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!

pumpkin muffins

i don't seem to bake nearly enough these days, but recently i was inspired by angry chicken to make these pumpkin chocolate-chip (i added walnuts too) muffins and they are SOOOOO delicious! i individually wrapped most of them and put 'em in the freezer, so they're a perfect on-the-go snack when i'm teaching. i used to bake muffins all the time, generally requiring a 3-flavor minimum. a favorite that i recall was my coffee oat bran with raspberries and white chocolate chips. yum! i'll have to attempt to re-create those sometime soon...

back to brooklyn

well, my little retreat is over and i'm back in brooklyn. saturday was hot and humid so we spent the day swimming and shade-bathing at lovely taghkanic state park.

i finished both of the tote bags from lotta's book; i think they will make great class projects for brooklyn general. gertie totally inserted herself as a prop in this photo... she's a natural stylist and model.

colleen made tomato marmalade! it tastes just like marmalade, but tomato-y. she sent me home with a jar so i can keep eating it and remembering hudson...


she also made this unbelievably gorgeous tomato tart. it tasted even better than it looks, and that's saying a lot. it had goat cheese and a cracked-pepper-and-parmesan crust, but it's hard to believe it's not a fruity, sweet dessert isn't it? yum...

grilled pizza

all summer colleen and alon have been perfecting the art of making pizza on the grill, and i just want to tell everyone that it is pure heaven! the flavors just blossom and it's so fast and easy...


the first step is to put the dough (patted into rounds and coated with olive oil) on the grill to cook the crust. we've been using store-bought dough (my beloved trader joe's makes a good herb-and-garlic one) to save time, and i don't think homemade could really be any better...

once the crust is cooked through (just a few minutes) you can add the sauce and toppings and then in a few more minutes YOU'VE GOT PIZZA!







we've tried a spinach/goat cheese/cream cheese sauce topped with spinach and cherry tomatoes; pesto, mozzarella and heirloom tomatoes; grilled veggies, sauteed mushrooms, and every combo of sauce, and cheese... i really don't think you can go wrong! try it out, maybe this weekend?