Road Trip: Savannah Photos

Hey, y'all! 

Ok, that's not how I really talk but I felt it was appropriate considering that we drove to Savannah from Atlanta, and I do live in the South after all and have friends with adorable accents.  Call it my spirited and festive fake drawl :)

The trip itself was a lot of fun.  We drove the 4ish hours to Savannah and just did our own thing for a couple of days.  It was fantasticcccc to get away.  We did the histortic bus tour (I highly recommend it) and walked around, enjoying how beautiful and historical the city is.  I'm posting a ton of photos to my personal blog this week, if you're interested in pictures of the amazing parks, waterfront, and cemetery.

Enjoy!

Where I didn't go - Paula Deen's Lady & Sons restaurant.  Sorry!  But the wait was hours long, and we weren't even hungry when we still had a chance to get in line.  Later, when we went by, the line was for the bar only and didn't budge an inch in the 20 minutes we stood there.  I decided that I'd have to be content with photos of the outside, and we wandered off to do more sightseeing.

This is the line to get your name on the list for dinner five hours later.

The Pirates House is on the list for must-see in Savannah.  It's the oldest house in Georgia, and they built a restaurant around it.  Click-zoom to read the place mat photos below for all kinds of awesome history.

The place mats actually had a lot more history and stories than our guide mentioned:

(click to zoom and read)

It doesn't get much more Southern than sweet tea, fried pickles, and a biscuit with peach jelly.

  I ordered a crab cake sandwich that was messy and delicious.

Let me first remind everyone that I'm currently not eating sugar.  I decided that I would absolutely splurge on one sugar-laden treat for the weekend.  So, when I saw this sign, I immediately ducked into the shop before Bo even realized that I was gone.

This guy making pralines gave me a sample!

I bought one of these for Bo - who would be buried in caramel, chocolate, and pecans, if given the option - and I had to put up the biggest fuss before he agreed to let me try a tiny bite of it.

White and milk chocolate covered marshmallows, on a stick, with sprinkly toppings.  Why have I not made these yet??

One block down the waterfront was another candy shop:

With its own guy making pralines.

But!  The huge, big, major difference is that this shop smelled like heavennnnn.  Have you ever smelled warm caramel and roasted pecans and loads and loads of melted butter??  Add that to your bucket list, because holy goodness, it was to.die.for.  After getting mildly drunk off the scent, I rushed outside to shriek at Bo to get in there and smell it.

We considered all the popular, go-to places, and I read hundreds of reviews and lists recommending where to eat in Savannah.  But after all the fried fish and slaw and sandwiches, I was craving Italian food slathered in red sauce.  I picked a casual place called Leoci's, with a back patio strung in twinkly lights.  It was perfect.  We sat near a fan, under this twinkly tent, and instantly relaxed.  It was definitely our kind of place to eat (it's dog friendly, even!).

Bo ordered a delicious house wine, and as usual, I opted for a glass of something bubbly.

Leoci's makes their pasta fresh daily, and if you ever go, order the lasagna.  It was the most amazing lasagna I've ever tasted.  Ever ever ever in the whole wide world.

(Sorry for the blurry photo.  By this point, Bo was tired of my stealing his plate and mucking with my phone's camera settings to take eighteen hundred photos of his meal.)  Turns out that the lasagna is ten layers of their fresh pasta, with very little cheese between the layers.  But it is heavenly creamy in your mouth.  Something about their homemade pasta is incredibly creamy and almost puffy.  I must have it again.  Must.

As amazing as those candy shops smelled, I'm just not a huge fan of pralines or fudge (add that to my list of reasons I'm one day getting kicked out of the South).  You see, for me, the very best sugar indulgence involves cake and piles of fluffy buttercream frosting.  So, we visited a late night dessert shop called Lulu's.

A golden yellow cake with fresh strawberry buttercream.  It was four hundred percent worth the splurge and worth the wait for sugar.  And yes, I ate it while sitting in our hotel bed, under the covers.

p.s. A week later, and I'm still thinking about that lasagna.


      

Road Trip: Savannah

We're headed to Savannah tomorrow.  I may not come back.

Aside from walking around and just enjoying some much-needed time away, I've already decided to fill my yearly butter quota at Paula Deen's restaurant, "The Lady & Sons":

I've heard that the very best place in town is "Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room" - a boarding house from the 40s turned into a family style lunch place.  The line outside starts forming around 10:30am, and the wait can be well over an hour to get in.  Even the President has eaten there:

I love doing the tours, no matter how cheeseball they may seem, because you learn so much and can see the entire area right away.  I always opt for them!

And, of course, we'll cruise by the square where Forrest Gump was filmed :)  They put in the bench just for filming, but this is where he narrated the movie.  I may even pick up some chocolates to eat while we're there.

Yes, the chocolates are a must.

Have you been to Savannah?  Read about it?  Are there any foods there that you insist I try out?  Because we all know that I'll be snapping photos of food right and left :)

Happy Weekend!





image source - Forsyth Park
image source - Mrs Wilkes 
image source - Trolley Tour
image source - Chippewa Square


      

Bourbon Barbecued Chicken

I stumbled onto another fantastic grill recipe in my Food Network magazine!  This one really surprised me - From the smell of the sauce, I was just sure the chicken would turn out super pungent and tasting exactly like vinegar.  And then, after it cooked, it looked like it had zero flavor.  But wait!  I took a bite and was completely surprised. The brine gave the chicken excellent seasoning and helped lock juices inside.  The sauce gave the chicken a flavor that was delicious and not at all vinegary.

We both loved this recipe, and we'll definitely be making it a lot more before the weather cools off.

Enjoy!



Bourbon Barbecued Chicken
adapted from Food Network magazine

1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 6)
1/4 c. kosher salt
1/4 c. packed brown sugar
3 c. warm water

1/2 c. bourbon or apple cider
1/4 c. apple cider vinegar
1/4 c. packed brown sugar
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. ginger, peeled and minced (or equal amount of ginger paste)

Preheat grill to medium-high.

In a large bowl, whisk salt and brown sugar into warm water until completely dissolved.  Add the chicken and soak for 10 minutes.  Meanwhile, mix the remaining ingredients in a small saucepan.  Heat over medium-high, whisking constantly, until it reaches a boil.  Boil for one minute, whisking often, then remove from heat.

Remove the chicken from the brine and pat dry with paper towels.  Lightly brush the chicken with vegetable oil and grill for 5 minutes each side, dunking twice in the sauce during cook time, until fully cooked.

Ingredient Lineup:

Chicken soaking in the brown sugar and salt brine:

     

Hoppin' John Soup

Happy New Yearrrrr!!!

Oh wait.  This is March, isn't it.  Whoops.  Well, count me belated in my New Year's wishes and count me belated in posting this recipe.  You'll forgive me, right?  Please?  Can I buy your forgiveness with a toasty warm batch of Best Friend Makers?

So, the tradition behind this soup is that black-eyed peas are considered good luck if you eat them first thing on New Year's Day.  The peas are a symbol of coins; the collards represent the green of money; the pork represents having plenty; and the cornbread's color represents gold.  It's pretty much a lottery ticket in a bowl, am I right?  There are more interesting tidbits about the history here and here.

Hoppin' John soup is very, very new to me.  I grew up in the Pacific Northwest (insert dreamy sigh here), so I'd never seen a collard green in real life until I moved to Georgia last year.  Also, if I'm being completely honest - Southern cooking isn't known for being healthy, so I'm sometimes hesitant to try the ingredients and dishes that are traditional here.  But, I kept seeing recipes for Hoppin John this and Hoppin John that for New Year's, and they actually seemed fairly healthy, so I thought I'd give it a try.

And boy!  Am I ever glad I gave it a try.  We love, love, love this soup.  Seriously, we love it.  It's basically one big pot of cozy, which is perfection on a blustery day.  Bo is over the moon when I start cooking it, and then pretty much dies on the spot when I start baking cornbread to go with it.  (Did I mention that he's from the South?)  If you can get your hands on some kind of green (collards, kale, mustard greens, etc), I highly recommend trying this recipe out.  I've read that you can substitute white beans for the black-eyed peas, but don't come crying to me if you don't get rich, ok?

Enjoy!



Hoppin' John Soup
recipe adapted from Steamy Kitchen

12 oz. quick-cook or canned black-eyed peas
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 c. carrots, diced
1/2 c. celery, diced
1/2 medium onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
8 c. water
1 ham bone (with meat attached)
3 c. diced ham
14 oz. can diced tomatoes, drained
5 handfuls torn collard leaves (tough stems removed)

Prepare black-eyed peas according to package, or drain the can.  In large stockpot, heat olive oil over medium-low heat.  Saute carrots, celery, and onion for 5-7 minutes.  Add the garlic and saute additional 2 minutes.  Add the ham bone, drained peas, and water to the pot.  Bring to a low boil and then simmer for 1 hour.

Add the diced ham and tomatoes and simmer for an additional 30 minutes {Mix up your cornbread now.}  Remove the ham bone and then stir in your collard greens and simmer for an additional 30 minutes {Put your cornbread into the oven now}.  Salt to taste.  But we didn't add a speck of salt because the ham added so much flavor and was salty enough on its own.

Ingredient Lineup.

Carrots, celery, onion, and garlic.

Add in the water and ham bone.

Add in the diced ham and tomatoes.

Remove the ham bone and add in the collards.

Delicious.

I wouldn't lie to ya.