Garden Update #1

What would a food and wine adventure be without our summer garden!  This year, we planted cucumbers, yellow squash, zucchini, and three varieties of tomatoes.  We planted on April 27, and nearly two months later we just harvested our first few cucumbers.  We will continue to update you as we pick more and prepare some yummy dishes!!

Here a few progressive images over the last few weeks:

Right after planting - you can barely see the plants!

June 1st 

Our first few cucumbers

Chicken and Tomato Skewers

The prepared skewers ready for the grill

On Friday evening, we made Chicken and Tomato Skewers.  This is a recipe Mark's mom made often when he was growing up.  The recipe is in some old Chicken recipe book that Mark's mom has long since thrown out.  The recipe calls for chicken and tomatoes only.  However, we "dress" them up with both bell peppers and onions (Vidalia onions on this night!).  The dish is extremely easy.  The chicken marinade sauce is only 3 ingredients:  tomato sauce, honey, and Worcestershire sauce .  You mix the three ingredients and throw the chicken in (after cutting it into squares).  Then, thread skewers with chicken and veggies.  The recipe suggests cooking the skewers under the broiler, but we feel that they are tastier on the grill.  Friday was less humid here in NC, so we fired up the charcoal and threw them on the grill.  They are a great summer dish.


Perfectly grilled and ready to eat!

Garlic Chicken and Potatoes

@FoodNetwork #FNMag  We are back to the blog!  Now, we realize it has been an extended hiatus from our blog, but it is not that we lost track or interest.  Rather, we have committed ourselves to an exciting (not really) regiment of healthy salads and really how exciting is a blog about the different ways to prepare lettuce :=) 

In our venture away from greens, we decided to prepare this healthy chicken and potatoes dish, Garlic Chicken and Potatoes.  A dish from a recent issue of Food Network Mag, this dish takes ordinary chicken and potatoes to a tasty level - with flavors of garlic, herbs, and fresh lemon juice.  We kicked up the recipe with a few extra herbs from our garden (rosemary, thyme).  The potatoes were fresh from the Piedmont Farmers Market and still freshly covered in dirt -- straight from the field. 

Quick, simple, garlicy, juicy -- YUM!  Ahhhhh, what a nice return to a good wholesome meal!!

Our Herb Garden

Spring has Sprung!  In addition to our garden (coming soon!), we decided to take on a much expanded herb garden this year.  Of course a herb garden can't just be a simple as planting a few herbs in pots, we had to make it a bit more fun and decorative!  We picked five herbs that we will make the most use of - Rosemary, Thyme, Basil, Mint, and Parsley.  Some cheap terra cotta pots were turned into decorative pieces for our sun room with a little paint (and wine!).  It isn't too often that we tackle such crafty projects, but we are quite pleased with how they turned out -- the perfect addition to our already colorful sunroom.  

By the way, we LOVE the chalkboard craft paint we used for a small patch for labeling each pot - a perfect final touch!

Chicken Fajita Night

#FNMag @FoodNetwork It's Mexican dinner night with Chicken Fajitas on the menu.  While we have made these before using easy seasoning packs, this recipe comes from the most recent issue of Food Network Magazine and was just as easy, but tastier and quite a bit healthier.  A simple mix of red onion, green peppers, garlic, lime, and chicken -- along with the staple spices of this dish -- come together in less than 30 minutes.  We topped ours with some sour cream and prepared a quick side of rice and beans.  This will be our new go-to recipe when looking for fajitas.  It beats the seasoning pack any day! 

Savannah-Day 3

@VisitSavannah  It's our final day in Savannah for our mini-vacation.  While the weather was less than cooperative up until early afternoon, we made the best of it!  Between the persistent rain showers, we ducked in and out of the squares and took a tour of First African Baptist Church.  Truly an amazing experience! 

Perfectly prepared scones at the Tea Room

We had reservations at The Savannah Tea Room for high afternoon tea -- a first time experience for Bill and our first trip to this spot in Savannah.  Our multi course meal included pastries, finger sandwiches, quiche, and desserts.  We were not disappointed at any stage of the culinary journey.  The tea was spectacular and quite satisfying on a cool rainy day. 

We rounded out our trip with some more sightseeing (the rain had finally ended!) and a quick re-visit to Papillote for another round of macarons.  With a long journey ahead of us, we departed Savannah and headed home.  What a great trip and 30th birthday celebration.  We now need to find our next excuse to get back to the city :=)

Savannah-Day 2

Middle Eastern Pressed Sandwich

@VisitSavannah @Leopolds_IC @SavannahBeeCo  It's Mark's big day and day 2 in Savannah!  While the weather was a little less than cooperative, we weren't going to let a little rain (OK, quite a bit of rain, actually) stop us from some great eats and visiting the sights of Savannah!  After a brief trolley tour to orient ourselves to the city, we decided to take refuge from the rain at Soho Southern Cafe.  What an incredibly unique spot!  It's art gallery meets restaurant and the food is every bit as delightful and unique as the spot itself.  Mark's Modern Grilled Cheese and Bill's Middle Eastern Pressed Sandwich, both paired with tomato basil bisque were the perfect way to escape the elements and recharge.  This place was truly a unique dining spot -- from the mismatched chairs and tables to the art lining the walls.  We will certainly be back!

As the weather cleared, we headed back out to explore the city.  Some shopping along River Street led us to the Savannah Bee Company.  While we have shared more than our fair share of wine tastings, a honey tasting was a new experience.  From tupelo honey to orange blossom honey, who knew there was so much diversity in honey!  A sampler of a few of our favorites is following us home.

Modern Grilled Cheese 

As the rain decided to return (and happy hour approached) , we sought refuge at Jen's and Friends.  Who could resist a spot that boasts 300 martinis and 200 beers, along with happy hour specials.  Pictured below is one of Mark's adventurous and unique martinis -- a Rice Krispie martini that tasted just how it sounded.  With a few drinks in hand to go, which by the way is one of the coolest things about Savannah, we headed to Broughton Street for a bit of shopping.

Before heading back to our B&B, we made a quick detour to Leopold's Ice Cream, a Savannah institution for a couple of late afternoon treats.  All made on site ice cream in small batches, this was the perfect way to round out the afternoon.

Honey tasting at Savannah Bee Co

While, we didn't capture any photos of dinner at The Olde Pink House, we had an absolutely exquisite dinner there to celebrate Mark's 30th birthday.  A true fine dining experience with outstanding service, great wine, and a perfectly prepared multi-course meal, we could not have picked a better place to celebrate.  Dining by candlelight in this 18th century mansion was a surreal experience for two history nerds!  From Bill's filet mignon and Mark's vidalia onion and sweet potato ravioli, to our desert drink course, everything was perfect! 

That's right - a Rice Krispie martini!!