Due to an illness in the family, I have to temporarily discontinue most of my postings on this blog. I’m afraid I will not have the time to go out scouting around for new restaurants or new dishes at old favorites. Of course, if something comes my way, Ill post it or if any of my readers have little tidbits of news about eateries or the world of foodies in general, I will be delighted to post it. Just sent them to me at Tidbits@savannahbest.com.
Hopefully, I will be back in stride soon!
Archive for Home cooking
Temporary Suspension
A Mother’s Day Dinner to Bring Smiles!
Most of us, including our mothers, love roast leg of lamb. But many are intimidated by cooking this delicious dish. In fact, it’s very easy, takes you very little actual time, although there’s a good deal of time that it spends in the oven. Anyway, here’s how:
2-1/2 to 3 lb. leg of lamb
One or two bulbs of garlic
A good handful of fresh rosemary
1 or 2 Myer lemons and EVOO
Pre-heat your oven to 450 degrees
Take a half dozen cloves of garlic, peeled, and slice each into two or three slices.
Strip as much of the leaves of rosemary off the stems as you can.
While the oven is heating, cut slits about an inch deep every couple of inches all over the lamb. Then, into each slit, put a slice of garlic and as much rosemary as you can squeeze into the slits.
Rub the whole roast with a mixture of lemon juice and olive oil.
Place on rack in roasting pan and put in oven for about an hour and a half for medium rare lamb. Check temperature with an instant read thermometer. It should be about 145 degrees for medium.
If you’d like, you can add some potatoes, carrots and onions to the bottom of the roasting pan, giving you a complete meal with your leg of lamb surrounded by the vegetables.
When you take the roast out of the oven, be sure to cover it with aluminum foil and let it stand for at least 30 minutes to reabsorb its juices.
A perfect appetizer for this would be a shrimp cocktail, and dessert could be lemon or lime sherbet surrounded by fresh strawberries or blueberries…or both!
‘Tis the Season…for Soft Shelled Crabs
When the season for shad with its glorious roe comes to an end, I always feel a touch of melancholy.
But just as the fading flowers of Spring begin to drift out of sight for another year, so the big bold colors of summer start to shimmer in the sunlight.
All endings bring on new beginnings, I guess. And so the departure of Shad and Roe heralds the arrival of Soft Shelled Crab.
This delightful delicacy is a favorite around much of the world. We in the South are especially lucky, since the finest of these crustaceans, always blue crabs, come from Maryland, which is considered the best, and the Carolinas, close runners-up.
Personally, I think that the quality of the crab is far ore important than it’s state of origin. The very best you can get are live crabs, although fresh ones can be excellent too. Once they’ve been frozen, they can be good, but they never reach the culinary heights of the other two. One thing to note: if the legs look papery it means that they’ve gone past their prime eating quality. Pass them up!
Polk’s Produce Spring Fling, Arts & Crafts Festival
Polks Produce has been a favorite spot of mine ever since I moved to Savannah nearly 20 years ago. Their farm fresh produce is a delight, and their house plants the most gorgeous imaginable. I’ve often done all of my Christmas shopping at Polks, sending their locally made jams, jellies, preserves, relishes and more to friends around the country to give them a bit of the flavor of Savannah. So of course, I’ll be thee tomorrow for their all-day Spring Fling. There will be barbecued Pork Butt till 4 pm, barbeques plates, hot boiled peanuts, desserts galore. Live music, pony rides for the kids and more. So head for Pooler tomorrow. It’ll be worth the trip! 807 Highway 80 West, Pooler GA
A Message to One and All
Remember everyone, this blog isn’t just for my foodie thoughts, it’s open to one and all. Just send in your favorite eating spot, or a favorite dish anywhere at all, or your favorite server. If you spot a new eatery just opened, or about to open, let us know. If you have a butcher who will prepare your rack of lamb for you, tell us about him (or her). Same goes for fishmongers who will prepared your finned or shelled creatures for you. If you have a delicious recipe from your home repertoire, let us have it! In short, if it pertains to food or beverages, we’re all interested. Send it along to: tidbits@savannahbest.com.
A delightful Spring Appetizer
Spring officially arrives in two more days, so let’s celebrate. Try this delightful appetizer and you’ll really know that Spring has Sprung!
Crispy Asparagus Straws Recipe
Serves: 8-10 persons as an appetizer
Prep Time: 25 minutes
This is a fast appetizer with great flavor. You can prepare the Crispy California Asparagus Straws ahead of time and bake them just before serving. As an option, you can add a slice of prosciutto when you roll-up the asparagus in the phyllo dough. Phyllo dough can be purchased pre-made in the freezer section of most grocery stores.
Ingredients
36 asparagus spears
4 sheets phyllo dough, thawed
¼ cup butter, melted
4 oz. Parmesan cheese
Parmesan cheese for topping
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Trim ends of asparagus. Blanche asparagus in boiling salted water until barely tender to the bite, about 2.5 minutes. Rinse in iced water to stop the cooking.
Place one sheet of phyllo on a cutting board. Set aside the remaining sheets and cover with a damp towel. Brush the phyllo sheet with melted butter. Cut the sheet into 9 rectangles. Make 2 cuts down from the top and 2 cuts from the side. Sprinkle the cut sheet with 1 oz. of grated Parmesan cheese.
Place an asparagus spear on the bottom (narrow end) of each buttered rectangle with the tip sticking out from the dough by about 2 inches. Roll up the spear and seal with butter. Finish the remaining spears.
Place on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush each stick lightly with butter, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and season with salt and pepper (optional).
Cover the tips with aluminum foil and bake until crispy and browned, 10 to 12 minutes.
Serve warm.
Makes 36 asparagus straws
Frog’s Ass Shot or Gin & Tonic with St. Patrick cheer!
If Kermit tried this one, he would have to admit, “it’s easy being green!”
Here’s how it shakes up in bartender lingo:
1 count, Bacardi 151 Rum
1 count, Bacardi Light Rum
1 count, Malibu Rum
1 count, Jamaican or Caribbean Coconut Rum
A splash of Midori – green melon liqueur
Shake it all up with some ice, strain into a rocks glass, and it’s bottoms up. The taste is tropical, slightly sweet and smooth enough to slide a frog on its a-double-s!
Or take a traditional Gin and Tonic, splash in just enough Midori to tint it green…and bottoms up! Of course, you could use a few drops of green food coloring as they do for the beer, but then you wouldn’t have that lovely melon flavor.
Shad is Here Again!
When it comes to food, this is without question, my favorite time of the year. From around the middle of February (despite the last couple of years when it arrived much sooner) till about the middle of April, the shad are running. With them, of course, is their world-renowned roe. Shad itself is often, sadly, ignored in much of the world because it is so filled with tiny bones it is almost impossible to filet and de-bone this fish. But here in Savannah, we are enormously lucky, because we have Russo’s, where the art of de-boning shad has been passed on from father to son for years. So all we have to do is go to Russo’s and buy this delectable catch, take it home, cook it and eat it! For more about shad and some recipes to use, just click here.
Southern Cooking Class by a Master
Rebecca Lang, author, food writer, cooking instructor amd a 9th generation Southerner will show you how to prepare a fine, ultra Southern dinner to wow your next dinner party guests. The event will be held February 7 at Kitchen Outfitters, im 12 Oaks Shopping Center from 6:30 to 9 pm. The recipes will come from her brand new book, Around the latest book, Around the Southern Table..
The cooking class will feature a terrific menu that’s ideal for
casual, but elegant winter entertaining.
Menu: Coconut Fried Shrimp with Sweet-and-Spicy Peach Sauce,
Peppered Pork Roast with Blue Cheese Grits and Swiss Chard with Bacon Butter,
Rasberry-Lime Coconut Cake
When: February 7 from 6:30 p.m. – 9 p.m.
Where: Kitchenware Outfitters
Cost: $50 per person
To register: In person or by phone at (912)356-1117
5500 Abercorn St #18 Savannah, GA 31405
(912) 356-1117
Sounds mouthwatering to us!
Savannah Dining Tidbits 