Saturday, May 18, 2013

Ice Cream Paint Job Cooking Club

Yea buddy!
Rolling like a big shot,
Chevy tuned up like a NASCAR pitstop
Fresh paint job [Check]
Fresh inside [Check]
Is the outside frame in the trunk wide? [Yes]
Are the rims big? [What]
Do it ride good? [Good]
Lean back right hand on the pinewood.
Cream on the inside
Clean on the outside
Ice, ice cream, ice cream paint job

Who doesn't love the song "Ice Cream Paint Job" by rapper Dorrough!? Lately I've had a habit of noticing how often people talk about things that are something on the inside and something different on the outside. And then it's pretty easy to plop it into that rap tune and make a song out of it! Oh, your tights are flannel on the inside, smooth on the outside? Your coffee mug is blue on the inside, orange on the outside? Look over at that pool! Ben's on the inside and Summer's on the outside! IT'S EVERYWHERE. LET'S RAP IT.

It was only natural that I should host an Ice Cream Paint Job Cooking Club. We could make whatever wanted, as long as it was ________ on the inside, _________ on the outside. Yumi started the evening off with this delicious tuna. Rare on the inside, seared on the outside! Served with pickled vegetables.



Fabulous!



Summer made blue crab beignets. Meaty on the inside, doughy on the outside!!



Mmm, deep fried.



They were amazing! Seriously. It was hard to stop eating these!



Creamy deliciousness on the inside, golden crispiness on the outside!



Valerie made asparagus parmesan pastry rolls featuring asparagus from her own garden!  Green on the inside, golden brown on the outside! Crisp tender on the inside, flaky on the outside! Vegetable on the inside, pastry on the outside.Some of them also included prosciutto.



Emily made sea scallops wrapped in kataifi dough. Juicy scallop on the inside, shredded fillo dough on the outside! Drizzled with a balsamic orange reduction. Yum!



I made calzones. Here I am putting them in the oven to bake!



Cheesy on the inside, doughy on the outside!



They were filled with spinach and mushrooms. I also made a homemade spicy tomato sauce for dipping.



Nancy made homemade Fig Newtons! Figs and walnuts on the inside, cookie crust on the outside! These are cookie perfection.



Oh, hi!



Summer treated us to a second dessert. Ice cream balls!



Salty caramel ice cream on the inside, dark chocolate on the outside! LITERALLY cream on the inside, clean on the outside. NAILED IT!



What a great cooking club. It was delicious on the inside, delicious on the outside!

Friday, May 17, 2013

30-Mile Spirited Tour

As part of a Local Food conference taking place in Athens this week, there was a special tour happening today. The 30-Mile Spirited Tour offered participants the chance to ride a bus through the countryside and visit the Dancing Tree Distillery, Shade Winery, and Jackie O's new taproom. You did not have to be a conference registrant to attend, so a few friends and I signed up!

Our first stop was the Dancing Tree Distillery in Shade. Founder Kelly Sauber taught us all about the science of distilling alcohol.



I was totally distracted by the prettiest cat EVER!!!



Loooooook at this pretty cat!!!



So beautiful!



Okay, back to the science! This little building is the distillery! All the magic happens in there.



It was so clean inside, and the machines made these really peaceful bubbling sounds. I kind of felt like I was in a submarine!



Love!



Blub blub glug! Glug!! Blug blub glug!












After the tour, we headed to the tasting room to sample the wares.



Cheers!



Our next stop was Shade Winery.



So many different wines to choose from!



One thing I love about Shade Winery is that they offer complimentary oyster crackers. And they get the BEST ones, the Kroger brand ones. MMM!!!



Cheers!



Vino!



They've added a little grilling patio down by the pond. Look, there's Yumi! I think it would be fun to grill out here and enjoy some wine.



The vineyard!



We got to learn some of the science behind grapes and wine! Super cool.






Our final stop of the day was at Jackie O's new taproom. Dan got us a sampler to try! Cheers!



Art told us the story of purchasing and renovating the barn.



Cheers!



The new facility is awesome!



Super powerful beer machines!



They used to have to do this stirring by hand at the old brewery!



We wanted to push these buttons.



Dark Apparition. YUM. YUM!!! Cheers!



Laurel, Summer, Tracy and I. What a fun trip!! So glad we went!

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Happy Mother's Day!

This Mother's Day was super special because I got to celebrate with my mom AND my mother-in-law!! Double the mom love! It's fun to combine families. We got together at Mer's house to celebrate the special day. I made (three!) pitchers of mojitos. It truly has become our traditional cocktail! Cheers!



Kayla made this super fresh, delicious salsa. Doesn't it look like a rainbow in a bowl?



Mer made fish tacos with avocado mango salsa and lime crema. Plus black beans with a pickled onion topping!



Mer and I were taking a bunch of pictures of the food. Then I took a picture of Mer taking pictures of the food.



Then Moss took a picture of me taking a picture of Mer taking a picture of the food! Moss's picture:



Then Mom took a picture of me taking a picture of the food!



Mom's picture:



So many picture takers! Mmm, fish taco assembly line. Fish hot off the grill!



YUM!



Three generations of Erlewine ladies.



I made the Triple Berry Summer Buttermilk Bundt Cake from Smitten Kitchen.



It turned out SO GOOD!!! Bursting with berry goodness!






Usually whenever Moss and Kate get together they both turn into blurs.



CHASING!






Cracking up.



Dad, Moss and Kate played Pet Shop. This involved Dad and Moss talking through Kate's tap dancing shoes (telephones, obviously) as Dad tried to order a new puppy. Kate was Moss's assistant and made sure that the sale went smoothly.



The happy customer with his new puppy!



Family!



Tickle fight!






Happy Mother's Day, Mer!



Right before it was time to leave, we managed to fit in a quick Harlem Shake.