knock-off recipe: cheesy cauliflower

Over 4th of July, Vance and I went to Chattanooga for the weekend. We are doing a Southern tour this summer and have hit Atlanta, Chattanooga and Knoxville - next up, Birmingham!

In Chattanooga, we had a great brunch at Tupelo Honey. I took myself to lunch at the Knoxville location this past Saturday (while Vance slaved away at a conference).

We had delicious salt-roasted beets with pistachio & goat cheese. Actually, Vance wanted french toast and I can't seem to get enough beets these days - so I inhaled this dish.

I had a fantastic cauliflower dish too - mashed with cheddar. Gave that a spin last night at home (and had leftovers this morning with an egg and tomato atop - yum!)

1 head of cauliflower

1/4 cup milk 

4 ounces white cheddar, shredded

S&P to taste

Steam cauliflower florets until tender (about 8 minutes). Pierce with a fork - when soft, drain. In a food processor, place cauliflower and milk. Pulse a few times, season with salt and pepper. Pulse until the cauliflower is a mashed potato-like consistency. Remove to a bowl and incorporate shredded cheese - serve (devour) immediately.

This is dish is a like a cross between mashed potatoes & cheese grits, but MUCH healthier. Enjoy!

cantina!

Vance and I had a great happy hour hosted by Cantina Laredo in the Gulch. The head chef and bar manager shared some fantastic bar bites and cocktails. Great way to start the week! They serve half price dishes and drink specials during their weekday happy hour from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. - yes - that is pretty much the whole day!

watermelon & coconut mojitos

coconut, watermelon-mint and black & blueberry mojitos

artichoke & spinach nachos

ahi tuna tacos

Thanks Cantina Laredo - we will be back soon!

our april ham

We only have ham once a year - Easter. Well growing up, we always had a holiday dinner at our neighbor's house, the Wilson's - and we had ham then too. It was always so delicious!

Easter has become one of my favorite holidays because I don't have to cook a main dish - Honey Baked does that for me. This year, we were lucky enough to have Kayla and Peter join us for the holiday weekend!

We toured Yazoo Brewery - very fun.

spent an afternoon at Radnor Lake...

Peter was a crane.

In addition to lots of other good food and drink, we went to Hattie B's for hot chicken. And then Peter cried because his chicken was so hot - it was very funny for the rest of us.

After a great long weekend (and lots of leftover ham), I made a delicious split pea soup.

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 chopped medium onion

4 carrots, thinly sliced

3 celery stalks, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon dried thyme leaves

Kosher salt and ground pepper

1 quart chicken stock, homemade is preferable

1 bag (16 ounces) green split peas, picked over and rinsed

ham bone plus 2 cups reserved ham cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1 to 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

In a large stock pot with a lid, heat oil over medium. Add onion, carrots, celery, and thyme; season with salt and pepper. Cook until vegetables begin to soften, 5 to 8 minutes. Add broth, split peas, ham bone, and 5 cups water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and partially cover; simmer until peas are soft, 30 to 45 minutes. Remove and discard bone from soup. Use an immersion blender to blend about half of the soup (or carefully remove half to a blender). After it is the consistency you like, add ham cubes, and simmer until heated through. If necessary, thin with water. Add salt, pepper, and lemon juice to taste. Serve topped with croutons. 

Top with some croutons, yum!

a snowed in Thanksgiving

A belated Thanksgiving post!

We headed to meet family in Asheville, North Carolina for Thanksgiving this year - where winter had arrived already. We stayed in a fantastic cabin in the Smokey Mountains at Wolf Ridge Ski Resort, about 30 minutes north of Asheville. 

On Friday, we enjoyed downtown Asheville - so many good spots to eat and drink!

Vance, Grandma-ma Helen & Kayla at Salsa's for lunch.

Peter with him pom-pom-pom for lunch.

Vance & his memorial.

Enjoyed exploring a few great breweries including Lexington Avenue Brewery, Wicked Weed and Asheville Brewing Company. We also toured the Biltmore and had a great brunch at Corner Kitchen in Biltmore Village. 

Of course, we also visited French Broad Chocolates. 

The weather actually ended up keeping us in our cabin on Thanksgiving day so we dined on pasta bar with a few sauces I had frozen in the fall. It was no turkey dinner but still hit the spot. Getting up the mountain - in the snow - and darkness - and ice - and wind - was on the stressful side, but it made me realize that the most important thing is just being together. Doesn't really matter what you eat or where - just spending Thanksgiving with family was great. But...I am craving a nice holiday turkey dinner and can't wait until Christmas!

SF & Napa 2014

Vance and I took a few days in California at the end of October. A much needed escape together, as November is already blur of work travel, events and conferences for us both. Is it Christmas yet?

We visited family and friends in San Fran, but also fit in an overnight in Napa, where we had fabulous food and wine (as to be expected!). We started our trip with a great dinner at A16 with friends, Jordan and RJ, then headed up to Napa the next day.

Delicious burgers at Gott's Roadside - Oxbow Public Market in downtown Napa.

Cocktails at Angele.

An amazing dinner at Ad Hoc - thank you to my friend, Liz, who suggested this great spot!

Ad Hoc is Thomas Keller's "test" kitchen of sorts. Keller opened the French Laundry (a supposedly amazing restaurant with a very high price tag) years ago and wanted a different space to test out new dishes. This spot was absolutely fantastic - a must if you are looking for a nice dinner in Napa.

We did a very nice tour of a wine cave - Del Dotto.

XXX

Couldn't be happier.

Mo/Fo Cab.

Tasty lunch at Mustards Grill before heading back to San Fran.

We toured Alcatraz in San Fran and went to the San Francisco Symphony with my aunt and uncle on Saturday night.

I got out.

Alcatraz Gardens

Great lunch spot.

It was such a nice trip - just a few more weeks of work until we can relax again over the holidays!

well if this is 30...

I'll take it. I am 30 years old. I actually feel older on this birthday. I also feel happy, loved, appreciated, strong and a bit wiser than I was on my last birthday. For example - it is 10:00 a.m. on a Sunday morning and I am up, on my second cup of coffee (instead of feeling the pain from too much wine last night). I do believe birthdays are about doing what you want - which is exactly what I did this weekend. Starting with a new recipe (to come later this week) and an old favorite - turkey pumpkin chili. Nothing says "you're 30" like a bowl of chili and a beer. Vance and I had a full day of eating yesterday at the Southern Artisan Cheese Festival and a great dinner at Husk.

Delicious samplings of cheese, meats, beer and wine - Broadbent Rose Vinho Verde just became a new favorite. Vinho Verde - Portuguese for cheap & cheerful, like me!

I mean come on...a cheese festival with this guy? I couldn't be any luckier.

In addition to a delicious soft peach & jalapeño cheese and garlic cheese curds, we also picked up some delicious made in Nashville goodies. Soberdough (all you need is one bottle of beer like a delicious Yazoo brew added to the mix), Nashville Jam Co. Sweet Onion & Garlic, Eli Mason Mint Julep simple syrup, Hog Heaven White BBQ sauce, Provence Bakery Cheddar Chive Sconces & Tru Bee local honey.

We had some of these goodies already, but I wanted to give a nod to a number of our local favorites.

Before heading off to dinner last night, I mixed up a new cocktail.

A favorite of Hemingway, the Josie Russell cocktail.

1 shot light rum

juice from about a 1/4 of a lime

1/2 teaspoon sugar

hard apple cider

In a shaker, combine rum, lime juice and sugar with ice. Pour into a glass and top with hard apple cider, garnish with an apple slice.

Yum.

On to a new decade.