24 April 2016

What a beautiful Spring weekend in Canton, Georgia! Except for the high pollen count, the weather was perfect, and it was ideal for enjoying our new Etowah Park and the trail that connects to Heritage Park. I enjoyed seeing so many families and individuals taking advantage of these recreational amenities. From kids learning how to ride bikes to couples flying kites, everyone seemed happy to be outside. I am glad the City of Canton is now beginning the design phase of the trail that will eventually connect Heritage to Boling Park, but you can actually walk a combination of the existing trail and the sidewalk system to travel between all three parks. If you haven't had a chance to check out the new multi-use trail between Etowah and Heritage parks, I encourage you to do so in the near future.

In addition to walking the new trail system, we also enjoyed other outings in Canton this weekend. On Friday after work, we ventured down to Mancini's to enjoy their new tapas menu and live music. The food was delicious, and the atmosphere was relaxing after a long work week. After tapas, we continued on to Chon Ngern for dinner. We tried a couple of new things, and they were amazing, just like all of the food at this Thai restaurant. It was nice to see several of our friends enjoying it as well.

On Saturday, we ventured over to Avalon to have lunch at Antico Pizza. It was divine, as usual, and we stopped by the rooftop bar at Cru to enjoy a glass of wine. That evening, we joined our friends from the Bank of North Georgia at the Service League's Ball and Dancing for the Children event. I was relieved to not be dancing this year and enjoyed all of the performances. Congratulations to Eddie Robinson for taking the mirror ball trophy and, most of all, for raising the most money to help Cherokee County's needy children. The women from the League never cease to amaze me with their relentless efforts.

After a busy weekend, I was ready to spend some quality time in the kitchen. It's been a few weeks since my last Sunday Supper post, so I wanted to get a little creative. I really like Asian cuisine, so I tried to create a light meal that featured fresh fish. I intended to prepare some seared tuna, but Whole Foods was out. On the fly, I switched to Halibut and decided to cook it on the grill with cedar planks and Asian spices. I marinated the fish with a mixture of rice wine, sesame oil, fresh ginger, honey and fresh orange juice. Afterward, I soaked the cedar planks in water to keep them from burning and placed the fish on top to be grilled. I also made a quick sweet and sour sauce from black vinegar, soy sauce and sesame oil to top the fish at the end. To compliment the strong, smoky flavor of the halibut, I made a fresh carrot and ginger puree and a chilled cucumber and sunflower sprout salad. For starters, I also made some spicy edamame and pan fried dumplings while the fish was smoking on the grill.

The meal was perfect for this warm Spring day, and Sunday Supper was enjoyed by all. It was certainly nice to fire up the grill for the first time this year, and I look forward to more Sunday Suppers this Summer. Until then, I hope to see you along the trail!

The Menu:

- Spicy Asian Edamame

- Pan Fried Dumplings with Dipping Sauce

- Cedar Plank Halibut with Asian Marinade

- Sesame Rice Timbales

- Pureed Carrots with Ginger and Oranges

- Cucumber and Sunflower Sprout Salad


The Recipe – Cedar Plank Halibut with Ginger Marinade

Ingredients:

4 halibut fillets, skin-on (salmon will also work)
4 untreated cedar planks to match size of the fish (you can buy these at Whole Foods)

Asian Ginger Marinade

1/4 cup rice wine
1 orange, finely grated zest and juice
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp ginger, grated
1 tsp honey
1 tsp soy sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Soak untreated cedar planks in a container of water for at least an hour, keeping the wood immersed.

Combine ingredients for marinade in a shallow glass casserole dish, and marinate the halibut fillets, skin-on, in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Preheat gas grill on HIGH for 10 minutes, or allow charcoal to turn grey for 15-20 minutes.

Pat the planks dry, and oil the upper side. Place planks directly on the grill and heat with lid closed until the plank begins to smoke. Place the halibut, skin side down, on the planks, and grill until just opaque at the thickest part, 20-30 minutes, depending on thickness.

03 April 2016

It has been a beautiful Spring weekend. The rain cleared out just in time for First Friday to kick off the weekend in style. The Main Street program did another great job, and everyone, young and old, enjoyed the Star Wars and Disney themed event. After First Friday, we enjoyed another great meal at Chon Ngern Thai restaurant. Jeff and Cory cleaned up afterward, and we then began binge watching Six Feet Under. I had forgotten what a wonderful show this was, and I look forward to watching all six seasons for the second time around.

On Saturday, I spent most of the day installing a new rug in the den. I ordered a "rug in a box" from FLOR and assembled the rug from individual carpet tiles. It turned out great, and Jazpur had fun helping me. Later in the day, we had a nice surprise when my grand niece, Drew Southers, decided to come for a visit from Jacksonville State in Alabama. She brought along her hilarious friend, Randy Perks, and we had a great time. We took the starving college kids out to a great meal at Downtown Kitchen. They were blown away by the food and atmosphere, and Corey Shupert took great care of us, as usual. I can't believe Drew is almost 22 years old, and I am very proud of how well she is doing in college. She's studying, working, playing in the marching band and even doing some commissioned artwork on the side. I can't wait to see what the future holds for her.

One of the biggest reasons I get excited about Spring is because of the brief, but wonderful, ramp season. I've included ramp recipes from previous years, and I am always looking for new ways to cook with them. Jeff's former ramp forager passed away last year, so I was beginning to get concerned. However, our friend, Joan Denney, contacted us to say she had came across some ramps on a recent visit to North Carolina, and she thought of me. She was so kind to bring me a nice bunch, and I put them to good use in tonight's Sunday Supper.

For some reason, I have been thinking about Mediterranean food, so I decided to incorporate the Southern grown ramps into some classic dishes. I began with making a ramp hummus by substituting the "wild garlic" for regular garlic. It turned out great and gave the hummus a different flavor. For the entree, I made pan roasted chicken with zucchini and mushrooms. I served some lemon Orzo with the chicken and used some of the ramp greens instead of parsley. Again, it worked really well, and I still have enough ramps to make some ramp butter to freeze for future use. For dessert, I had made some homemade monkey bread for our guests on Saturday night, so I sliced and fried it in butter for dessert and served it with some frozen Greek yogurt and a drizzle of local honey. All in all, I really ramped up some typical Mediterranean dishes, and it was a fun afternoon in the kitchen.

Now, I am gearing up for a very busy week of client meetings, Council meetings and more physical therapy. I hope your Spring is off to a delicious start as well!




The Menu:

- Ramp Hummus with Toasted Pita

- Mediterranean Pan Roasted Chicken with Zucchini and Mushrooms

- Lemon Orzo with Ramp Greens

- Pan Fried Monkey Bread with Frozen Greek Yogurt and Local Honey


The Recipe – Ramp Hummus

Ingredients:

1 can chickpeas, well drained and rinsed
½ cup tahini
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
4-5 ramps, finely chopped
Juice of 2 small lemons
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon paprika, plus a sprinkle for garnish
Toasted pine nuts, olive oil and paprika for garnish, optional

Directions:

Put the chickpeas, tahini, paprika, oil, ramps and lemon juice in a food processor, sprinkle with salt and pepper and process. Add a small amount of water, as needed, to produce a smooth purée.

Taste and adjust seasoning, adding more salt, pepper or lemon juice as needed. Serve, drizzled with some olive oil and sprinkled with a bit of paprika and toasted pine nuts, optional.