20 November 2011

What a treat! I worked today, so Jeff decided to cook Sunday Supper. I am still trying to get caught up at work, and next week is a three day work week with the Thanksgiving holiday. Jeff is also on a Weight Watchers program, so we are trying to eat healthier. He decided to cook a Weight Watchers Thanksgiving dinner that got really great reviews. I am thankful to not have to cook tonight and for a very productive day at the office. It's been a fun weekend. Dinner and bowling on Friday night, and dinner at our friends' house last night and then home to catch up on American Horror Story – great show! I LOVE Jessica Lange, and she is amazing in the show. Thanks to Jeff for a delicious and healthy Sunday Supper!

The Menu:

- Apricot Glazed Turkey with Roasted Baby Dutch Potatoes

- Fennel, Fig and Thyme Stuffing

- Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Maple Balsamic Drizzle

- Cranberry Jalapeno Sauce

- Pumpkin Ice Cream in Homemade Sweet Tortilla Bowls

13 November 2011

Well the election was Tuesday, and I lost unfortunately. I did have a good showing and gained about 40% of the vote in a three man race. I am glad it is over, but it was a great experience – all in all. I had an amazing committee and some really enthusiastic supporters. I certainly learned who I could trust, and I met some amazing new people in the process. Now, back to doing the things I love: designing and cooking.

Jeff's birthday was the day after the election, so I took him to Atlanta for a birthday dinner at La Grotta. It was amazing, as usual, and we enjoyed chatting with the owner's son afterward at the bar. We stayed in the city overnight, and we had lunch at Mary Macs Tea Room on Thursday. Last night, we invited friends and family over to celebrate Jeff's birthday, and I prepared fajitas, refried beans from scratch and a Mexican chocolate cake for dessert. It turned out great, and everyone had a good time.

I worked today, and now I am preparing Sunday Supper. It feels good to be back on schedule! I saw a show on the Food Network this morning, and I wanted to make a dish from that episode. I prepared Spaghetti and Meatballs with a Bacon Tomato Sauce. It hit the spot and provided just the right amount of comfort on a chilly Fall night!

Winning!

The Menu:

- Spaghetti and Meatballs with Bacon Tomato Sauce

- Grilled Rosemary Olive Oil Breadter

30 October 2011

Happy Halloween Eve! I have been on the campaign trail, so I have not had a lot of time to cook Sunday Suppers lately. Tonight, I was determined to make it into the kitchen! Without a doubt, this campaign for Canton City Council has been a real experience. The twists and turns are a little bizarre, but I am confident things will turn out as they were intended. At the end of it all, I will be very proud of how I have conducted myself, and I am proud of the many supporters that I have on my team. I believe the future of Canton is worth the battle, and I have enjoyed meeting so many like-minded people throughout the city. We all believe that we can preserve Canton's unique character and small town charm while also creating the quality and strategic growth that is necessary to meet our fiscal responsibility. Since I moved here in 1996, Canton has tripled in its population, and it will continue to grow. We can sit back and let it take its own course, or we can be proactive and design a strategic plan for the future. It's about making the right business decisions along the way.

Okay, so enough campaigning. For tonight's Sunday Supper, I made a classic Beef Stroganoff. I have been wanting to cook this meal for a while, and the crisp Fall air only provided added encouragement. Some friends came over to help us carve our pumpkins, so I cooked while they carved. Everyone was happy. TJ and Jeff even carved some Grant 4 Canton pumpkins! It was a nice and much-needed Sunday night in the kitchen. A while back, I signed up to get "Season's Peak" produce emails from Publix. It is a great service, and this week's feature was pears. So I made one of my "go-to" recipes for dessert –a rustic thin pear tart!

So, one more week and one day until the election. Who knows what this week will bring, but I am determined to accentuate the positives of it all!

One last thing, I want to thank Linda Flory for promoting my Sunday Supper blog. I appreciate the many friends, near and far, that follow my online journal of food and life. It is the good, the bad and the ugly that dignifies our day-to-day existence, and I will continue to hunger for great food, honest experiences, human kindness and the comfort of my dear friends and family.

Peace be with you!

The Menu:

- Classic Beef Stroganoff

- Fresh Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

- Thin Pear Tart

02 October 2011

Happy Fall! It has been a beautiful autumn weekend, and I love the cool, crisp air. Sorry I have not posted in a while, but I have been on the campaign trail. As you may know, I am running for Canton City Council, and so far, it has been quite an experience. I have had some wonderful support and a lot of encouragement, so wish me luck. The election is November 8, and here is my campaign website: www.grantforcanton.org. Also, please visit my Facebook page to "like" and "share" with your friends: Grant for Canton. The last few weekends have been hectic. Last weekend, we had Riverfest, an arts and crafts show sponsored by the Service League. They did a great job, and our Grant for Canton scarecrow won first place. We donated the $100 prize money back to the League for the great work they do to assist the needy children of Cherokee County.

To celebrate the arrival of Fall and cooler weather, I cooked my mother's old fashioned beef stew. My brother, Chuck, is visiting, so I thought he would enjoy it. I made Southern skillet cornbread to accompany it, and a North Georgia apple pie for dessert. All in all, a perfect Sunday Supper for early October. A busy week of work and campaigning ahead...

Hope your early Fall weekend was meaningful and enjoyable!

The Menu:

- Old Fashioned Hearty Beef Stew

- Southern Skillet Cornbread

- North Georgia Apple Pie Al-A-Mode

04 September 2011 – Labor Day Wedding

Sorry for the delayed post, but I was in Perdido Key, Florida over Labor Day weekend for my niece's beach wedding. Yes, so was Tropical Storm Lee! It rained and stormed most of the weekend, but there was a very short break in the weather, and Lori had her sunrise wedding on the beach! It was very windy but very sweet. Congratulations to Ray and Lori Burgess-Osborne! My nieces and nephews were there for the wedding, as well as Jeff and our friends, Kim and Josh, who got married at Perdido about the same time last year. Kim's dad owns Perdido Seafood, so we ventured over to get some Gulf-fresh Royal Red Shrimp and homemade Key Lime pie! Sunday night was a total rain out, so I prepared Sunday Supper in our condo for my nieces, nephews and our friends. The kitchen and equipment was not what I am accustomed to, but I made the most of it! All went well except for a brief, but scary, oil fire! Funny in retrospect but quite alarming at the time! I decided to make shrimp scampi with linguine and asparagus. The fresh shrimp were divine, and it was great to cook for Kelly, Brian, Drew, Kenneth-Ney, Kim, Josh and Jeff. We stuffed ourselves and later had a nice game of team Scrabble! All of us had to fight the storm all the way back to Georgia, but we made it safe and sound. Here's hoping the newlyweds have better weather this week for their honeymoon!

Hope your Labor Day was equally memorable but less stormy!

The Menu:

- Smoked Gulf Tuna Spread

- Fresh Royal Red Shrimp Scampi over Linguine

- Pan Roasted Pencil Thin Asparagus

- Key Lime Pie

28 August 2008

All in all, it's been a great weekend, and it seems like a lot got accomplished. This was a welcome change after the past few weekends. Yesterday, we ran errands and did some shopping. Last night, I made homemade bacon cheeseburgers with oven baked steak fries. It was simple and delicious. Afterward, we watched "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" with Elizabeth Taylor and Paul Newman. They were such a beautiful looking couple at that time. Jeff had never seen the movie, but he really enjoyed it. After watching The Help last weekend, we have been seeking more Southern adventure, and Tennessee Williams delivered.

Today, I worked most of the day writing copy and retrieving some old files. I was more productive than I thought I would be. We got some great summer vegetables at the Canton Farmers Market yesterday: okra, cabbage, red peppers, silver queen corn, pink eye peas and watermelon. We also still have some heirloom tomatoes in the garden, so tonight's Sunday Supper was vegetable-centric. I was concerned about what to prepare for dessert, but our dear friend and fellow cook, Wanda Roach, called me this afternoon to tell me that she had made me a pie as condolences for the recent passing of my baby sister, Stacy. She visited a while later to deliver a beautiful butterscotch pie – her most requested! It was amazing – mile high meringue and all! Thank you Wanda and to all of the wonderful friends who sent notes, prayers and other loving thoughts to me and our family. I am truly blessed with an amazing circle of friends and a loving and kind family.

First thing in the morning, I am off to officially qualify to run for Canton City Council in the upcoming election on November 8! I am cooking up some new ideas for meaningful change, and you can find more information on my campaign's website: www.grantforcanton.org.

The Menu:

- Country Style Pepper Steak with Local Peppers and Vidalia Onions

- Fried Okra

- Silver Queen Corn with White Truffle Oil

- Braised Baby Ball Ground Cabbage

- Local Pink Eye Peas

- Jalapeno and Hoop Cheese Corn Muffins

- Wanda Roach's Famous Butterscotch Pie

21 August 2011 – For Stacy Grant Charles

Well this weekend was certainly better than the last one. As many of you know, my dear baby sister, Stacy, passed away last Saturday from ALS, a horrific disease. We will all miss her very much, but we have wonderful memories of her. She was one of the most loving and selfless people I have ever known, and I loved her very much. So tonight's Sunday Supper is dedicated to Stacy Grant Charles!


Stacy loved shrimp, so it was fitting that a friend brought us six pounds of fresh shrimp from the Gulf this week. I bought some local veggies at the Canton Farmers Market yesterday, and we did a low country boil for dinner. I used some of our fresh heirloom tomatoes and basil to make a caprese salad, and we had watermelon for dessert. Jeff's parents and Cory joined us for dinner on the side porch, and it was a good think we were cooking outside with propane because the power went off after a storm.

Stacy's daughter, Kacey, came to visit us last night, and we had a wonderful date night! We started our visit by seeing The Help. It is such a wonderful movie. Afterward, we ate at our favorite Mexican dive and came home to make brownies and play Scrabble on the side porch. It was a wonderful visit, and we hope to do it again soon.

Hoping for a better week ahead...

The Menu:

- Low Country Boil with Fresh Gulf Shrimp and Local Organic Vegetables

- Herirloom Tomato Caprese Salad

- Local Ice Cold Watermelon