Well, it’s happening.
This morning, I have posted my first new recipe to the new website.
You can check it out at the link below!
http://www.thehungrysouthernwanderer.com/food/2015/11/30/chorizo-and-white-bean-chili
I’m very much still in a transition period, especially since I’ve been a little quiet on the writing front lately. That should all change soon.
So stick with me gang, and enjoy!
Josh
I realize it has been a little while since I’ve posted anything. I have not forgotten about my project here, I promise! I still plan to bring you delicious food and great travel spots.
The current hiatus is happening for two reasons: I started grad school to get my MBA and it is consuming my soul, and I’m working on transforming this blog into an actual website.
SO, the goal is to be back up and running in a week or two with a new domain name, new recipes, and good times. In the meantime, check out my Instagram(@hungrysouthernwanderer) or Facebook page (The Hungry Southern Wanderer) for some more good times.
I’ll be back before you know it.
And of course, thanks for following! Hearing about successful recipe endeavors and feedback are what drive me to keep doing what I’m doing!
Josh
I eat a lot of eggs for breakfast, and sometimes, that gets a little old. So I did what I do best, opened the fridge and worked with what I have. This is fairly simple on purpose! Why go buy some obscure ingredient when you can truly make this with whatever you have floating around.
The result, a pretty tasty smoothie which was a welcome change up. It was also great to counter balance the Mellow Mushroom I picked up after class last night AND fuel up so I can keep training for my half marathon.
Three Comments:
Breakfast Smoothie
Splash of milk or water
2 cups fresh spinach
1 ripe banana, peeled
1 ripe peach, pitted (peel it if you want, it’s not necessary)
1/2 cup Greek Yogurt
1/2 cup frozen berries(I used raspberries today)
1 Tbsp honey(optional)
In a blender, add spinach and milk/water. Blend until liquid, then add remaining ingredients, and continue to blend until combined.
You can’t even tell there are two cups of spinach in there, trust me on this one.
Football season has returned, and all is right with the world. The Falcon’s kicked of their regular season last night(for better or for worse), which meant football food for dinner in my house.
Potato skins are delicious. Crispy, cheesy and easy to consume in mass quantities while watching the game of your choice. My only issue? They are a pain in the ass to make, and it’s pretty wasteful if you think about it. What are you going to do with all of the potato guts you’ve scooped out? Maybe it’s just be, but the skins always break apart on me when I’m scooping the flesh out.
Soooooooooo, I did a little internet research and found a recipe which used smashed Red Potatoes to create these crispy little bites I figured I could load up with all of the good stuff. And guess what? That’s exactly what I did.
You want these guys to have some texture to them, so don’t totally flatten them into oblivion. If using a potato masher, mash down once, then turn it 90 degrees and do it again.
Loaded Crispy Red Potatoes
12 small red potatoes (or however many you want to make, the more the merrier)
Salt & Pepper
Olive Oil
8 oz cheddar cheese, grated
2 scallions, thinly sliced
4 pieces of cooked bacon, crumbled
1 cup sour cream
2 Tbsp prepared horseradish
Bring a large pot of water to a boil on the stovetop, then add potatoes. Cook until fork tender, about 25-30 minutes. Drain well.
Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.
Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and drizzle with olive oil. Using a potato masher (or the bottom of a drinking glass), flatten the potatoes on the sheet pan, leaving room for them to spread out. Top with tons of salt and pepper, followed by a very healthy brushing of olive oil. Bake in the oven for 25-35 minutes, until they are crispy and golden brown.
If you like, sprinkle a little cheese on each of them and put back in the oven for an extra minute to melt it.
Combine sour cream and horseradish is a small bowl. Dollop sour cream on top of each, followed by bacon and scallions. Top with more cheese if desired.
Chocolate…
People go crazy for it. Unless you’re one of those people who doesn’t like chocolate. You get some funny looks when you mention you don’t like chocolate, don’t you?
If you don’t like chocolate, stop reading now… for the rest of us, here’s a great way to satisfy your chocolate fix whenever you need it. With few ingredients and even fewer steps, you can have this put together and in the oven in about 5 minutes. It’s that easy, and it’s that good.
The coffee doesn’t directly flavor the dish, but it brings out the chocolate flavor and makes it even better.
Best part about your butter being room temperature? Just use the wrapper to grease your pie dish. No mess, no worries, and no problems.
Brownie Pie
1 cup sugar
1 stick butter, softened
1/2 cup A/P Flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 Tbsp cooled coffee
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 325. Grease a 9 inch pie plate.
Combine first 8 ingredients together until combined. Stir in nuts and chocolate chips. Pour batter into pie dish and bake 30-35 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick comes out of the center almost clean. You want it to be moist, so not too clean!!!
Serve this puppy warm with some vanilla ice cream and you’re done!
Leftovers are great the next morning with a cup of coffee…. assuming there are any leftovers….
But wait, there’s more!
I wasn’t about to fly all the way to the Pacific Northwest without going hiking at least once. There are plenty of places just a very short drive outside of Seattle. This trip we hiked to Annette Lake, an 8 mile round trip hike with the trails’ namesake at the end of of 4 miles. It would have helped if we hadn’t been out the night before, but the hike was still very much worth it.
Starbucks Roastery & Tasting Room – This place was really cool. I had made it a point to avoid Starbucks as a rule of thumb while out there, but this was definitely more than your average Starbucks. From the unique roasts found no where else to a drink menu filled with creative concoctions, this is well worth the trip.
Iced Sparkling Espresso with Mint, seriously good!
Americano con Crema – hot Americano topped with cold orange scented crema. Yeah, it was amzing
The bean hopper’s behind the bar at the Starbucks Roastery & Tasting Room
Oddfellows Cafe – Welcome to Washington State, where you can get a drink at brunch at 10am and no one things twice about it! This definitely made waiting for a table even better, as we sipped on house made craft cocktails, only to be followed up by sweet beignets, eggs, and an overall exceptional brunch experience. I need Oddfellows to open up an East Coast location so I can get to it a lot easier. This was a brunch for the record books!
The Porch Swing- bourbon, cherry brandy, lemon, vanilla
Tennessee Heat- serrano infused white whiskey, lemon, pineapple, bitters
Fresh Beignets with raspberry jam.
The whole brunch scene- Baked Eggs with Ham & Spinach, Eggs Benedict with Tomato & Avocado, Fruit Bowl, Bloody Mary
Molly Moon’s Homemade Ice Cream – If you love ice cream, you’ll need to find a Molly Moon’s in Seattle. Delicious, original flavors that you can mix and match to create your own unique ice cream experience. Of course I got the Vanilla Bean & the Salted Caramel (really reaching out there). We walked around the Queen Anne neighborhood, with some spectacular views of the city and the bay.
Vanilla bean and Salted Caramel Ice creams!
The views from Queen Anne.
How best to close out an amazing trip? A rooftop grill out at dusk. Kate’s apartment even had a pizza oven, so I threw together a quick flat bread. Travel pictures and a recipe? I know, this is a great blog post haha.
Fig Jam & Proscuitto Flatbread
1 store bought thin pizza crust
1 cup Fig Jam
1/4 lb thin sliced proscuitto
4oz blue cheese
2 oz balsamic vinegar(or syrup)
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
Preheat oven (or pizza oven) to 450 degrees.
Spread jam over crust, and lay prosciutto on top. Sprinkle with blue cheese and bake for 5 – 10 minutes, until cheese is melted. Remove from oven, drizzle with balsamic and lay basil on top. Cut and serve.
The view from the roof!
The rooftop gang
Flowers from Pike Place Market
If you follow my Instagram account(hey, you should if you don’t), you already know I had a pretty awesome time in Seattle, Washington earlier this month. Early August is the time to go! With mild temperatures, or at least mild compared to Savannah, and cool breezes off of the bay, it was a welcome reprieve from the Southeastern heat. I had two whole days to wander the city on my own, and I made a point to get as much out of it as possible. Here are some of my favorite stops from my trip.
Bacco Cafe – When your body thinks it’s lunch time and you haven’t eaten since before you got on the plane the night before, anything and everything looks good. Thankfully, I waited until I was near Pike’s Place Market to stop for breakfast. The Bacco Cafe is a tiny little corner spot serving breakfast and lunch, where they also tout their fresh squeezed juices as well. With the New York Times in hand, I opted for an inside table. Once I had a very big cup of coffee in front of me, I chose the Salmon Hash, a delicious combo of lox, herbed potatoes, fried egg and scallions. The Abruzzo, comprised of orange and grapefruit juices, made an excellent addition to an already delicious breakfast.
The bar at Bacco
Coffee and Abrazzo Juice Blend
The salmon hash
Pike Place Market – An amazing open air market overlooking Elliot Bay, which also happened to celebrate it’s 108th birthday this past Monday. No trip to Seattle is complete without a visit to the market, but GET THERE EARLY. I thoroughly enjoyed having free reign over the 3 block area in the early morning, able to see the mongers throw fish with little obstruction and vendors set up their stalls for the day.
The Public Market at Pike Place
World famous Farmers Market turned 108 this week.
Fresh Seafood ready for purchase.
I had the pleasure of stumbling upon the Pike Place Urban Garden, a relatively new venture courtesy of the Seattle Urban Farm Company and the Pike Place Foundation. The completely volunteer run garden utilizes a patio space off the beaten path of the market, and all of the produce grown is donated to the Pike Place Senior Center and Food Bank.
This piggy greats you in the Pike Place Urban Market
The Pike Place Urban Garden
Salumi – This was the spot EVERYONE told me I had to get to, with the added “just look for the line”. After a small treck towards Pioneer Square, I saw just that. This tiny little establishment could easily be missed if you weren’t looking for it. All of the salami is made in house, and I went for the Coppa and Mozarella with Peppers and Onions. I big bottle of Pelligrino to go with it and I had lunch under control.
Lunch at Salumi.
House cured meats hang in Salumi.
Coppa & Mozzarella for lunch
The saddest part is I actually bought a salami to bring home, and even walked around with it in my pocket all day(didn’t think this through, obviously), only to leave it in my friends fridge when I left for the airport at the end of the trip. I wasn’t happy.
View from the ferry!
Seattle Ferry to Bainbridge Island– It was too sunny and beautiful to not take a ride on the ferry Thursday afternoon. For $8 you can take a round trip ride to Bainbridge Island, located across Elliot Bay. The ferry arrives about every 55 minutes, which was plenty of time for me to walk around and grab a snack at the Blackbird Bakery. Great views of the city are plenty during the 35 minute ferry ride, and Bainbridge Island is a great example of a small Pacific Northwest town.
Approach to Bainbridge
The lemon tart at Blackbird Bakery.
Damn the Weather– Dinner Thursday night, it was so good, I wrote a separate post about it! Damn the Weather, but not the Food.
Round 2: PANTONE 2385: rye whiskey, dry vermouth, lemon, blackberry syrup, purple shiso.
Cantaloupe Splash: amontillado sherry, cantaloupe water, mint
Can’t walk passed this sign without stopping in
Le Panier – it was back to the market early morning Friday for breakfast, this time grabbing a coffee on the way from Herkimer Coffee for the walk. Walking into Le Panier, you’re immediately hit with smells akin to those of French bakeries. I was taken back to the street of Paris thanks to the quality pastries and croissants. Yes, I had two, the Almond croissant and the Chocolate croissant. My Garmin Vivofit clocked me in at about 30,000 steps that day, so I think I made up for it.
The Almond croissant and an iced coffee at Le Panier. Not Picture- the chocolate croissant follow up.
Watson Kennedy – My goal of the day was to discover this long standing fine home store a couple of blocks from the market. There is a smaller one located in the market, but I was in search of the main event. This came on another recommendation, and it didn’t disappoint. From cookbooks, to tabletop and barware, this store had everything you could possibly imagine you would need to keep things classy in your apartment or home. A selection of gourmet foods and cocktail ingredients help round out the selection of truly unique goods found throughout the entire store. After working in a kitchen store for a decade, I’m a sucker for cool places like this.
One of the many displays at Watson Kennedy
The view from the entrance of Watson Kennedy
Portage Bay Cafe – located in South Lake Union, Portage Bay Cafe is definitely a popular lunch spot during the week, and great for brunch on the weekends. A late lunch consisted of the Reuben sandwich, and I’m pretty sure it was the best Reuben I’ve ever had. With great atmosphere and an emphasis on organic, sustainable food, it’s no wonder Portage Bay Cafe is so popular.
The best Reuben I’ve ever had, with a mimosa
Fremont Brewing – What better way to close out a successful Friday than with some brews! We met up with a group and enjoyed our fair share of local brews. The Brother Imperial IPA (8.5% ABV) was particularly awesome, as well as the Fremont Summer Ale(5.2% ABV). The brewery has an extensive outside area, with ample space to enjoy what was some quality Seattle weather that Friday evening.
A welcoming sign for Fremont Brewery
The Summer Ale at Fremont Brewery
Growing up on the coast of Georgia, you learn to love shrimp really quickly. We are spoiled too, with shrimp so fresh it may very well have come off the boat earlier the same day! If there is one thing we know how to do down here, it’s cook some shrimp.
On that note, when you get these little(or sometimes big) guys, DO NOT OVER COOK THEM! No one wants rubbery tough shrimp, which is even more important with this recipe. The dill sauce has a decent amount of lemon juice, which can continue to “cook” the shrimp while they sit in the marinade.
This recipe comes from my former co-worker and good friend Judy Baker, who started working at the kitchen store about the same time I did many years ago. She brought this shrimp to a party and there was no turning back. It’s a great alternative to your average shrimp cocktail, and should always be served cold. People are going to go nuts for this, I promise.
Mix up your average shrimp cocktail with this cool and easy appetizer!
Ms. Judy’s Dilled Shrimp
1 cup mayo
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
3 Tbsp sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
1 purple onion, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp fresh dill or 1 Tbsp dried dill
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp cracked black pepper
3 lbs peeled and deveined shrimp, cooked (24-30 count, you want some decent sized shrimp)
To cook the shrimp: Boil about 4 qts of water in a large stock pot. Once boiling, add shrimp and keep them moving for about 2 minutes. Remove from water and let cool.
Mix first seven ingredients in a large bowl. Add shrimp and toss until all of the shrimp are coated well. Cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours.
Serve these guys with toothpicks or crackers. They are fine on their own, but the extra carbs never hurt either.
Picture from Damn the Weather’s Facebook Page
Bon Appetite Magazine conveniently released their nominations for the Best New Restaurants of 2015 two days before I left for Seattle, Washington. Y’all know I was going to hit up at least one of them, and man, did I pick a good one!
Damn the Weather is located in the Pioneer Square Neighborhood of Seattle, a quick 15 minute walk from Pike’s Place Market. The unassuming exterior is nothing too showy, and if you weren’t looking for it you might miss it. In fact, we almost did! We were told it would be about a 45 minute wait, but thankfully two seats at the bar opened up after just 20 minutes. I prefer to sit at the bar anyways, so this worked out fine for us.
I legitimately have NOTHING negative to say about this experience. Obviously the place was hopping on this Thursday evening, filled with locals who had already discovered what the rest of the country would soon find out; Damn the Weather was not to be missed. From the hand crafted cocktails to the assortment of “Bar Food” and the friendly bar staff, nothing came up short of exceptional throughout our evening.
Don’t miss it!
Round 1: BANDITA: blanco tequila, rhubarb jus, campari, lime
SABROSO REFRESCO: pisco, dry vermouth, tomato water, passion fruit, lemon
One ingredient found throughout the drink menu was purple shiso. I had legitimately never heard of such a beast. The bartender described it as a cross between cinnamon and mint, and no joke, that really is a pretty accurate assessment. The Japanese plant added a very unique aspect to the menu, including the Pantone 2385 I had, seen below.
Round 2: PANTONE 2385: rye whiskey, dry vermouth, lemon, blackberry syrup, purple shiso.
Cantaloupe Splash: amontillado sherry, cantaloupe water, mint
The best way to enjoy the Bar Food menu is to order an assortment of options and share them. And that’s exactly what we did.
Cured Meats: Coppa, Prosciutto, Salami, Chorizo, Speck
Raw Zucchini Salad: zucchini slices, walnuts, mint, anchovy crema, balsamic reduction
This was AMAZING. The picture isn’t as high of a quality as I would have liked, but we were kind of in a hurry to dig in!
Tomato Tartine: heirloom tomatoes, basil, bacon, herb aioli, toast
Caesar Salad Sandwich: romaine, parmesan, anchovy, brioche, egg
Yes, that’s an egg fried into the slice of brioche…. don’t drool on your keyboard.
And speaking of drool, I had to tell Kate she couldn’t lick the plate when we were done.
Sticky Toffee Pudding: caramel, chocolate sauce, espresso gelato
Moral of the blog post, GO TO DAMN THE WEATHER. You won’t be disappointed.
How the check shows up, creative AND funny.
And for a little extra comic relief, yes, that’s a Snapchat.
If you’ve ever wondered about my process when coming up with blog material, it’s a pretty simple one. I open the fridge and ask myself “what can I put together with what I have plus the least possible amount of ingredients from the grocery store?”. Here we have another example of that very train of thought. I had a bunch of these little bell peppers left and wanted to do something with them.
And hey, take a look at that, this recipe uses that “super food” we’re all supposed to be eating, quinoa. Gives it an extra nutty flavor with bonus fiber and protein. All good stuff we’re supposed to get more of in our diets.
As you’ll see, I used a mini muffin pan to keep these guys upright. If you’re using full sized bell peppers, cut them in half so they lay flat. They’ll also cook faster that way.
Extra bonus, if there is leftover quinoa, it’s ok. It’s tasty on it’s own, and will make a great lunch later in the week.
THERE IS BELL PEPPER ON THE TOPS YOU CUT OFF. Seriously, don’t be wasteful, chop it up and toss it in the pan with the onions and garlic. There are starving 20- somethings around the country.
Southwest Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers
18 mini bell peppers, tops cut off and cored
1 cup of dry quinoa, cooked according to package
4 ears fresh corn
1 can low sodium black beans, rinsed
1 medium purple onion, diced
1 jalapeno pepper, minced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 limes, zested and juiced
Olive oil
Salt & Pepper
6oz feta cheese
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Preheat grill(or grill pan) to medium heat. Brush corn with oil and grill until kernels begin to blacken and blister. Remove and allow to cool before removing kernels from cob. Reserve in a large bowl.
Heat 2 Tbsp of olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add onion and pepper(s) and saute for about 7 minutes, until onions are translucent and peppers are soft. Add garlic and cook another 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add to corn. Add black beans, quinoa, and lime to the bowl and stir to combine well. TASTE THE QUINOA and add salt and pepper as needed.
Stuff your peppers and cover them with foil. Bake for 25 minutes. (full size peppers may need more time)
Remove peppers from oven, and take the foil off. Top with crumbled feta and return to oven until feta has begun to brown and the peppers are cooked through, about 10 minutes.
Serve these guys on their own for a Meatless Mondays or as a pretty legit side dish.
The Hungry Southern Wanderer 