A few new drinks and a whole lotta eatin' at Bacon Bros Public House

What better way to spend a fall day than eating my way through the menu at Bacon Bros Public House and trying their new fall drinks.  I took my chef friend, John Malik, along for the noshing and Chef Anthony not only tried to feed us until we were stuffed like big fat Thanksgiving turkeys, the General Manager and Beverage Director, Jason Callaway, put John to work.

Eleven in the morning isn't too early for booze, right? Jason walked us through his recipe for Eggnog that he'll be serving up at the restaurant this holiday season.  He put Chef Malik to work whipping egg whites into stiff peaks while he whisked together egg yolks, whole milk, heavy cream, Whisper Creek Tennessee Sipping Cream, and grated up fresh nutmeg to top it all off.  He topped off our glasses and then poured it up into big Mason Jars to be served at the bar later. I have NEVER in my life had homemade eggnog.  Nope, never.  And it was freaking amazing and pretty dang easy, especially if I get my Kitchen-aid mixer involved. 

The next drink was a beautiful holiday Cranberry-Ginger Bash made from Farmer's Organic Small Batch Gin, crushed cranberries, ginger, and this amazing concoction called Allspice Dram. It's white rum with allspice, cinnamon and brown sugar.  I'm not so much a gin drinker, but liked the spice and the tartness to the drink, and as far as that Allspice Dram goes, I could sip on that all day long. I'm dreaming of all the things I could mix it with... cider? So yum.

I couldn't leave without trying some of the things on the menu I haven't had the pleasure of eating yet!  Do not think for a second that John and I were able to eat all of this food.  We dang tried, but Chef Anthony was on  a mission to kill us by means of food. Yes, there are worse ways to die. 

First to be delivered to our waiting forks was a giant plate of smoked dry rub chicken wings with Alabama white sauce.  The flavor of these things was incredible!  I fork and knifed my way through the first wing, then abandoned all refinement, picked up the second one and attacked it, then sucked the juices off my fingers with absolutely no shame.  Damn.  Just damn. 

Then Chef delivered a plate of beautiful light and fluffy Buttermilk biscuits with cheddar and thyme sidled up to a little Bacon Bros housemade apple butter.  (Housemade is so redundant at Bacon Bros.  Darn near everything is housemade. And if he hasn't done it yet, he's trying to figure out how.) We broke off delicious hunks and dipped them into the jam. 

The bread was accompanied by a Heirloom Red Frisee Salad with roasted shiitake mushrooms, bacon lardons, and a bread crumb topped duck egg.  When John cut open the egg, it created a nice rich addition to the flavor of the mushrooms and the fatty bacon pieces.  Eye rolling good.  I am not a fan of runny eggs for breakfast.  Sunny side up?  Gag! But dang, I will gobble up some warm runny egg on a salad.  What is wrong with me?!  

I think at this point I asked John if we could quit eating now, but then this came out:

Chef Anthony is a master at cured meats.  From left to right: Fennel Spiced Capo.  Apparently it comes from the muscle out of the Boston Butt, is cured 90 days, then aged for two more months.  Genoa Salami, aged 7 months. Carne Salada, a spiced pork from the cushion meat or sirloin spiced with clove, allspice, and cinimon.  9 month aged Country Prosciutto, the first ham started at the restaurant. Nice!  There was also pickled eggs, pickles, pickled okra, cherry mustard made from Sprecher Cherry Soda and then a beer mustard and cheddar crackers.  Every inch of the toppings on this board are house made.  And if you ever go to Bacon Bros Public house and don't order the Charcuterie or Meat Board, you've missed the whole point of the place.  This is pure meaty, fatty, silky, buttery cured bliss. 

I have been dying to try the waffles at Bacon Bros.  I stacked cornbread waffle, molasses barbecued boston butt and slaw up on my fork and it was awesome.  I put my fork down, looked over and realized that John had hunks of Country ham in his waffle! What?!  I went back in for more and found lovely pieces of sliced country ham scattered in the waffle batter.  Okay, a couple more bites... then I sat back. Done. So done.  We poured up some of the Sprecher Cherry Cola to sip on and chat for a while.  Satiated.  Full.  We are done, right?  Nope.  I'm telling you: death by food.

You've seen this before on the blog, the Peanut Butter Moonpie. The only thing not made in-house is the nuts. But I wouldn't be surprised if Chef Anthony didn't sit back there and shell them and chop them up himself... maybe even dug them out of the ground from somewhere.  I'm not joking.  And really, I'm not poking fun.  He's a 100% all in chef.  He sources locally.  He makes his own...everything, it seems like, down to the hot sauce on the table.  And if he didn't make whatever it is, an ingredient, or whatever, he'll probably be able to tell you what you want to know about who did.  

Chef Malik made a comment while we were eating.  He said, "We live in a time of local this and local that.  Now black eyed peas are much more interesting than caviar."  He's right.  We're a "where'd you get it" society focused on local, local, local. Shop local.  Make it local. Grow it local.  And from the standpoint of someone who watches chefs very closely, it really connects these chefs to what they are putting on the table, more than ever, I think.  They are deeply connected to the process from the dirt to the table.  Actual farmers were coming into the restaurant to drop off their goods while we were grazing.  I met them.  Shook their hands.  It's maybe a new relationship with food that just wasn't there before.

Then, we ate this very nice Mexican Coca Cola cake.  A little bit of it, anyway.  And this time.  We were really, really, really done.

Big thanks to Bacon Bros for feeding us, and to my friend Chef John Malik for joining me for lunch. Go out and support these guys at Bacon Bros, folks.  You won't have a better meal in Greenville. 

truffle fries, a holiday tune and catch up

I was sipping on a glass of Alamos Malbec (great wine for under $15 pick), and thinking that I've let the week slip by without posting.  

I went to Marks again this week with my buddy Ximena and totally ordered their Parmesan Truffle Fries.  They are so blasted good that there aren't words.  I'm a huge truffle fan.  Love the truffle. I think I'd eat it on morning buttered toast.  Seriously. Anyway, you should go get these fries... their burgers are damn good, too.

Onward. December is a big ta-do in the Livengood household.  There's baking and present wrapping and shopping and house cleaning and chorus concerts and parades and dinners with friends... yep, the Christmas season has us all wrapped up with busy-ness.

The blogs are full of delicious Christmas recipes this time of year, too, aren't they?  I can't possibly cook everything on my Holiday Baking board on Pinterest before the Big Guy comes down the chimney, but I'll gonna sure try!

I stumbled upon the Big Red Kitchen blog last week.  What caught my eye was a post about mixing Eggnog with Ginger Ale.  I ran to the fridge (I had both) and excitedly mixed them together, because as we all know, I am obsessed with all things eggnog.  It was interesting.  I wouldn't serve it at your next party, but it was definitely worth trying once.

Jacob Johnson is the bomb.  He's a fixture in the local coffee shop (Ithe Forest...still known to many locals as Leopard Forest) so I get to see his smiling face when I run in for a mid-afternoon pick-me- up. He posted this rendition of the Peanut's version of Christmastime last week.  The boy can tear up a guitar. And apparently he too shares an appreciation for Charlie Brown's Christmas which makes him even cooler. Enjoy.


Next.  Kate Middleton is pregnant.  There will be royal baby...which as a toddler will actually be a royal pain in the butt.  Hahahahaha!  Yep.  Made that one up  folks.  I'm just a regular Jay Leno, eh?

(crap!  My glass is empty. Time for a refill.)

Oh!  I finally found someone who could appreciate my appreciation for bowties!  Adam Roberts!  If you follow my blog often, he's The Amateur Gourmet guy I talk about all the time. A food nerd and fellow food blogger (but he's made it BIG TIME).  Check out this really awesome talk he just gave to publicize his new book (which is on my Christmas list).

Okay.  That's all folks.  Enjoy your evening. I have more for tomorrow so stay posted!

A neue experience: fried brussel sprouts, wine on tap and a goat at shinola

Yesterday I jumped in line at the Neue Southern Food Truck (pronounced Noy-a, in case you were wondering) in the North Main area of Downtown Greenville, brought to us by Chefs Lauren Zanardelli and Graham Foster. Let me tell you you won't mind eating your brussel sprouts at this place! They came highly recommended via people in line. I placed an order for way too much food, grabbed a cold bottled Cheerwine from the cooler then made my way to the "lunch room" in Community Tap to sit with some new friends and graze.

I sampled Schnitzel, Banh-Mi, BBQ Pommes Frites (big thanks to Claudia for sharing!) and their Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chunk and Candied Bacon and Chocolate Cookie drizzled with Bacon Fat Icing, but the sprouts stole the show -fried up with apple cider gastrique and popcorn. They were super salty and sweet and crunchy.  My lunch buddies were oohing and ahhing.  I think there were a few happy tears. (I packed up the leftovers for the hubs.)  Affordable and deliciously different lunch.  You can  follow them on FB here. (I think they will be open Friday and Saturday nights for dinner starting at 5ish.)

While I was in the area, I popped into a few of the shops in Stone's Point before hitting Shinola (an antique/junk shop) just up the street.

Before leaving Community Tap I grabbed a growler of wine. I secretly admit a deep jealousy of beer drinkers.  I want a growler too dang it!  I finally got my growler on. I tried the Cab and Chardonnay but settled on red: a Charles and Charles Cab/Syrah blend.  My cousin just happened to stroll in while I was there, so we caught up a bit.  I love living in a place where you see people you know wherever you go.

Couldn't help myself. 

Hey, did you see my new green LOVE GREENVILLE Parachute t-shirt on Facebook?  I would wear it every day if I could. Best. Shirt. Ever. Well you can get your very own at Dapper Ink.  I swear its the softest t-shirt I've ever owned. The custom print shop has a huge selection!  I wanted to just hang out in there and absorb the good vibe. Seriously cool place.

My last stop here was Sparrow Boutique. 

Then Shinola.  

What can I say about Shinola... I walked in and my mouth fell open.  Interesting stuff packed from ceiling to floor.  I found some pretty amazing art and if I had a decorating bone in my body, I'd have been in heaven.

 I made my way through the maze and out the back door to find a goat. A super cute goat.  And mosquitoes. Which ate me alive so thus endeth my Shinola trip.  Anyone else afraid they're gonna get West Nile? 

But what a very cool afternoon.  

Check in on Neue Southern's Facebook page for hours and go get your grub on people! 

 I'm off to get some work done.  Oooh and a bearded Jake Gyllenhaal and my childhood idol Punkie Brewster are on the Today Show this morning.  My lucky day. I chatted with Soleil Moon Frye on Twitter once.  That was wicked! The wonders of social media.  

Enjoy your Friday and your weekend.

Stalking my pets, apples, and Indie Craft Parade 2012

It's amazing what a little whipped cream and cinnamon can do for a cloudy morning!  Can I get an amen?

Yesterday I ventured out for a Trader Joe's and Publix run.  They've rearranged my Publix next to Furman University! I HATE it when that happens.  I decided it was a soup kind of day while I was there and ended up with a a bag full of butternut squash, sweet potatos, apple sauce and chicken broth and stock.  Oh, man!  That means I have to cook soup.

Cloudy weather makes me want to stuff face and sleep.  It also makes me what to cook things.  Like this apple cake.  Which is half gone after three days.  I DID share a little bit with friends and family, but not much. For the Gap Creek Gourmet Facebook fans who were begging for the recipe: I left the icing off, because I knew I would eat almost the entire thing myself and wanted to save the calories.  And I subbed 1/2 brown sugar for white and added 1/2 c. of Walnuts.  I have problems following a recipe...and directions for that matter.  It's a personality thing.

Am I the only person in America chomping at the bit for the political blah, blah to be over with so the good shows will come on television already?  We have CNN and HLN and Fox News and talk radio to cover that stuff... I'm not allowed (day job) to comment politically, so staying away from it so I don't get riled up is my best plan of action!  Bring on the good tv folks!  I CAN NOT WAIT for Homeland!

Moment of stupidity.  I have these often, but thought I'd share this one.  So I got ALL excited about a show previewing on TLC called Big Sexy.  So stoked.  It's about these big, bodacious women who work in the fashion industry and live in NYC. It honestly gave me something to get out of bed for on Tuesday. (One of those days.) I checked the listings. Nothing.  Checked on the computer. Nothing.  Had the husband check on the computer.  "Uh, hon, that show previewed in September 2011!" Duh.  And it was canceled after like two shows.  (My little world crumbles.)  Sigh.  And back to my normal programming...

 

In my momentary cooking frenzy on Tuesday, I also made this quinoa with the rest of my already skinned and chopped apples, some carrots and cinnamon, salt, and pepper.  Yum.   I'm a new fan of quinoa.  I used to think it looked like little bugs and popped like the tobiko on sushi.  I got over it. I think I'm going to put cinnamon in everything 'til Fall actually gets here.

I've been entertaining myself this week by taking pics of my dogs. (Can you tell he loves me, or what?! Look at that face! It just screams 'I love you mamma!')

...cats (she's not so in love with me at the moment cause she's getting shoo'ed off of my suitcase which has yet to be removed from the kitchen since I walked in from a work trip on Monday. I did at least unpack it...)

So the big plan for today is to FINALLY check out the ASADA Greeville food truck! Yea!!! The clouds in my brain seem to be clearing, and I'm on a mission!

This weekend's big adventure:  Indie Craft Parade 2012.  (That's me and my buddy acting up in last year's photo booth.  Love those!)  I look forward to this awesome art event every year.  I can't wait to see some of my favorite artists like Jimmie Lynn from Wingo Designs (who made my cupcake necklace and my little square bird necklace that I wear every. single. day.), Betsy Carr from Found*Ling (love her new Ocean Earrings!),  Teri Goddard Handweaving (I could LIVE in her soft scarves) and to FINALLY meet Johnnie from Sweeteeth!  He's a total rock star in my culinary world.

And for the rest of the weekend?  I'm making Ma Ma Plumblee's Homemade Ketchup.  It's not really ketchup... more like a relish, but that's what we called it and we used to dump spoonfuls of the chunky tomatoey goodness on top of the beans she made for Sunday lunch.  No one in the family has had any for years so they are salivating impatiently.  Thankfully, my Aunt Marlene reminded me to get my junk together and make some before the last tomatoes went bye-bye.  So we're on it!

What do you have planned for this weekend?  If you're in the Upstate, it better be inside or involve an umbrella! 50% chance of rain on Saturday.  Great day for cooking.  Not so good for being outside!

Sunday Morning: Gigi's Cupcakes, Sweet Tea Ice Cream and Limoncello!

A little background music to get you going on this Sunday morning.  I LOVE Something's Gotta Give.  I could watch it over and over and over again.  Do I get an amen?  I'd watch Diane Keaton read the phone book honestly.  I just love her. Anyway, here's the video.  Enjoy the music while you read!

Speaking of movies.... Tom and Katie.  For real?  I wonder how much he'll pay her so she won't tell the world what a stark raving mad freak he is?  Notice the other two wives didn't speak up after signing the divorce papers.  We can now tell our daughters that the young man on the poster in their room that they dream about and pine over may turn out to be more of a psychotic toad than a prince charming, just go ask Katie.  On to cupcakes.

Gigi's Cupcakes are in the house!  Okay, not my house, but Haywood Mall.  When the cupcake chain  posted the news that it was going to be the opening day for their mall kiosk and we were coincidentally heading to Haywood Mall that day, I threw my hands up and praised God.  Seriously.  I've been wanting one of their cupcakes FOREVER!  I'm subscribed to their Facebook updates and they regularly post cupcake pics which I drool over and pass around so others can drool as if they were indeed real cupcakes.

Well, on this day, I had my first sample.  I let my daughter choose and she picked out a Princess Cupcake with Strawberry Cake and Buttercream icing, sprinkles and a fondant little crown. We sat down a few feet away, opened the cute little box and dug in with two forks. Sweet goodness.  Please go spend the $3.25ish so you can at least say once in your life you had a darn close to perfect cupcake. I don't get to the mall often, but I can not wait to get back to Gigi's little cupcake kiosk.

Sweet Tea Ice Cream.  Okay, admit it.  You'd be tempted to try, too, wouldn't you?  We were in Ingles last night and I was perusing the ice cream isle for unique brands to try when I saw Front Porch Carolina Churned Ice Cream.  I covertly put a pint of Sweetie Tea and a Nana's Pudding pint in the buggy as to not draw the attention of the hubs. My child blew my cover.  Any rate, we busted into them with spoons as soon as we got home.  I love the melty tops of just-back-from-the-grocery-store ice cream.  They were both creamy, but so not what I expected.  You could tell there was a little sweet tea flavor to one and the other sort of tasted like it was artificially flavored.  We won't be raving about either here, but I thought I'd share in case you are stricken with the same compulsion to snag one.  Spend your money on Ben and Jerry's.

And on leaving you on a happy note: the limoncello I started in late May/early June is ready!  After zest from 20 lemons soaked in 2 750ml bottles of top brand vodka for 6 weeks, we added a simple syrup, let it sit for a week, filtered and then stuck it in the freezer to enjoy on the 4th.  So worth the wait.  I'm making more for Christmas gifts.  Here's the recipe we used for Homemade Limoncello.  Cheers!

surfing the monthly mag pile

It's that time again.  My mags are severely out of hand.  I didn't do my Saturday mag flip and rip last month so I have both June and July issues of Bon Appetit, many Entertainment Weeklys that have gone unread, Food and Wine, Oprah, Food Network, Wine Enthusiast... the list goes on. 


What's flip and rip?  I go through my pile and rip out anything that looks like it's worth sharing or revisiting or dropping in my recipes or  "to write an article about" file. 

Here are some of this month's finds:

notable quotes:
A quote from Anthony Bourdain in a story he wrote about his father:
"He taught me early that the value of a dish is the pleasure it brings you; where you are sitting when you eat it - and who you are eating it with - are what really matter."


the must haves:
I have got to get The Truck Food Cookbook.  In our cookbook book club we vote on the cookbooks we will use each quarter and it was in the running, but voted down in favor of the Pioneer Woman book which is totally awesome, too. It got a mention in June's Bon Appetit which totally reminded me that I need to order it soon.

A "CHARLESTON SWEETGRASS JOGGLING BOARDS LOWCOUNTRY SALT MARSH" t-shirt from The Southern Curator on Mt. Pleasant.

must try:
Cocoa-Date Truffles.  I'm trying to eat a little better. Shedding a few lbs for the summer so I don't die of a slow horrible heat death when I actually get outside. These looked like a good idea... of course eating the whole batch at once would be a little counterproductive, don't you think? 


Anyone know where this vibrating coffee addict can pick up some Weed's Cold Brew Coffee in the Charleston/Columbia area? I have to get my hands on some. 


places to go:
I picked up a Skirt! mag in Mt. Pleasant that said mint sun tea from Sugar Bakeshop and hanging on the patio for a Parisian-like experience at Rue de Jean in Charleston are summer musts.  I agree. They are now on my list.

must read:
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn As soon as I finish  Crossed, the second book in the Matched Series by Ally Condie.

Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter because every single review I've seen makes me want to run out and get it immediately.

PS: I'm totally obsessed with Dangermuffin this summer. They are a band from Folly Beach. Go check out their tunes on iTunes, if you haven't already.  I recommend downloading "Seafoam Tumbles".

Moving up, southern egg rolls, Kelly and my cat

So I got a job.  Okay, I've had a job.  I'm a freelance writer.  I juggle projects all the time, but this time.... it's a really, really good project.  Hows about USA Today found my blog and asked me to do a project for them!  Shut up!  Right?!  So at first I thought it was spam.  Seriously. Nope.  No spam.  (Squeals!).  I'll keep you posted.   I took my daughter to Starbuck's to celebrate after I picked her up from school.

Then I went home and made Southern Egg Rolls.  I think my husband was more excited about these than my new project!  He told me I should post.  So here it is.  

I had leftover black eyed peas in the fridge and pork in the freezer and I didn't want to do something boring, so... I cut up an onion and about 1/8 of a head of cabbage and cooked that on the stove until the onion was a little transparent, then I ground up 3/4 lb or so smoked pork in the food processor,opened a can of collards and dumped in the black eyed peas and some shredded carrot for texture/crunch/health fa-la-la.  Then dumped little piles in the center of egg roll rappers, wrapped them up, brushed on olive oil and baked them until brown.  

 
Then I whipped up some tasty, super spicy sauce with Spicy Chow Chow (only in the South would this just happen to be in your cabinet), spicy mustard, duck sauce and honey.  We ate the rolls with butter lettuce (my new fav...) with Ginger Dressing.  We're still eating rolls three days later, but they are too good to put in the freezer!

Here's my cat.  She loves Live with Kelly. She watched for the longest time!

Two more things:  In case you didn't know, Starbucks is doing half price Frappuccinos from 3-5pm until May 13th!  A shout out to the folks at Cherrydale Starbucks in Greenville. Sup guys?!  Love ya!

 They have chocolate whipped cream now.  It is freaking amazing, so go check that out!  You're welcome.  Tomorrow's Friday people.  Don't forget those mother's day presents!  I'm still hoping for a surprise trip to Columbia's Food Truck Rodeo.  Still have no idea what to get your mom? Coffee gift cards... maybe in a new to-go mug?  Cheers!

Trader Joe's and Holiday Traditions

My child shares my affinity for Trader Joe's, so we didn't skip a chance to bounce by there on our way home after errands this week.  These are our finds:  Sweet Potato and Corn Tortilla Chips: I ripped them open and let them go for a swim in red pepper hummus as soon as I got home. Some things need not wait on hunger. The Minty Mallows and Cocoa Truffles didn't escape our wrath either.  Creamy, rich, melt in your mouth goodness.  Both of the boxes of heaven would make great Christmas gifts for the adult sweet-o-holic on your list, corporate gift baskets, etc.  The Pear Cinnamon Cider was a whim.  A tasty whim...though not to different than the roadside stand apple cider also in my fridge (but much less expensive).  The warmer than I like weather for this time of year is making it hard to stay in my holly jolly holiday mood, but I'm working on it!

I have to rant: I've been on the phone with SiriusXM customer service twice in two days (my least favorite thing in the world is talking to people in another country about my problem in the US with a product they have only seen on their current computer screen), so SiriusXM is on my boo-boo list for the week.

I'm not getting my Holiday Traditions Channel, which for some, is not a big deal, but for me is a HOLIDAY TRADITION! I live for November 15th when the classic Christmas tunes from the 40's-60's spill out of my satellite radio.

Day One on the phone with customer service:  "You have to be a Premium subscriber and your current model doesn't support Premium."  I cussed and then thought about it and decided to upgrade my system so I called them back the next day.  Day Two: (This is no exaggeration.)  "That Christmas Channel is only available at 3am."  Really?  3am?  Who the heck is listening to Christmas music at 3am?!  Please revisit your assessment.  "Okay. That station is only available online." Problem.  My internet sucks and I can't stream music.  Besides the fact that you are t-totally WRONG as it clearly states on my screen that channel 147 should be playing my holiday music, but channel 147 is not available on my gadget screen. Please reassess.  "Ma'am, I see here our technicians are trying to fix a problem with the older models because they are not receiving the holiday channels.  The problem should be cleared up within 24 hours. And you don't need the Premium service to get that channel."  Much better. And 45 minutes of my life is wasted on the phone with an incompetent person... BAAAA!  Once my Holiday Tradition is restored... I'm a stickler for traditions... obsessively so... I'll be peachy.

I've been sipping on the Box-o-Shiraz... another TJ find.  Of course it's not the best quality wine in the world at $6.99 a box (the equivalent of 3 bottles of wine) but you definitely have the sweetness and tannin of a typical Shiraz...  just not as bold as I typically like. Fine for sipping while waiting on the phone with customer service, or eating leftovers... chatting with friends on the phone, etc...but I wouldn't take it to a friends house for holiday dinner.

So there.

I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving.  I have a split family, so every holiday has multiple stops. We begin the turkey day holiday with the annual cussing of the turkey at my Mom's.  My sister, my daughter and I sit around the kitchen table and watch Mother cram butter under the skin of a giant bird, cover it with Spike seasoning and wrangle it into tinfoil.  Poor turkey.  The boys sit around a fire in the woods and drink beer and who knows what else since girls aren't allowed.

mom wrangling, the bathroom beauty session, my little sister Ashley loves black olives and she's goofy, ready to eat!

We eat pizza and flip through sale mags and review our Christmas lists...And we watch Home for the Holidays.  On Thanksgiving morning I watch the Macy's Parade and shed a tear for my MaMa Plumblee (my dad's mom).  I used to call her every single Thanksgiving day morning to see if she was watching the parade and she'd say "I'm cooking, but it's on!"  I can picture her standing in her small kitchen over her stove stirring while staring at the reflection of her television in the mirror in her den. She loved marching bands.

While mom cooks (she won't allow us to help cause we just get in her way) we take over her bathroom so my sister can fix our hair and put on our makeup... like we're teenagers.  So fun!  Then my in-laws join us and we eat the food it has taken two days to prepare in about fifteen minutes and its the best meal of the year... the men go sit outside and the women sit around and talk about how full we are and pack up leftovers to eat for the rest of the week.

Later in the day, my little family unit will head out for a meal with my Dad's side of the family.

My little, but taller, brother J.

It's a day full... I mean really FULL of eating.... I guess it has to be to keep us running on Black Friday, which we attack with a vengeance. Probably  more out of tradition than necessity, but it's fun to get in the hustle and bustle and we always hit the See's Candy booth at the mall!

Have a great holiday!  I can't wait to share my holiday pics with you!  I'm brining a turkey this weekend.... Butterflied Turkey with Apple-Cranberry Glaze...my favorite recipe from Food Network Mag's November 2009 issue...  Freeze half/eat half.  The holiday gatherings have started and I'm beside myself excited.

What are your holiday traditions?

Foodie Find: Vignette Wine Country Soda

Sometimes I find random products online while browsing.  A recent discovery was Vignette Wine Country Soda.  The folks there were nice enough to send samples of their Chardonnay, Rose and Pinot Noir sodas and I've worked my way through them during the past week.  It's a brilliant idea: a delicate, very adult pop (not syrupy) naturally sweetened with the juice of California varietal wine grapes.  Non-alcoholic.  50% juice. Nice, right?  The cool thing is you can taste the difference in the grapes from flavor to flavor.  You get a little of the complexity of the grapes, which is nice.

When I was in high school, I LOVED the blackberry Clearly Canadian.  It's been my favorite soda since.  I still have some of the blue bottles they used to come in, remember those?   I used to drink it from a wine glass cause I was just cool like that. So, that said, these sodas are my adult version.

I wouldn't be shocked to see these in the nicer grocery stores and wine store near you soon, but for now, you can order online here... or according to their website, find the soda at High Cotton in Downtown Greenville, SC.  Oh, and they are also on sale at Amazon.com right now, so stock up for the holidays! These would be a good accompaniment to a turkey dinner for those guests who prefer to stay away from the wine.