22 April 2012

It has been a really great weekend. We kicked it off Friday night with a wonderful dinner at Vingenzo's in Downtown Woodstock. This fine restaurant specializes in hand-crafted Neopolitan cuisine with homemade pasta and pizza that is the closest thing I've had to the ones in Italy. We enjoyed a great meal, nice wine and some divine pistachio gelato! I highly suggest this restaurant if you are in the area. We woke up early on Saturday and were at Cracker Barrel for breakfast by 7AM. After breakfast, we went to Autumn Hill Nursery for a workshop on how to grow vegetables in a limited space. We picked up some helpful hints for the garden this year, so we should be planting some herbs, heirloom tomatoes, peppers and a few vegetables in the near future. The friendly folks at Autumn Hill do a great job, and the quality of their plants is very high. Afterward, we ventured back up to MountainValley Farm to stock up on local grass fed beef, heritage pork and free range eggs. As I've posted before, this place is amazing, and Suzy Wright rocks! She informed me that she had a rush of customers after my last post, so I guess someone is reading my blog after all! We purchased some filets, ground beef, eggs, St. Louis spare ribs and the real prize, a heritage Boston butt! I smoked the pork all day before pulling it and serving with some Grant Family secret BBQ sauce. The house smells like Saturday nights when I was a child! I tried to do my daddy proud, and hopefully succeeded. Jeff's parents joined us for dinner, and I paired the pulled pork sandwiches with a Delta coleslaw (no mayo), roasted corn, and Jeff's dad's delicious cowboy baked beans. Jeff made a electable apple pie for dessert, and we had a wonderful dinner. The Canton Farmers Market opens May 12, and I can't wait to have local, organic vegetables to go along with the grass fed beef and pork from Ellijay, Georgia. Jeff has been working very hard on the pool, and we finally got it drained and refilled on Friday. I can't believe how great it looks! We are hoping that we found a work around for the main drain link but should know more after the pool guy comes tomorrow. If so, it will be nice to have the cement pond back in commission for the summer. Now, I am also looking forward to the first homegrown BLT by the pool on a hot summer day! Here's hoping your weekend was equally as productive and delicious! The Menu: - Local Pulled Heritage Pork with Grant Family BBQ Sauce - Delta Coleslaw - Roasted Corn in the Husk - Bill Brown's Cowboy Baked Beans - Jeff's Homemade Apple Pie ala Mode