Savannah Trip

I know I haven't been here in a while, I've been busy! Taking trips, making cupcakes... the usual.

Here are some highlights from the trip:

- The scenery. Savannah is fabulous for the Southern charm of the houses and the waterfront.

- The food. We dined at Huey's (twice), The Chart House, and The Lady and Sons (mom's choice, it's her bday), all fantastic. I must say, the salads at Huey's made me really happy. I'm a sucker for a good salad dressing.

- The tours. Now, I am not usually a fan of tours in any city because it's very touristy (natch), but the Paula Deen tour was highly entertaining, what with Cindy, our flamboyantly southern tour guide. The Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil tour was just as entertaining, with a glimpse (however truthful it was or not!) into the society and a bit of corruption of Savannah.

- The weather. While it reached a balmy 90 in PA, we were enjoying spectacular walking-around weather in GA, perfect for peeking into storefronts and stopping to have a cafe au lait.

The not-so-good: train. I have one image for you:

That is my sleeper car. Top bunk. Train going faster than normal. Enough said.

Onto the rest of the slideshow:

Our view from the hotel, I think this is a museum.


one of the small tugs (just like Michael's boats! screams the flamboyantly southern tour guide of our Paula Deen tour) outside our hotel window


a really cool bridge on the river


out back at Uncle Bubba's (Paula Deen's brother's restaurant), notice all the docks and stuff, because it's a swamp, people. sidenote: this very much reminds me of the tree level in Myst. anyone? no?


part of the historic district of Savannah (and my aunt taking a picture)


Mercer House (of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil fame [or as mom calls it, the garden of good and plenty])


the sidewalk chalk portion of a SCAD art show - these art kids are pretty heavy, man.


Fountain in the middle of Forsythe park, love it.


meal at Huey's - salad, salad, salad, beignets. you can tell who's just in it for the dessert.


meal at The Lady and Sons, we got in pronto because of misinterpreted directions via the flamboyantly southern tour guide. Kim told me to take a pic, and this was where I was when I stopped stuffing my face and remembered.


the FABulous 70's-era train station in Savannah. the moms is not a fan of flying sans drugs, so we took the train. See those candy machines? they were 25 cents! I stocked up on chicle-type things and candy-that-turns-into-gum for the train ride home, thinking it would be boring. WROOOOOOONG.


again, proof of love for all things aqua-colored and 70's-esque.




Kim, for your viewing pleasure, the fully documented The Lady and Sons food picture (click to view larger):


PS - did you see my Kate Spade diaper bag in that train picture??? I love love LOVE that bag. I got it on eBay and I don't even have kids, I just wanted to have a really cool bag for when kids happen or trips to Savannah happen.

Bday/Vday Dinner: Ruth's Chris Steak House

So for my birthday/Valentine's Day (early cause the hubs has school on VDay) we went to Ruth's Chris Steak House. It's a weird name, but made sense once I looked it up.

Of course, it was a surprise, so I hadn't any idea where we were headed. Which is just how I like it.

Ohhhh goodness was it good. When we first got there, hubs said it looked like a Denny's, which was kind of true - it is deceiving from the outside. But once you get inside, it's all upscale steak house (upscale meaning $$$$).

We started out with wine, him picking the Chianti as usual, which prompted a Hannibal impersonation from me (not in front of the server, don't worry) and a Riejo for me. Next, the Veal Osso Buco (don't yell at me! I only ate it because I've never had it before! I'm sorry baby cows!):


Next we had the Caesar salad, which was great, since I don't usually have that. It's nice to have an old standby once in a while. I should note, all of the sides are served family-style with one serving two people. So it worked out nicely.

For entrees, we picked petite fillet, hubs deciding on the lobster tail with his:


We also got the broccoli and mashed garlic potatoes, which were fantastic. Hubs said they were the best potatoes he'd ever had. I said that's because the Buttertons made them.

The steaks are served on 500º plates, which keep the steaks nice and sizzling. I ordered mine medium-rare, because I was hovering in between donenesses (I know it's not a word), and the server said that if it was too rare, we could just slice it and lay it on the plate, and it would continue to cook. This was too much for us, it was like putting kids at a sand table. Science day at a fancy restaurant! But it really did work.
Oh, the Buttertons got a hold of the steaks too - all steaks are served in butter unless you ask for them without it. So I dipped my broccoli in the butter. Not going to let that go to waste.

On to the most memorable part - dessert (natch). I ordered the Caramelized Banana Cream Pie (swoon), and had it delivered with a little candle. No singing, no made-up Birthday jingle, just a fantastic dessert. Perfect.


Ooooh it was fantastic. Two thumbs up. But it's a once-a-year thing, as it broke the bank.

Oh and also way too tempting, as this was next door:

Baked Orzo with Fontina and Peas; Blackberry Cobbler

YUM. I actually got to make dinner last night. I'm still amazed at myself. Of course, I didn't do anything else... but at least I was productive! There are leftovers!

First up was Giada's recipe . I did modify it because I didn't have time to get all the ingredients, and wasn't sure about the mushrooms. I don't like them, but hubs is picky about them so next time I'll make it more spot-on.

Baked Orzo with Fontina and Peas

4 cups chicken broth (found out i didn't have any chicken broth... sub #1 = water)
1 pound orzo pasta
3 tablespoons butter, plus more to grease the baking dish
1 onion, chopped
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced (none of these either!)
1 cup Marsala wine
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 ounces shredded fontina cheese (about 1 cup)
4 ounces diced fresh mozzarella cheese (about 1 cup) (i had an italian cheese blend, bag o' shred)
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup bread crumbs (ran out of these too! i'm so bad at this.)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1 teaspoon dried thyme

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter a 9 by 13-inch baking dish.

Bring the chicken broth to a boil over medium-high heat in a medium saucepan. Add the orzo and cook until almost tender, about 7 minutes. Pour the orzo and the broth into a large bowl. Set aside.

Meanwhile, melt the butter over medium heat in a medium skillet. Add the onions and saute until tender, about 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and continue to saute until the mushrooms are beginning to turn golden around the edges, about 7 minutes. Add the Marsala. Scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pan and cook until the Marsala has reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Add the mushroom mixture to the orzo in the large bowl. Add the cream, fontina, mozzarella, peas, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish.

In a small bowl combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan, and dried thyme. Sprinkle the bread crumb mixture on top of the pasta. Bake until golden, about 25 minutes.

Verdict: pretty darn good! I'll try it the 'real' way next time, but it worked just fine my screwy way so I'm predicting a surefire hit with the true ingredients.

Next: dessert! this was a recipe I gleaned from the website of my (kind-of) local orchard. It was pretty easy... I almost wondered if they left something out! But this is a great quick dessert for hectic nights.

Blackberry Cobbler

Note from the Editor:
A tasty, light dessert, this cobbler has long been a family favorite. It is a great Sunday evening supper or quick dish to prepare for unexpected visitors. The blackberries can be substituted by any other berry or sour cherries. (If using frozen or canned fruit, must drain well!) ENJOY!

Ingredients

1 c. flour
1 c. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 c. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. fresh fruit
4 Tbs. butter (melted)

Combine flour, sugar, and baking powder in a two quart baking dish. Stir in milk and vanilla to make a thin batter (do not over-mix). Place fruit over batter and drizzle melted butter over top. Do not stir. Bake at 350° for 30-40 minutes.

Fantastic! Loved it. So easy. Not as healthy as some, but it was fast, easy, and mmm mmm good. Hubs tried to tell me what I used were black raspberries...so that led into a 10-minute conversation about berries that really wasn't necessary. Oh well.