Happy Thanksgiving

It's taken us years to pare-down our Thanksgiving meal to include really the foods that matter to us most. A decade ago, we would much rather prefer quantity over quality. The largest ham. The largest turkey. Large marshmallows ontop of larger yams. Each year, we continue to narrow down our offerings to what matters most.

For me, its the brussel sprouts. Small tender guys that pick up a hint of smoke as they roast with applewood smoked bacon. This truly is the first unofficial brussel holiday for me. My first taste of the season to come. Gosh, I love these guys. Seriously, it is an addiction.

For Eric, its the fresh potato chips, a splash of sea salt. Not only do these crispy creatures provide a much needed fingerfood snack while we wait for the turkey, they also serve the purpose of seasoning the oil.

For Pepper, its the turkey. And he's on the right track because this year we fixed two, one with an apple cider brine and one with the our favorite injectable, Creole Butter. The turkeys were pastured, free range, organic from C & W out of Douglas, GA. Pep was fixated on our comings and goings from the house to the fryer and back inside. In. Out. In. Out.

Chang brought over a gluten free (yipee!) spoon cornbread, which was awesome, and we paired that with a wild rice pilaf. Add some cranberry sauce, and you got a full plate. If you weren't already full of the food, and wine, and beer, well then there was a warm GF apple crisp to finish your night off.

We hope you all had a wonderful holiday, with a yummy meal surrounded by folks you love.

The heartbreaking end of harvest

We said our last goodbyes to Mary Anne and Freehome Gardens. It will be a hard Wednesday habit to break. Every week, we were so excited of the bounty given to us. The colors, the freshness, the taste of these vegetables were just uncomparable. Each Wednesday, I'd call Eric on the way from Mary Anne's, with giddy excitement, explaining all that we were about to prepare for the week. What was new; what was the last of the offerings; what was to be enjoyed immediately that night. Quite literally, I couldn't even contain my enthusiasm for a twenty minute car ride home, hence the necessity of the call to home.

We should have known the 'end' was coming. North Georgia just received two back-to-back nights of subfreezing temperatures. Mary Anne explained that some veg will survive a one night freeze, but two nights simply knocked out those tender vines.

As I walked through the fields, you capture the sense of loss, the grieving that Mary Anne speaks of. To tend to your land all year, keeping vigil during the heat wave, and nuturing these plants through the current drought, its all gone within a matter of forty-eight hours. As disappointed and hurt as Mary Anne is, and frankly, if you love her veg as much as we do, your heart aches just as equally. However, it is remarkable the land takes advantage of the winter to heal itself and prepare for spring's bounty. The barren rows will soon yield a new crop of greens come Spring. It is a bittersweet goodbye, this Saturday afternoon, however we've certainly ended the season on a high note. Lovely green tomatoes, rattlesnake green beans, peppers, green onions, collards, and yes, to my excitement, the last of the sweet potatoes.

We fully warned Mary Anne to watch out for a black Toyota Paseo slowly cruising down Trinity Church Road in the next sixteen weeks. It's habit, afterall. Or maybe an excuse.... to see Harold and her tending to the earth... or planting.... or even to catch a glimpse of an emerging seedling. That little (green) ray of hope, that Spring will soon be here, to yield a whole new set of crops.

Thank you to Mary Anne and Harold, the best 'parents' any vegetable could ask for.

35 years... and the perfect scallop

We celebrated my entry into the mid thirties with a wonderful dinner at Muss & Turner's. Actually, the draw to M & T wasn't only just for the menu, which is amazing by the way, but for their wine tasting classes. They conduct them every Tuesday. And it just happened to fall on 13th this go round.


Since returning from Germany, I've been on somewhat of a quest to find a couple of good dependable German whites, not the sickly sweet Reisling's of my college years, but offerings with a note of dry, that goes with just about anything spicy, or a crisp salad, or a curried dish. And I like acid. Lots of acid. You finish your taste with a pucker - that's what I'm talking about. So, when M & T offered the German and Austrian class, on the 13th nonetheless, it was simply a calling that I had to fulfill.


The three wines worth noting are:

- Kracher Pinot Gris '05 (Austria), 100% stainless steel and organically harvested under the schedule of the moon (biodynamically). It was crisp, clean, light. Perfect for a salad partner.

- Josef Leitz's "Dragonstone" Reisling '06 (Germany), A bit sweeter than the Kracher, but being from the Rheingau region, my tongue is still trampled with acidity. Oh, this is a keeper folks.

- Schloss Gobelsburg Reisling '05 (Austria), A bit more color and complexity than Dragonstone. Definitely not your typical Reisling.


Moving onto dinner, with white wine having awashed my entire tongue for two hours, it was a simple decision for their scallops and fresh goat cheese salad. Their scallops are massive and seared ever so slightly, resulting in a wonderful touch of sweet. Paired with fennell and mixed olive salad. They truly are three jems from the sea.



Muss & Turners: its worth the drive

7th Annual "Afternoon in the Country"

Today, we went down to Serenbe, for the benefit food/wine/beer festival presented by Les Dames d'Escoffier International.

If you don't know, or haven't gone, Serenbe is a 900 acre live/work/play community about 30 miles south of Atlanta. It is devoted to environmental responsibility. Serenbe itself has 20 acres for its own organic farming; the produce then distributed to its residents and restaurants. Rather than a traditional sewer system, they installed a biological wastewater treatment system. Storm runoff is directed into vegetated filter strips. It's a great example of new urbanism, and residents contributing to conservation and sustainability. So, if we won the lottery, we'd move here. Click here to check out Serenbe.

Anyway, to get back on topic, they host a yearly festival in support of Les Dames d'Escoffier and Georgia Organics. Tickets are pricey, and we had some reservations about spending the money. (But after a hard-earned yard sale weekend, with cash in hand, our walls came down).

For 3 hours, you sample the absolute best dishes from Atlanta's top chefs, as well as a great selection of complementing wines and craft beers.

There is a silent auction of a vast array of items - anything from 1/2 a Berkshire Pig from Riverview Farms to framed art to gift certificates for restaurants to being a cheese monger for-a-day at Sweet Grass Diary. Now, after a couple glasses of wine and beer, you are much more apt to waddle over to the auction boards and put your bid in.

Oh, and there's a cake raffle too. Not just any church-bake-sale cake, we are talking serious perfection here folks. Tall 14 layer cakes, decorated with fresh orchids and shaved chocolates.

Five dollars - and a prayer to the Diety of Dessert - is all it takes to be a potential winner.

We had the pleasure of meeting so many folks behind these great restaurants. It is really unbelievable that the chefs themselves, as famous as they are, come down for this day, completed devoted to their craft and to this organization and festival. One we were shocked to meet: Kevin Rathbun. Genuinely nice guy, obliged to fulfill our foodie desires for a short chat and a picture. And his pastured Asian chicken noodle salad? Like an explosion of textures and spices. Fresh herbs and greens to cool your tongue between bites of spicy tender chicken, all packaged in small Chinese boxes. This man is down to the details, and it clearly shows.

There were more than 60 restaurants and artisan producers/growers to sample. Weaving through the crowd, with wine (or beer for Eric) in hand, we stop at each linen-covered table, and hear the each Chef explain the nuances of their particular dish. Here's a sampling of what we discovered....

• Pork belly sliders from JCT Kitchen
• Butternut squash soup with crispy bacon and chanterelles from Trois
• Sweet potato panna cotta from Woodfire (my favorite!)
• African squash pudding with fall fruit compote from Taurus
• Georgia vegetable gumbo and crispy pork belly from Farm 255
• Suvee duck breast with cinnamon sweet potato souffle from 103 West
• Mini-meatball sandwich from Restaurant Eugene
• Braised short rib with chocolate vinegar on sauteed cabbage from Canoe
• Ham and cheese tortellini from Via Elisa
• Lamb meatball on cheese spaetzel from Five Seasons
• Smoked salmon and capers on homemade corn chip from One Midtown Kitchen
• BBQ chicken deviled egg from The Feed Store
• Lamb fennel sausage on fennel apple slaw from Food Studio
• Beef carpaccio from Strip
• Artisan cheeses from Sweet Grass Diary
• Whole leg of lamp on fresh collards, corn muffin from Farmhouse at Serenbe
• Beers of Munich and Dunkel from Five Seasons -- they even tapped a giant pumpkin, and poured their pumpkin brew through it to enhance its pumpkin-ness.

It's really all overwhelming... the tastes... the textures.... the flavors. You are definitely spinning into a downward food coma by late afternoon.

We are so glad we got this opportunity. And as we waddled back to the car, we discussed our favorites, our surprises, the humble manner and genuine nature of the chefs we met and their dedication to their craft.

And lastly, we had to include a picture of Biscuit, a furry faced foodie, who was probably hoping for any leftover pork belly from a passersby.