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Wednesday, July 24, 2013

These Friends Have Soul!



Well, well, well!  Sometimes the most wonderful things turn up in the most unlikely places. And sometimes really happy things happen when you least expect them. Three Friends and a Fork took a little road trip to Birmingham.  The day was nasty, stormy and gray, but the company, as usual, was bright and sunny.  We set out with lots on our minds and as we traveled down the road we were busy making plans.  We don't let any time go to waste, no sir!  I was driving and Sherri and Luanne were making calls, sending texts and planning a little trip to see our favorite principal.  For those of you who may not know, our principal has taken a new job in Tennessee and we were not about to let him leave without a great send off from us...whether he likes it or not!  Brownwood Elementary has been very fortunate to have had this hard working and positive leader at the helm for the last four years and there are a lot of sad and worried teachers he is leaving behind.  But we all wish him well and we want the folks from Lynchburg, Tennessee to know you are getting one FINE principal!  Be good to him or we will gladly take him back!

So, as Sherri and Luanne were making plans, I was keeping my eyes on the slick, wet road.  We were heading to the largest city in Alabama.  Birmingham has gone by different nicknames over the years, The Magic City, Pittsburgh of the South, and Steel City.  The skyline of Birmingham is most notable for the large sculpture of the Roman god Vulcan, god of the fire and forge.  It is the largest cast iron sculpture in the world.  Vulcan keeps a watchful eye over Birmingham, but the communities behind Vulcan get more of a full moon, because Vulcan wears an apron and nothing else.  A song was even written about the situation.  It was called, "Moon Over Homewood".  The tongue in cheek song went something like this: "Moon over Homewood, it's so unrefined. We have to get mooned with the Vulcan's behind. Moon over Homewood, we don't think it's fair, That we have to look at his big derriere. " Vulcan's bare posterior has also been the inspiration for a uniquely Birmingham treat called, appropriately, Vulcan's Buns. Birmingham writer, Anne George, published a version of Vulcan's Buns in her book, Murder Gets a Life.  For you foodies who would like to try them out for yourself, here is the recipe:

Vulcan's Buns
1/4 c. warm water
1 package active dry yeast
2 T. sugar
1/2 c. butter
3 eggs, separate one of the whites and set aside
1 t. oregano
1 t. basil
1 1/2 c. cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 c. dried tomatoes, chopped
1 c. milk
5 c. all purpose flour sifted 3 times (If you have 2 friends, like me, you can each take a turn to sift! )
1 t. salt
Olives stuffed with pimiento and Feta Cheese

Dissolve yeast in water.  Cream butter and sugar.
Add yeast, eggs (reserve one egg white for later), tomatoes, oregano, basil, cheddar cheese and milk to the butter/sugar mixture.
Add flour and salt and knead 5-8 minutes on a floured surface. Place dough in a greased bowl, covered and allow to rise in a warm place for approximately one hour or until doubled in size.
Punch down dough, form into a smooth loaf and divide into 36 balls, each the size of a large walnut. With a finger make a dent in the center of each ball and stuff with either one pimento stuffed olive or one piece of feta. Place 2 balls, pinched side down in each cup of a greased muffin tin.  Mix the left over egg white with one T. water and brush it over the tops of the buns.
Allow to rise 45 minutes to an hour until almost doubled.
Preheat oven to 375 and bake 7 minutes. Remove from oven, brush with remaining egg white mixture again and return to oven.  Bake for another 7-8 minutes or until golden brown.  Yield: 18 buns

Hey, if you try this, let us know how it turns out.  I have always meant to make them because I think they sound yummy, but just never got around to it.  You might want to hum Moon Over Homewood as you knead!
Our Problem!

So, back to the trip. We decided as we were traveling down the road to take my brother-in-law, Tim's advice and seek out Saw's Soul Kitchen.  Remember how I told you the family was wanting to get in on the restaurant reviews.  Well, my sister, Kerri, said Tim rated Saw's Soul Kitchen, not 3 Yums UP, but, "Lord Have Mercy"!  I don't know about you, but that sounds pretty good to me!  Sherri said I-20 was torn up for repairs and we might need to take an alternate route.  You know where this is headed, don't you?  We had to depend on our navigational systems to take us a new way.  We knew Saw's Soul Kitchen was located in Avondale across the street from Freshfully Market, a wonderful store that sells things grown or made in Alabama.  Sherri and I had been there recently, so this was not totally unfamiliar territory, except for one thing.  Our alternate route needed an alternate route, and our navigational system was having no part of it.  There was construction on 41st Street, the street on which Saw's is located and we needed a way to go around to come in from the other direction.  Unfortunately, no matter what we did, we ended up back at that same old road block.  After about 15 minutes of chasing our tails, we were hysterical.  Literally, tears were running down our faces from laughing so much.
Finally, we made it to our destination, and, honestly, we were a little unsure of Tim's recommendation.  Saw's Soul Kitchen is truly what Guy Fieri would call a dive.  It is tiny!  And it does not look like a place where someone would find "Lord Have Mercy" food.  But, being the warriors that we are, Three Friends and a Fork parked our car and bravely made our way across the wet street to Saw's Soul Kitchen.
Menu Board...the kitchen is visible in the background

There were maybe six tables in the joint, with a bar for ordering, paying and retrieving beverages. The bar was in the back separating the kitchen from the dining area.  We were early, as usual, but the place was already filling up and people were also sitting and eating at tables outside.  It was raining, people!  Ok, not much at this point, but enough that we didn't want to sit outside.  The menu was on a large chalkboard on the back wall.  We stood in the middle of the room and stared at the chalkboard.  What to get?  Finally, Sherri declared she was getting the fried green tomato BLT.  I decided to get what Tim had recommended, Pork and Greens.  Luanne was still undecided.  She wanted to be adventurous, but the girl can't even bring herself to eat mayonnaise, mustard and catsup.  How adventurous could she be?  Helpfully, I suggested that she get the Pork Belly Salad.  That sounded adventurous.  Well, she wanted someone to get it, but she didn't want it to be her!  So, even though I had already ordered my Pork and Greens, I told her she could have that and I would order the Pork Belly Salad.  See what a good friend I am?  So, she finally placed the order for the Pork Belly Salad and we agreed to swap when the entrees arrived.

And, two of the entrees did arrive....Sherri's Fried Green Tomato BLT and my, now Lu's Pork and Greens.  They were half way finished with their entrees before Lu's, now my, Pork Belly Salad made it to the table. No, it was not the fault of the chef...it was the Friend who couldn't make up her mind!
Sherri's Fried Green Tomato BLT


Richi's Pork Belly Salad
Anyway, the entrees arrived on some fine styrofoam trays.  Sherri's Fried Green Tomato BLT looked great, even on toasted white bread, and she said it was very good.  Luanne's, now my, Pork Belly Salad was surprising.  There was not one sliver of lettuce on that tray!  It was a puddle of pink lady peas topped with marinated green tomatoes and about 4 square-sided logs of pork belly. The peas were also coated in a vinegary/sweet/BBQ-ey dressing.  They were cold, but not unpleasantly so.  The tomatoes weren't hard, like you might expect a green tomato to be, but the pork bellies were the star of the show.  Oh, my!  I know why Chef Michael Symon always swoons over pork bellies! They were salty, crusty, bacony, smoky...oh, my!  I never had one before, but if I see them on the menu again, I won't pass them by!  The combination of the tiny peas, the tangy green tomatoes and the lovely pork bellies was unique and delicious.

Lu's Pork and Greens

But, honestly, the entree that won all the prizes?  My, now Lu's, Pork and Greens.  You will not believe the layered creation that was placed before her.  It started with a pile of beautiful turnip collard greens swimming in a pool of creamy cheese grits, topped with a mound of smoky barbequed pork and crowned with some of the tastiest onion rings I have ever put in my mouth.  They were thinly cut, expertly seasoned and deep fried to a golden crunch.  The things I give up for my friends!  Oh, and did I mention, Saw's Soul Kitchen knows how to make tea!  The tea was perfectly brewed.
Banana Pudding

We decided, because the portions were not so ridiculously huge or filling, that we had room to sample the one and only dessert on the menu...banana pudding.  It arrived in, what else?...A small styrofoam cup, which we shared.  The pudding was very good, not too sweet.  It was creamy and cold.  A fine end to our meal.  Guy Fieri...you need to visit Saw's Soul Kitchen.  It would be a perfect addition to Diners, Drive-ins and Dives!  Tell them Three Friends and a Fork sent you!

Freshfully Market

We left Saw's as true converts, never to doubt again.  But we weren't quite done.  Freshfully Market was right across the street, and we could not pass up another opportunity to browse through the made in Alabama products and produce.  We know why it is called Freshfully...everything looks like it just came out of the garden.  Tomatoes, onions, peas, garlic, squash... if a local farmer grows it, Freshfully probably has it.  They also have spices, herbs, homemade granola, eggs (we even saw some green eggs!  Dr. Seuss would have been so pleased!).  We love Freshfully Market and wish we had one near us so we could go more often.  It would be a great place to shop for out of state family or friends to whom you would like to send a little piece of Alabama.  An Alabama shaped cutting board or an Eat the Ham (Birming-ham, that is) shirt would make a fun gift.  And, Freshfully Market serves lunch, too.  We spied one lady, standing up, eating a beautiful leafy green salad dotted with fresh peaches in, yep...a styrofoam tray!

Sherri and Lu are amazed at the size of some of the tomatoes!










As we left the Avondale neighborhood of Birmingham, we were content, but not too stuffed and knew we would be coming back in the future.  But was our day over?  Oh, no!  Until next time, America...
The Birmingham adventure continues!


               Three Friends and a Fork give Saw's Soul Kitchen 3 Soulful Yums UP!



Saw's Soul Kitchen on Urbanspoon

Sunday, July 21, 2013

Inspired by Sherri's Strawberry Shortcake!




You may remember, our friend, Sherri, has a particular fondness for strawberry shortcake.  You may also remember the strawberry shortcake she had at Mt. Vernon Restaurant in Chattanooga had a surprising twist...raspberry sauce.  That cake was the inspiration for a little experimentation the other day.  It started because my nieces wanted to come up for a cooking class, which is something they enjoy doing every now and then.  They chose the menu and I had all the ingredients ready for them.  The menu they picked included salsa and guacamole with tortilla chips, smoked beer butt chicken, grilled potatoes, strawberry spinach salad with homemade raspberry vinaigrette, Sprite biscuits, and strawberry shortcake.  We had four students and each one cleaned and prepared their own chicken and then they collaborated on the other recipes.  They did a great job and the dinner was declared a success by the whole family.  Everybody got an A+!
The four students










Chicken Jacuzzi


                                                          Preparing the Chickens

Collecting herbs for the chickens


                                                       


Rob demonstrates proper knife technique.

Chickens in the Traegar tanning bed!

Working on Salsa and Guacamole


Guacamole

Salsa



Making the Strawberry Shortcake

Since they chose strawberry short cake, I thought it would be a perfect time to see if we could duplicate or at least make a version of the strawberry shortcake at Mt. Vernon, so we also whipped up a raspberry sauce to go with it.  It was delish!  I thought you all might like the recipes.  The cake is a recipe I have been using for years.  It came out of an old Paula Deen magazine and it is wonderful.  It is actually a coconut pound cake, but it has coconut flavoring instead of actual coconut.  The cake at Mt. Vernon was not a coconut flavored cake, but since this is my favorite pound cake, I decided to use it anyway.  Try it...you'll like it!
Caught sampling the batter!

Coconut Pound Cake

1 c. butter, softened
1/2 c. shortening
3 c. sugar
5 eggs
3 c. all purpose flour
1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1 c. milk
1 t. coconut extract
1 t. rum extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Spray the inside of the Bundt pan completely with Baker's Joy.  Cream butter and shortening until light and fluffy.  Gradually add sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine and sift flour, salt and baking powder.  Add flour mixture to butter mixture a little at a time, alternating with milk.  Begin and end with flour.  Add coconut and rum extracts.  Pour into Bundt pan and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.  Cool for 10 minutes and then turn out onto a cooling rack.  Glaze while still slightly warm.  Do not prepare glaze ahead of time.  Wait until the cake is done before cooking glaze.

Glaze
Yum!

1 c. sugar
1/4 c. water
1/2 t. almond extract

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan.  Stir well and heat until mixture begins to boil.  Boil for one minute and immediately pour over warm cake.




While your cake is cooking, you can whip up this yummy raspberry sauce and also get your strawberries ready.

Raspberry Sauce

1 small container of raspberries
Juice of 1 orange
1 c. sugar
4 T. Raspberry liqueur

Combine all ingredients in small saucepan and cook over medium heat until sauce thickens.

Strawberries

Wash, slice and stem strawberries.  Add 1/4 c. sugar and 1 T. raspberry liqueur. Let the strawberries macerate while the cake is baking.

Just before serving, whip up a little amaretto cream to plop on the top of the cake

Taking the stems off the strawberries
Amaretto Cream

1 c. heavy cream
1/4 c. sugar
1 T. amaretto

Beat heavy cream in mixer until it begins to thicken.  Add sugar and amaretto and continue beating until the cream is thick and forms peaks.

When you are ready to serve, top each slice with some strawberries, drizzle with a bit of raspberry sauce and put a spoonful of amaretto cream on the top.

It is not the same as Mt. Vernon's...but it might be better!

Go ahead, try it!  It sounds more complicated than it actually is.  These kids made it...you know you can, too!
And if you do, let us know what you think. Now to try to duplicate that amaretto pie Luanne and I had at Mt. Vernon...hmmmmm!

Ayla is proud of the cake



Thursday, July 18, 2013

When the Cat's Away...The Mice Will Have Fun at Her Expense!

It has been the best day!  I have taken a page from my children and begun celebrating birthday week instead of birthday day.  Today is not actually my birthday, but sweet Luanne took me out for an early birthday lunch.  And did we have fun!  Parker couldn't go with us and we were missing her, sure, but, as the saying goes, when the cat's away...  And, oh, yes, we did make the most of it!

First, we met at our usual place of business, the K Mart parking lot.  And, would you believe it, Luanne was there and in the right place!  But, apparently, some other folks did not get the memo about the spot being reserved, because men with big trucks and boats on trailers were parked in our parking places!  I couldn't pull in beside her, so I had to traipse across the hot parking lot to tell her I was there.  After moving to another section of the parking lot, we jumped in Luanne's car and headed west.

We weren't sure where we were going to eat, but we used our driving time wisely and looked at some different options. Some of the different restaurants we thought about included The Commerce Kitchen, Shae's Express and Lyn's Gracious Goodness.  I knew all of these were good choices, because I have been to them all.  Luanne really wanted me to try something new for my birthday, so we nixed them for a restaurant she had been to, but I had not.  The only trouble with this train of thought was that Luanne did not know the name of the restaurant!  The only thing she knew was that it had numbers in the name and was near GiGi's Cupcakes and The Golden Griffin.   So, I said we needed to go to Whitesburg Drive because I knew GiGi's was on Whitesburg. Oh, you just know where this is headed, don't you?  We get to GiGi's and drive around in circles looking for a restaurant with numbers.  Yep, that's what we were doing, only no numbered restaurants were to be found, so I start pulling up restaurants on my phone.  In the meantime, Luanne is trying to get in touch with her daughter, Lizzy, because they had both been to the restaurant together.  I found a restaurant called 1892, but Urban Spoon gave the address as Winchester Road.  We didn't know where Winchester Road was, but it didn't sound right.  I kept searching and Lu kept trying to get Lizzy.  Finally, and I don't know if it was a glitch on Urban Spoon or not, but finally I find 1892 East Restaurant and Tavern on Pratt Avenue, so we pull it up on maps and head off to see if it could be the restaurant in question.  By the way...it is nowhere near GiGi's Cupcakes...just sayin'!  On the way from Whitesburg to 5 Points, where the navigational system was directing us, Luanne is skeptical.  Nothing is looking familiar and seems much farther away than she remembered...minds play funny tricks when you are our age!  I swear, not until we were right in front of the 1892 East Restaurant and Tavern did she yell, "This is it!"  Ok, I would make fun of her here, but the honest truth is our roles could have been easily reversed.  Our sense of direction has no sense!  Once again, if a man had been with us he would have already jumped off the nearest bridge!  I mean, just the idea of trying to find a restaurant without knowing the name or the location would have been too much for most men I know.  Getting to GiGi's Cupcakes and finding no such restaurant would have ended the adventure right there!  That's why you have to have girlfriends!  Look at all the fun we would have missed!

Anyway, we parked right in front of the restaurant and headed into an unassuming building at the end of a row of shops and businesses.  True to form and even without Parker to make sure, we were the first customers.

 We were seated at a table for two, our drink orders were taken and we studied the menu.
There were many possibilities...a tempura shrimp salad, a grilled vegetable flatbread, a chicken salad sandwich...

We mulled it over a bit and finally made our choices.
Lu decided on a decadent sounding brie and bacon mac and cheese made with rotini pasta, brie cheese sauce, slab bacon lardons and a bread crumb topping.  Wow!  I chose a spicy shrimp sandwich with saute'ed seasoned Gulf shrimp, jicama slaw, house cut fries and a side of smoked jalapeno sauce.  Ok, are you really surprised?  I think I have ordered seafood more times than not on these little adventures.  But, I have to say, almost as much as the shrimp, I was enticed by the jicama slaw and smoky jalapeno sauce!

Our drinks came out first.  Luanne ordered water and I ordered unsweet tea.  When my tea arrived, however, it came with this cute little pitcher of simple syrup, because everyone knows you cannot dissolve sugar in cold iced tea!  I normally drink my tea with no sweetener of any kind, but that pitcher was so cute, I just had to pour a bit syrup into my tea.  A little attention to detail usually ends up being the difference between good and great.  I was beginning to like what I was seeing!




Then came the entrees!  I wish I would have taken a better picture of my sandwich, because at this angle you cannot see the beautiful shrimp nestled between the halves of that bun.  They were lightly saute'ed and tasted just like they had been hauled in from the Gulf right before they were put on the plate.  Honestly, these shrimp were as good as any I have had at the beach.  The tomatoes were fresh, not cold and mushy like they had been stored in the refrigerator and the fries were wonderful, but that smoky jalapeno sauce...yum-o!  I loved it!
Luanne's mac and cheese came served in an iron skillet. Oh, my, goodness!  It was creamy and velvety and rich and full of bits of salty bacon.  Luanne was threatening to pick up the skillet and lick it after she ate everything she could with a fork.  Between the two of us we could probably have been admitted into the Clean Plate Club!  
We were too stuffed to eat dessert, but they did sound wonderful. If they were as good as the rest of our meal, I am sure they are worth another visit.  What I am really wondering is how did I not know about this place before?  As we were getting ready to leave, we realized just how much we were missing Parker, especially since it was time to take our picture and there were only two of us!  We didn't want to cheat 1892 out of a thumbs up.  What to do, what to do???  Luckily, we had an idea.  If only we had one other person who also thought 1892 was as deliciously good as we did and would be willing to have their picture made with us... It is Three Friends after all, not Two!  We looked around and found a couple of willing accomplices.  We got one of the hostesses to take the picture and she got a friend to stand in for Sherri.  I wish I could remember the names of our partners in crime, so I could give them full credit.  I hope if they are reading this they will forgive me and, perhaps leave me their names in a comment below.  If not, I just want to tell them thanks anyway.  They must have thought we were truly crazy! Here's our buddy!



Three Friends and a Fork happily gives 1892 East Restaurant and Tavern
3 Yums UP!


After our fabulous lunch we did a little shopping and look what we found!  We finally have a fork!

 Everybody say a quick prayer that Parker doesn't kill us for our photoshopping! Until next time!
                                                                                           Richi, Luanne and...Sherri, too!

Update:  I took my husband here after telling him about the wonderful shrimp sandwich I enjoyed on my trip with Luanne.  He was all set to order the sandwich and we were both disappointed to find out the shrimp sandwich had been removed from the menu.  We were so sad.  1892 East...that shrimp sandwich was really worth saving!  Please bring it back!


1892 East Restaurant & Tavern on Urbanspoon