Month: February 2012

I wish Miss Shirley was my neighbor…

CarrieLeave a comment

This weekend I visited Kylie, a sorority sister from college.  Kylie and I have many things in common but the most important thing is that we both have a great appreciation for food.  When I make the trip down to her residence in Bowie, Kylie and her husband always take me out to the best “foodie” places.  Once on a trip into DC they took me to Marvin’s Bistro and Bar (I had the most delicious shrimp and grits) and the Gibson (where they served the most delicious fizzy drinks).  This time Kylie and her husband took me into Annapolis for the most amazing brunch ever!

Let me tell you about Miss Shirley’s.  It looks like a regular restaurant on the inside.  Nothing in the decor really sticks out but right away you can tell that there is something different in the air.  When you look around the room, there are only smiling faces.  The customers waiting for a table look happy and even the staff look happy to be at work.  Well no wonder!  I’m sure they love reaping the benefit of being around comfort food.  Everything on the menu sounded scrumptious.  And believe me it just wasn’t the well-thought out description.  There was proof in the pudding when I tasted my meal.  I had a southern classic of chicken and waffles.  If you’re ever in the Baltimore/Annapolis area you have to check it out!

Benne Seed Fried Boneless Breast of Chicken Pieces & a Honey-Mustard Aioli Drizzle on White Cheddar-Green Onion Waffles with Peppadew-Jalapeno Butter

 

My Signature Dish

Sadie2 Comments

Everyone has a signature dish.  I don’t care if you’re the chef at five star restaurant or a TV dinner aficionado, I know there’s one dish that you make better than anything else. I love to cook and bake so I like to think that I have several signature dishes, but if I had to choose my most requested it would definitely be my buttermilk pancakes.

My favorite thing about my pancakes is that I’m the only person that makes them.  My mom doesn’t even know the recipe.  I hold the power!  The recipe was handed down from Sadie #1 (my great grandmother), to my maternal grandmother, and then to me.  When I visited my grandparents as a kid I always requested these pancakes.  I learned the recipe, because we simply made them so often.  And I started making these for my family at home when I was in middle school.  To this day, if I’m at my parent’s house on a Sunday, I’m probably making pancakes for brunch.  Even though my grandmother is still making pancakes, I hate to admit it, but I’ve been told the student has exceeded the master.

I’ve read hundreds of pancake recipes over the years, and nothing compares.  These pancakes are light because of the egg to buttermilk to flour ratio, and they aren’t particularly sweet.  They are the perfect canvas for syrup, butter, berries…  I actually refuse to put any add-ins in the batter, I’m a purest, but toppings are my key to success.

Today is your lucky day:

Sarah Church’s Buttermilk Pancakes

Yield: about 8 pancakes depending on size

2 large eggs

2 cups buttermilk

1 cup AP flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

pinch salt

3 Tbs vegetable oil

butter for skillet

Method

1. Turn on stove to warm up skillet/griddle.

2. Beat the eggs together with the buttermilk.

3. Add flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Wisk until batter is only a little lumpy.

4.  Whisk in vegetable oil.

5. Add butter to the skillet and test heat by flicking a little water onto the skillet.  If the water sizzles and skips across the skillet then it is ready.  In this instance, I definitely like it hot.

6. Add batter to the skillet in desired size.  Flip after a couple minutes when there are bubbles on the surface.  If you peak at the underside, it should be golden brown.  After you flip them, the second side should take a minute or less.

7. Remove from skillet and serve.  Don’t forget to re-apply butter to skillet between cooking batches or as needed.

I highly recommend eating these immediately.  I usually put them on the griddle while my family is already sitting at the table.

Bang, Bang Wednesday

CarrieLeave a comment

On Wednesday, it was my dad’s 65th birthday.  My mom and I decided to take him out to dinner and a movie.  We saw Man on a Ledge which was a variation of the Italian Job and Mission Impossible.  Although, the I must say that Man on a Ledge did lack the hunky men that both of those movies featured.  If Channing Tatum was the star, it would have ranked a lot higher on my rating scale. (By the way, I can’t wait for the Vow to come out…Happy Valentine’s Day to me!)  Overall, I would say Man on a Ledge was a highly entertaining movie and worth the matinee admission fee.

The best part of the night was our trip to Bonefish Grill.  As always it was fabu! (as Scott Disick would say) It is a heaping pile of lightly battered fried shrimp smothered in a fiery, mayonnaise sauce.  And lucky for the Wednesday customers, it is featured at the bargain price of $5.  My sister works at a Bonefish and she told me that there are patrons that come in only for the bang bang shrimp.  Sometimes they will get two orders for themselves and pretend its their entree.  I think moderation is a good thing in this case because I can’t imagine how many WeightWatchers points are in one order alone.  Take my suggestion and order it for the table, which leaves plenty of room for you to get the salmon with fresh mango salsa.  Here’s a picture of what you’ve been missing out on minus a few shrimp because I couldn’t resist temptation before capturing the moment.