alabama YUMMY weekend!

the sewing part of my alabama dream weekend was definitely the main attraction, but i have to say the food was a phenomenal complement to the experience! simultaneous to our workshop was a 2-day cooking class led by the talented Angie Mosier, who i could swear i know from a past life (and she felt the same)! the cooking students made lunch and dinner on saturday, and brunch on sunday, and every meal was spectacular.

before each meal, angie would talk about what they had made, and share bits of history and anecdotes about some of the dishes. this is an excerpt from the recipe cards she gave us, which seems to sum up her philosophy:

All food preparation, not just Southern, should be about caring and hospitality. Stories go with each recipe whether it is an historical account of a cake recipe published in 1863 or something you and your friends have thrown together as an experiment. Ingredients have their own stories as well; from the farmer who cared for the vegetables and animals to the mill where the corn was ground for grits. Perhaps the story lies in the memory of a flavor and maybe the story is in the future. The point is to take these iconic Southern recipes and make them your own. Enjoy!

above is our first meal, which consisted of bloody marys, deviled eggs, tomato pie, salad with cider vinegar dressing, and butterscotch pudding. mmmm....




dinner saturday night was the ultimate: pan fried chicken (the only thing i didn't eat, since i don't eat meat), macaroni and cheese, greens and pot likker, cheese straws, cornbread, spiced pecans, salad, and oh yes THREE kinds of cake, and you know i had a piece of each! chocolate, Lane cake, and coconut. mmm hmmm!


...and then there was sunday brunch, featuring biscuits, quiche, salad, bacon, pickled okra, and apple and peach FRIED PIES! and we got to pack our own lunches for the road of the alabama classic, pimento cheese sandwiches.

new dates have been posted on the Alabama Chanin website for various versions of these workshops (sewing and cooking); you should totally go!