danapop

Photograph by Greg Nesbit | gregnesbit.com

I’m off to Seattle and Vancouver this week.  My friend, Emily Gold, has graciously agreed to man the danapop post in my absence. I cannot think of anyone more qualified to write this week’s food & drink. You can continue to follow Emily on her blogspot. While you’re there, check out a piece I posted on her site about Atlanta life.

Business resumes as usual next week. And I assure you, I’ll return loaded with stories and posts…bi-annual family vacation…enough said. You can also follow my travels on twitter @ danapops.

xoox,
dp

So Many Teas, So Little Time

Tea has been on my mind lately. Not only because I have a cup nearly every morning and every afternoon, but because it’s one of those food products that has been around for ages yet quietly flies under the radar. Tea is a single-origin product, expressing the terroir of a region. Just as with wine grapes, there is a certain romance at envisioning tea grown on Lover’s Leap Estate, at an altitude of so many feet, lovingly picked by hand, and spread on huge screens to dry beneath the Indian sun. A vision, I know, but surely one you’d want to drink every morning.

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This past winter my husband and I became obsessed with the Animal Planet show: Jockeys – a documentary/reality program following the lives of seven jockeys at the Santa Anita racetrack in Arcadia, California. Both the visuals and the storyline were fascinating. Plus, I can openly admit I have a crush on Mike Smith despite the high probability that I’m taller than him.

So to honor Jockeys and the Run for the Roses at Churchill Down’s tomorrow, this week’s food & drink is Kentucky Derby inspired…complete with two Southern favorites – mint juleps and derby pie. First, derby pie – one of my favorite desserts,  it combines chocolate and nuts (I’d eat those two things in combo with anything) in a flaky crust.

And then there’s the mint julep. Both of my sisters make nice ones from when they attended college in the Blue Grass State – so dignified sounding, but I assure you, they likely were sipping the juleps out of plastic Solo cups instead of the traditional monogrammed silver tumbler. What truck drivers they are; honestly, I can’t take them anywhere.

I often daydream about what I’d name a horse if I ever had one, whether or not he or she was derby material – Magellan’s Map, Bordeaux Binge and Piñata are solid contenders. No question, if I ever win the lottery, I’m buying a horse. It’s on the list just after the in-ground swimming pool and my own in-home Pilates studio.

For now, my money is on Dunkirk.
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name⋅sake [neym-seyk]  noun
1. a person named after another.
2. a person having the same name as another.

I recently attended a work event where they served a number of  California reds from a winery called Angeline. I have a good friend named Angeline and so I became giddy at the idea of hosting a party where I’d pair my guests with their namesake wine – or show up at the next party with a semi-original hostess gift.

Do you have a namesake wine? I do – and of course in typical “Dana” fashion, cheap, it’s not – Dean and Deluca tout it for $295 a bottle…not exactly economy friendly…eek! But perhaps, someday, it will be “I just gave birth – bring me that bottle or else” or “The Simon & Schuster book deal just came through with an embarrassingly large advance” friendly.

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My older sister is a fantastic baker. It’s likely the scientist in her – all that precise measuring and exactness that really suits her. She doesn’t bake as much as she used to (what with the full-time career, two children under the age of 4, and a husband who often travels for work) but I remember her pre-children weekend routine. She used to whip up a few goodies to sell at the local outdoor farmer’s market. The top sellers were her homemade granola, dog treats, and these granola bars.

They are chewy, gooey and good without all the extra additives and gunk in those packaged kinds. Perfect for day hikes, long car rides, or simply a healthy snack, sure to tide you over without all the guilt. My sister’s version uses raisins, but I subbed in dried cherries because I love the combo of dark chocolate and cherries. But you can use whatever you wish.
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When we go to the beach, we generally indulge in cocktails. At home, I’m more of a wine drinker, but when sun, surf, and sand are involved, I want something a bit more refreshing…so, of course a good margarita is in order. I love my husband’s version, so that’s this week’s drink recipe.

And because those beach towns function on 2 for 1drink specials, I’ve included another grown-up thirst quencher. This one is for the Madras…a delicious cocktail that combines ingredients you likely already have stocked in your vacay fridge…

A million thanks to my Madras testers…my mom and the Lindas who enjoyed the drink while on their girlfriend getaway!
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Spring is a funny season. It’s hopeful, fresh and new, yet, sometimes I find myself clinging onto the wintry comforts of day’s past. This week’s food & drink combines those two ideas. The cleanness of the season, paired with something homey and warm of month’s past. But, both bubbly and good.

Macaroni & cheese is the little black dress of food. It can be dressed up or dressed down according to the occasion. I’ve lived in Atlanta for almost a decade now. And one thing I learned early on, here in the South, they take their macaroni & cheese VERY seriously and you certainly should have a recipe for one in your repertoire regardless of geography. Mine is an adaptation of a recipe I found years ago in Real Simple magazine. I’ve tweaked and altered it enough times now, for it to be called my own. It’s always a hit – a cinch to make and one of those dishes that makes me happy when I serve it because it usually means any of the following – someone just had a baby, I’m cooking for a crowd (which I love), or I’m going out of town and need to leave something in the fridge so my husband doesn’t eat burritos for 72 hours straight.
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I love to entertain. But, several people close to me have made mention that I sometimes bite off more than I can chew in the preparation department. Meaning, I take on too much from scratch and turn into Chris Farley’s Gap girl screaming, “lay off me, I’m starving!” about half an hour before guests arrive.

Needless to say, it’s always a good thing when I stumble across something to help me out with the hosting duties that isn’t just step one – open the box, step two – dump the box contents into a bowl. That’s why I adore Bella Cucina products. From herb infused olive oils to pastas, sauces and even sweets, Bella Cucina Founder & CEO Alisa Barry takes easy entertaining to a whole new level. But, no fear – she doesn’t skimp on quality, taste, or the appearance of you being an amazing hostess.

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Alisa. Here’s the Q & A.
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Photo Courtesy of Moore Farms

I relish the art of cooking and so do most of my friends and family. Maybe partly because my mother baked actual, real-live homemade bread once a week, and dished out a hot, nutritious breakfast everyday – no Pop Tarts at our house.

That said – I could do better. I get in food ruts. In the winter I subsist on a daily bowl of oats cooked in skim milk with a handful of dried cherries, apricots and walnuts – then, come summer, Greek yogurt stands in for the oats, fresh berries for the dried fruit. Wholesome and good for you? Yes. Exciting? No.

But, there are three books helping me change all that…

What these books have in common is an emphasis on moderation, balance, the notion of quality vs. quantity, the responsibility we all have in the hierarchy of the food chain and they all make a great case for NOT dieting.
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For my birthday this year, I received a chocolate bar. Not just any chocolate bar that you blindly rip off the wrapper and scarf down like Charlie searching for his golden ticket entry into Willy Wonka’s factory. Nope. This was a bar worth savoring. The flavor so distinct and pure it was only enhanced when I closed my eyes and made moaning noises.

It made me feel like I’d never really tasted chocolate…gone is the day when a Dove, Hershey’s, Cadbury or Ghirardelli will do. After all, if you’re going to indulge why not make it count and taste the most rich and phenomenal thing you can? Enter Taza Chocolate.

I recently had the privilege of an interview with Taza Chocolate partner Larry Slotnick. Here’s the Q & A.

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One of my oldest friends back home has a lethal punch recipe passed down to her by her mother. My friend always serves it at Holiday parties and whether I drink it with her and the girls back home or make it where I live now, it makes me think of family and longtime friends. It’s the perfect thing to serve if you’re hosting anything on New Year’s Eve. And like most good recipes, you can really vary it any way you like – adding or omitting ingredients, making it your own. A forward thinking tip – stock up on frozen hashbrowns, a block of cheese, eggs and Excedrin for the next day…

Cheers!

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These are the perfect cookies to leave out for Santa. They won’t kill his waistline, as they are adapted from Cooking Light and made with just one egg white and less butter than usual cookie recipes (admittedly, my version ups the ante on chocolate chips, it is the holiday season, after all). I love the addition of dried cherries in what would otherwise be just a plain ol’ chocolate chip cookie.

I do have to give most of the credit for these gems to my older sister, since I was introduced to the recipe years ago, when we baked them together at her house.

Whatever holiday it is that you are celebrating this season, I do hope it is filled with loads of joy, laughter, and cheer.

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The Holiday Season is officially upon us. What goes better with all the tradition (whatever your beliefs) than lots and lots of sausage? Sure, sausage, why not?

Here are two of my favorite Holiday recipes that feature sausage. Chicken-Apple Sausage Strata with Spinach & Mushrooms and Sausage Balls. The Strata is perfect for a late Christmas morning brunch, and the Sausage Balls are just the thing to pass around while opening presents.

Both recipes are ridiculously easy. In fact, I cannot believe I’m posting a recipe that calls for Bisquick and only a mere two additional ingredients (meat, cheese and said Bisquick). But, my mother makes them every year for us to enjoy, and, well, you just can’t monkey with tradition, especially when it comes from your momma. 

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At our house, it goes without saying that spiked drinks must accompany holiday festivities. So, when we trim our tree, I always want a nice hot something to really get us in the winter mood (well, as winter as Georgia will allow). A few years back while on vacation in Breckenridge, we tasted a drink called German Chocolate Cake. Not only is it the perfect hot toddy to complement tree trimming, frankly, it’s the sole reason to have Malibu rum in your liquor cabinet (otherwise, ick)! It’s also one of the few times I can condone not whipping your own cream…the high-pressure crazy-can stuff just tastes better in this (otherwise, again, double ick. Seriously).

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I’m not a hater. Really. I mostly try to accept people and things as they are. But there is that ONE thing (and I’m pretty sure I’m not alone on this)…Rachael Ray. Like, I really can’t stand her. For multiple reasons; overuse of acronyms, inability to tell funny jokes, addressing adults as kids or kiddos, calling sandwiches sammies, referring to her husband as “her sweetie,” and a horrific recipe repertoire, for starters.

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The cocktail trend has really run the gamut the past couple of years from pomegranate everything to the floating lychee garnish to scores of drinks that end in “tini” to the recent “south of the border” influx on bar menus (personally, I think people just like saying words like Caipirinha and Mojito, they just roll off the tongue).

Cocktail consumption goes in stages – with a noticeable divide running between the pre and post college imbibing style. And as there’s an increase in salary and social functions where you can’t act like an arsehole anymore (weddings, work events, holidays with significant other’s family) one has to be a bit more circumspect.

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