recipes for new years day

i remember growing up and always hating the meal on new years day

kids don't like black eyes peas or collards. belch

but guess what? adults do

so make them

cause, believe it or not, traditions are fun

paula has a texas caviar recipe similar to mine

except she adds black eyes peas and pimentos and calls it south georgia "caviar"

allrecipes.com has my favorite collards recipe

it is a tad bit hot and bursting with flavor

i love collards

make these for you husband or neighbor or boss or aunt or friend

(my) top 5 restaurants in charleston, sc

just in case you are going there for new years

#5 sermets corner

picture this

lavender, honey and black pepper marinated pork tenderloin with

creamy ricotta polenta and sauteed vegetables

eclectic and wonderful

#4 basil 

 

gotta love thai food

get the fresh basil rolls

tom kha gai soup

and the pad prik

#3 poe's tavern

a gem on sullivans island

take a break from the beach and grab a burger here

hand cut french fries are delish

get the citrus marinated mahi-mahi fish tacos

or the amontillado burger or chicken burger

the husband got a fried egg on his burger one time

speaking of the husband, i think he is a fan of their beer selection as well

#2 the mustard seed

 

this place is awesome

there are a couple of locations but we go to the one in mt. pleasant

really every single thing here is good

they have healthier options than poes

there are vegetarian choices too

local and fresh

#1 five loaves cafe

the best restaurant in charleston (in both my and my husbands opinion)

best soups and sandwiches

they change the soups daily so try them all

they have a great dinner menu as well

i can not WAIT to eat here again

happy eating :)

 

smittens

i almost cant handle this

i want them so badly even though they might be 100 percent impractical

They are called smittens and i saw a post about them on one of my favorite blogs rockstar diaries

can you even imagine a couple walking down the street with their inner hands held together in one tandem mitten?

as much as it is ridiculous, i love it

brick street cafe

ok i have to admit- i have never been a big fan of this place

but today i finally found something that i liked

really really liked

This is Miss Sara’s Crab Cake Samich

Description: Jumbo Lump Crab Cake served on a sesame knot with
Remoulade dressing, lettuce and tomato

and i got pasta salad as the side

delish

its cute too

if you are a boy- take some girl on a date here for lunch

thanks

a little louisiana in south carolina

in november i went to new orleans with some girlfriends

 it was a blast and we ate AMAZING food

including soft pillowlike funnlecakelike puffs called beignets

this is what they looked like at cafe du monde

 

 

since we have 3 more days before healthy eating resolutions start- i made them for dessert

here is how

i copied these directions from their website

but i took my own pictures as a made them so you could see what non-perfect lumpy yet still scrumptulescent beignets look like

In a bowl, combine two cups of beignet mix with seven ounces of water. Be sure to measure your ingredients. Remember, sometimes it is hard to measure ingredients exactly. You may have to add a little more or a little less water to achieve a good beignet mix dough, and you may have to make more than one batch to get the hang of it. Mix the ingredients with a spoon until the beignet mix is all mixed with the water. The dough should be relatively soft, like drop biscuit dough. It should not be stiff like pie dough. Do not overmix the dough. You will have tough beignets if you overmix the dough.

Scoop the mix from the bowl onto a well-floured surface. You will need additional flour to roll the dough flat; or else, the dough will stick to your rolling pin and your hands. Flour keeps the dough from sticking to everything. Be sure to use plenty of flour. Roll the beignet dough flat and cut into 2-inch squares using a pizza cutter.

From around the edges, you will have scraps of dough left over. Do not try to remix these scraps and cut them into squares. If you do this, you will get tough beignets. Just fry these pieces just the way they are. Your cooking oil should be at 370 degrees Fahrenheit. We use cottonseed oil at the Cafe Du Monde, and we recommend you use cottonseed oil. However you may use any vegetable oil you wish. Remember that the temperature of the oil will drop when you add the beignet dough to the oil. Do not add too many pieces to the oil or else the oil temperature will drop and your beignets will be fry up flat. They will not puff up. The only other reason the dough does not puff up would be if you rolled the beignet dough too flat. Try rolling the dough a little thicker.

(now my directions take over)

turn over and over to get even color on both sides

the dough should only take about 8-10 seconds to float to the top
take out when light golden brown and let drip dry on a wire rack
while still hot dust the beignet with a poof of powdered sugar

eat them fast while still hot! they are amazing dunked in coffee

the cafe du monde coffee is the best though (cafe au lait) because it has root chicory in it

i dont know why chicory makes coffee so yummy- but it does

 

yum scrum.

christmas (or any other time) cinnamon rolls

lynne's cinnamon rolls - step by step
(my mother-in-law should be on the food network)

1 cup sour cream

2 TBS butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 1/2 tsp loose yeast or 1 pkg yeast

1/4 cup very warm water

1 egg

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 stick very soft butter

1 cup packed dark brown sugar or light

1 cup chopped pecans

1 1/2 TBS ground cinnamon

Icing

2 cups powdered sugar

4 TBS cream

2 TBS vanilla

 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Combine sour cream, butter, soda, and salt in sauce pan over medium heat

Melt butter and dissolve sugar then cool to lukewarm

Temper egg with cooled mixture, then add egg mixture to sour cream mix 

 

Dissolve yeast in water 5 min

 

Combine brown sugar, pecans and cinnamon in separate small bowl

 

In large mixing bowl: add flour, sour cream mixture, and yeast mix

 

Mix well and knead for 1 min. Let rest 5 min

 

Roll out dough into a rectangle

 

and spread with soft butter

Sprinkle nuts & sugar & cinnamon mix over butter

 

Roll dough tightly into a log

 

Cut log into 2 in segments 

 

and place in GREASED glass dish

 

Allow to rise in a warm place 1- 1/2 hrs, covered with a light towel

 

(Can refrigerate at this point over night)

BAKE @ 375 degrees for 20-25 min

Cool and drizzle icing over top

 

 serve to hungry guests or husbands or kiddies

last minute gift idea

sweet potato pancake breakfast basket

get the following items:

bruces sweet potato pancake mix (from the fresh market)

maple syrup in a cute leaf shape (from world market)

powdered sugar (from anywhere)

pecans (from anywhere)

 a basket (from your attic)

then put all items into cute bags

then put all cute bags into basket

and

voila!

christmas present for an aunt or uncle or grandparent or mom :)

oh the lake

just about this time of the year, every year, i start to miss the lake

 we grew up going to lake burton every summer.

its the most beautiful place i know.

when you add friends and family to the most beautiful place

it's a dream

so thankful to jesus for his beautiful creation.

i love the lake!

sweet husband

i am so thankful to have a sweet husband.

he gave me flowers just because.

(not these in particular- i'm just trying to give you a mental image :)

but if you need a new favorite flower then you need to know about ranunculus (shown above).

beautiful.

he took me to sassafras and it was amazing

we got shrimp and grits and blue crab nachos yummm.

also my friend cristin says the fried green tomatoes and pimento cheese are delish as well.

then we came home and he had rented Julie and Julia

which he would never choose in a million years unless he knew how much i would love it.

and i did.

its about blogging and cooking- hmm i wonder why i liked it so much?

check it out for a cute flick.

thankful for the sweet nothings in life.

overwhelmed? read this.  

it's so good.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,  who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in  praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.  Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,  obtaining  the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

~peter, the apostle

where to din

i made a post about the best places to lunch in greenville

and i know i love food but do i really know what the best is?

maybe, but

this time i will pick "our favorite"places to eat

for dinner!

(at least the ones that aren't a million dollars to eat at... i'll make that list later)

ready?

#5 LAZY GOAT

this place is scrumptulescent for sure.

get the duck, duck goat pizza and the fried goat cheese.

#4 MURISAKI 

we love sush.

i get the samurai roll and the husband get the genji.

also if you dont feel like spending a ton of money-

here is my sushi secret...

order just one roll and

get a bowl of rice on the side

and ask for the eel sauce and the white sauce to put on top

i think its a dollar extra and is delicious and fills you right up!

#3 COMPADRES 

ok this is a controversial one amoungst our friends

but remember what i called the list!

"our favorite" :)

this one is a FOO restaurant!!!! (family owned and operated)

look for tavo and ariana- they are awesome.

get the enchiladas de ariana, fajita taco salad, ceviche with mango, and a margarita.

also go for sunday brunch

its an amazing buffet! all you can eat for $8.50

#2 BANKOK THAI

i know i put this on the lunch list

but it is good enough to get double listed

get the panang curry chicken, tom kha gai soup and thai tea

perfection.

ANDDDDDDDDDD

OUR FAVORITE PLACE TO EAT DINNER

IN GREENVILLE, SC ISSSSSS

#1 PORTOFINOS

best italian in greenville.

you get a salad with fresh mozzarella and garlic rolls FREE to start

then order the eggplant parmesan

and for wine- try the malbec that is on the menu

yum scrum.