for the Louisville paper--John Edge's excellent compendium, A Gracious Plenty, or Joseph Dabney's book on Appalachian cooking.

seldomly are cocktails shaken for several simple reasons: 1. James Bond ordered his cocktails "shaken not stirred". 2. Tom Cruise' movie "Cocktail" showed all of the drinks being shaken. 3. Shaking is much more fun than stirring. 4. People think that is how they are supposed to be made. 5 Shaking makes a lot of noise and looks nice so bar patrons pay attention to you while you are doing it. 6. It is hard to impress the good looking blonde at the end of the bar by stirring a cocktail.

it sits on the bottom shelf of the fridge door between the Fee Brothers Rock Candy Syrup and the Fee Brothers "American Beauty" Grenadine. I have no idea why I ordered them (& the liter size at that) b/c I seldomly use them. I suppose it seemed like a good idea when I was ordering orange bitters.

plans are to be at the elementary school just up the street fr/ the stadium as we were a couple of years back. as for restaurants in Nashville: I have had a few folks tell me that Flyte is spectacular and we are considering that for our Friday night out. Any thoughts?

we plan to stop on our way to Nashville this fall and I am looking forward to it. Thx for the report. I loved smoked chicken wings so that is some thing else to anticipate.

these cocktails really do exist. I used cocktaildb, the New York Bartender's Guide, &c as sources. The Vanderbilt: 4 parts brandy (2 oz) 2 parts cherry brandy (1 oz) bar sUGAr (1/2 t) Angostura bitters (3 dashes) combine ingredients in cocktail shaker over ice, shake well, strain in to cocktail glass HDHD

Ain't no "coinciding" about it! ":^) Thanks for the info. I remember some folks a while back talking about Tayst and that is the direction we will probably go unless some one has better ideas.

Sorry I could not find my copy of "A Gracious Plenty"....It is taken from the Junior League of Monroe, Louisiana's cook book, "Celebrations on the Bayou". 3 1/4 c fresh orange juice, chilled 1 fifth Champagne, chilled 1/3 c Grand Marnier orange slices or mint spris, for garnish Combine the juice and Champagne in a large bowl or pitcher. Pour into eight glasses; drizzle 2 teaspoons Grand Marnier over each. Garnish as desired. Serve immediately. John T. Edge notes it is a take on the Mimosa theme

I know we have had several discussions about Nashville food, &c but things have changed up there so often and recently I thought about asking for new information. Is Capitol Grill any good since Sean Brock left? We enjoyed it years ago (long before he got there) and then were disappointed on a return visit (shortly before he arrived on the scene). A lot of the old stand bys are now out of business. We will, of course, hit Monell's on Sunday before leaving and try to swing by Prince's Chicken Shack at some point but where should we go for our "nice" dinner on Friday evening?

Menus for this season are ready! I also have an appropriate cocktail and wine for each meal. If you are a college foot ball fan--esp. an SEC fan you will get most of the twists. Picture Day, 18th August (Athens)—Assuming it will be hot as blazes I thought of some thing geared towards the heat. Lemon-Oregano Chicken Shish-Ke-Bobs with Tzatziki over Rice Pilaf, Cucumber Salad Cava Oklahoma State Cowboys, 1st September (Athens)—What could be more “cow boy” than…(I even adapted it from A Cowboy in the Kitchen cook book) Chicken-Fried Steak with Cracked Pepper Gravy and Garlic Smashed Potatoes, Chopped IceBerg and Blue Cheese Salad Cowboy Cocktail / Petite Syrah South Carolina Game Cocks, 8th September (Athens)—What can you say? Herb-Marinated Grilled Game Hens with Cheese and Bacon Grits, Garnet Slaw Fighting Cock Bourbon Manhattan / Beaujolais Western Carolina Catamounts, 15th September (Athens)—I had to do some thing Appalachian in nature… Appalachian Ham and Black-eyed Peas with Collards and Corn Bread CatDaddy Moonshine Martinis /Pinot Noir Alabama Crimson Tide, 22nd September (Tuscaloosa)—Hopefully it will not be as hot as last time we played over there but the out come will be the same Pan Sautéed Elephant Ears in a Crimson Tide Gravy over Orecchiette, Caesar Salad Crimson / Sangiovese Ole Miss Rebels, 29th September (Athens)—Mississippi being catfish country and all--this is from our friends in the heart of the Delta Herbed and Grilled Catfish Fillets from Indianola Mississippi with Rebel Rice, Fried Green Tomatoes Hotty Totty / Dry Riesling Tennessee “philbillies”, 6th October (“ob”knoxville)—this was just too good to let pass Pumpkin Chili with Pumpkin Muffins, Orange Citrus Salad Orange Buck / Pumpkin Ale & Malbec Vanderbilt Commodores, 13th October (Nashville)—pay back is gonna be ugly “show us your black, show us your gold” Seafood Risotto, Spinach Salad with Gold and Black Sesame Vinaigrette Vanderbilt Cocktail / White Bordeaux florida gators, 27th October (Jax)—we are seriously OVER due and I found a local source for alligator sausage! Alligator Sausage Perlo, Orange and “Alligator Pear” Salad Florida Cocktail / Australian Shiraz Troy Trojans, 3rd November (Athens)—okay, I know we had sausage the week previous but I could not help my self (truth be told I really thought about “rubber chicken” or at least some thing covered) I mean they are the ‘Trojans” after all. Assorted Grilled Sausages with Appropriate “Condom”ents, Macaroni and Cheese, Mixed Vegetable Slaw White Horse Scotch Manhattans (think about it) / light Spanish Red(?) Auburn “PlainsTigleEagersmen”, 10th November (Athens)—Just choose a mascot and be done with it! War Chicken a la Orange (and Blue) with Orange and Coriander Dressing and orange liqueur scented Haricots Verts Tiger’s Milk / Rhone Kentucky Wildcats, 17th November (Athens)—The second of the great pay backs! It is not Lexington but a bit farther north in Louisville for a classic Kentucky menu: Original Hot Brown Sandwiches, Kentucky Limestone Salad with Creamy Raspberry Dressing all from the Brown Hotel in Louisville Mint Juleps (why the hell not we are doing a Louisville menu / Carmenere the blight on north avenue, 24th November (Atlanta)—What is this? Eight in a row? Yellow Chicken “Bill” Curry with Yukon Gold Potatoes, Mixed Greens Salad with Old Gold Peppers and White Pepper Vinaigrette Changuirongo (it is an actual cocktail!) /Gewürztraminer HDHD

and forgot about a co-worker who had only been here a couple of weeks when a woman walked in and said, "I am looking for a Menage a Trois." The poor guy turned sixteen different shades of crimson as he asked the woman exactly what it was she wanted. Luckily I over heard her the second time and directed her to the Menage a Trois line of wine that Folie a Deux makes. The poor guy still blushes when ever any one asks him for that particular wine.

The number of times I have been asked about "pee nut newer" or when the customer gets Pinot Noir and Pinot Grigio confused and then gets belligerent b/c I am showing a red wine to them and they want white. The couple who came in and asked in dead seriousness if I had ever heard of this new wine called "pee nut newer". I led them to the Pinot Noir section and they decided every thing we had was too expensive so I led them to the budget area where we have some okay wines at about $10 and that, too, was too expensive. They bought their jug of blush and left. I had a woman who started gushing about our wine selection and how large it is. She was very impressed and was planning to bring her husband in to the store as he is "an avid wine collector with a cellar and every thing. He loves Zinfandel!" "Oh, well I have some lovely Zinfandels....." I say as I pull down a bottle of Ridge to make the point. "But he collects White Zinfandel" A few years back before some French actually started labeling w/ the grape: "I need a French Pinot Noir" "Well we have several....." as I walk over to the French section and reach for a Burgundy. "No I want a French Pinot Noir! That does not say 'Pinot Noir'" "Ma'am this is a Pinot Noir. The French label by region instead of grape" "Well, if you do not have what I want...." she huffed as she left. I relayed the story to one of my co-workers and we laughed when I suggested we should have gone to the Champagne section and really confused her. Unfortunately no one else in the conversation got the joke. "I bought one of them Spanish White Zinfandels and did not like it at all! It was way too dry!" "Look honey! they have that wine we saw on the Food Network" says a woman as she picks up a bottle of Beaujolais. "Put that back it's from France and you know how I feel about any thing French! Now let's get our Grey Goose and get out of here." Woman standing at the "red wall" and blankly staring when I approach and ask if she needs some help. "Where is your Rock & Rye?" Young couple in the fine wine room looking completely lost when I approach and ask if they need some help. "You don't carry Sutter Home White Zinfandel?" "Is this wine okay? It's old" I am asked as a customer walks up w/ a mid-90's Chimney Rock Reserve Cabernet. "I want that wine because it has dust on the bottle and if it has dust on the bottle it must be good." A few years back we were going to North Carolina for a long week end. When we got there I realized I had forgotten to pack a big red for the steaks we were planning to grill that night so on our excursions we stopped stores searching for wine. After stopping at a half-dozen groceries, convenience stores, &c I finally asked and was informed that the county was dry and if I wanted wine I would have to return to Georgia. Luckily we were only about fifteen minutes past the state line so we drove to (& it should have dawned on me when I passed it going north) "Last Chance/State Line Package Store". I walked in to the small cinder-block building and was immediately over-whelmed by the cigarette smoke that was as thick as pea soup and the noise of the video poker machines being played. Bud on one wall and Miller on the other and the wine section consisted of a lovely selection of Boone's Farm, MD 20/20, and I think I spotted a bottle of Mateus. Wondering where to go fr/ there I happened to catch a glimpse of some thing on the bottom shelf and pulled out two bottles of early 80's Robert Mondavi Private Reserve Cab. AND! priced in the mid teens AND! it had been on its side and was in a relatively dark area. I was elated and tried not to act too excited as I went to the cashier to pay for my find. The cashier looked at the bottles and then looked up at me and in dead serousness said, "Are you sure you want these bottles? They are old and kind of dirty. Why don't you get you some clean wine!" as she reached for the Boone's Farm. "No thank you; this will do quite nicely. You would not happen to have any more would you?" "Nah, this is it and I have no idea why we even still have this stuff." Needless to say we thoroughly enjoyed one of the bottles w/ dinner (it was not corked or any thing despite its poor history) and had the other bottle a few years later.

I have to say it used to drive me nuts when people (here in CA and in Boston, too) say "we're having a barbecue!". And then you'd show up and find hot dogs and hamburgers cooking on the grill. Sorry, imo that's a cookout or some such thing, not a BBQ. ← and the choir said, "AMEN!". That is not a barbecue that is a cook out. Barbecue is pork, period, smoked, period, for a great length of time, period. (I like your friend and his "offering". Having 3 & 1/2 out side cats--including a stray that spends half his time on our back deck--we have had more than our share of them.)

our blue berries are just beginning to ripen. I went and chased a cardinal off one of the bushes yesterday and there were almost a dozen just about ready to go. It seems awfully late this year but I suppose w/ the late frost and the drought I should be happy to be fighting the birds for what I have.

Thanks for catching my typo. I meant to type Rock Bottom, not Atlanta Beer & Ice. My apologies. ← I am glad he caught it as well. I could imagine driving around Charlotte trying to find Atlanta Beer & Ice (which if memory serves was an actual brewing company fr/ early in this century that is long, long out of business. I believe the owner of Six Feet Under down by Oakland Cemetery is a collector of their merchandise as is a friend and tail gating buddy of ours.

along similar lines.... is there a brew pub worth any thing in Charlotte or general vicinity? We did not see any thing (but were not particularly looking).

we can not say enough about Lulu. We enjoyed it so much we went twice in three days (w/ a some what non-descript & basic steak house that was just there in between visits. The steaks were not bad it was just not any thing special). Lulu can be some what crowded and loud but it is a fun place. The food was excellent and just different enough to be fun. The prices were decent and the wine list was very nice. We wished we had more time to explore.

I would just mail a sandwich to her. If she thought the first one was soggy........

When I started working in the industry (back in the late 70's) we offered "well" drinks at $0.90, "call" drinks were $1.25, and "super call" drinks were $1.50-$2.00 depending on what they were. I remember people getting absolutely up in arms when prices went to $1.25/1.50/2.00. We also offered "2-for-1" most of the day. That was in d/t Atl and not South Podunk. Of course we had 3 vodkas (the "well" brand, Smirnoff, and another off brand that a regular requested), 3 gins (Tanq, Beefeater, and the "well"), &c. Scotch and bourbons were the best represented. As for prices in general I sold parties at a major restaurant in town up until just a few years ago and the number of times people were horrified that cocktails at functions would be $5.00 (& these were brand name cocktails--not well "junk") and would want to negotiate pricing or figure out a way to save money on their bar yet they would then go across the street to a popular jazz bar and pay $12.00+ for the same drink w/o batting an eye. Of course the difference was that they were paying for guests' cocktails in one case and their own in another probably was the sticking point.

the problem w/ some thing like Rachael Ray's (or any similar) mistake--whether it be intentional or not--is that it is taken as gospel by the casual watcher. When Mr & Mrs. casual watcher walk in to a restaurant and ask for stone crab and are given some thing that does not resemble what they saw on television they think they are getting cheated. Mr & Mrs casual watcher then tell every one that the restaurant tried to cheat them (and we all know that television never lies!) and the restaurant gets an un-deserved reputation b/c of the customers' ignorance. Mean while Rachael Ray and Mr & Mrs casual watcher continue on their merry way blissfully and uncaringly spreading mis-information and causing problems for those trying to get it correct (and who are Mr & Mrs casual watcher going to believe? the well-known food personality or the restaurant).

I will second the above suggestions but also recommend finding a copy of "The Hundred Things in Alabama You Must Eat Before You Die"--available fr/ the convention-visitors' bureau as well as welcome centers, &c. Granted it is marketing for tourism but is fun.

yeah, yeah, yeah.... We let you win every once in a while just to let you have a taste of what you are missing. I am working on menus for next season and keep coming back to doing a version of Prince's Hot Chicken but do not know how comfortable every one will be sitting in the stadium for several hours after eating. ":^) You are, of course, more than welcome to join us. HDHD

some of the things I have done. Most are self-explanatory and lots of the sauces, toppings, &c can be exchanged as you wish: Vidalia Onion Fritters w/ Smithfield Ham Sauce Fried Grit Cake Squares w/ Blackened Shrimp Salad Smoked Catfish w/ Peach Chutney Blackened Catfish w/ Green Tomato Relish on toast points Fried Green Tomato "Sandwiches" (Fried Green Tomatoes w/ Pimento Cheese. I would stack as a sandwich and then quarter for easier eating) Fried Catfish "Nuggets" w/ Fresh Herb Tartar Sauce "Georgia (or what ever state you want) Caviar"--black eyed pea salad There are several outlets for true Catfish Caviar Lamb "Fries" (folks fr/ Kentucky know about these) Lots of books have been mentioned but a couple of others you might consider are "A Gracious Plenty" ed. by John Edge and any number of Junior League cook books fr/ various Southern cities.