My First Mint Julep

Last month John and I had a vacation to Savannah Georgia. We really loved the city and surrounding areas and had a ball exploring the area. We embraced the local food scene which is really good too!

My bucket list included drinking a Mint Julep in the deep south, preferably on a verandah....I made it really close! A rooftop bar overlooking the city and Savannah River wasn't too shabby! Of course I fell in love with the Mint Julep and had to make it at home. (Which can never be quite the same feel in rural Michigan) The first recipe I made I muddled mint with sugar and a bit of water until a paste formed, then added the bourbon (I used Woodford Reserve) and ice. It didn't have the nice thickness and refreshment of the one I tried and it didn't have enough of the super fresh mint. So this last time, I made a simple syrup with mint, then added fresh chopped mint to the glass....oh yes! That seemed to make all the difference!



MY SAVANNAH MINT JULEP

Simple Syrup
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
a bunch of fresh mint (mine totaled 7 sprigs)

In a medium saucepan, combine sugar and water. Boil for 5 minutes, without stirring. Remove from heat an pour over a handful of mint leaves and gently crush the mint with a spoon.

Refrigerator syrup mixture overnight in a closed jar. Remove mint leaves and continue to refrigerate. This syrup mixture will keep for several weeks.


A handful of fresh mint leaves (I used about 6 leaves per glass)
2 tablespoons Mint Syrup
Crushed ice
2 tablespoons water
2 ounces good-quality Kentucky bourbon (I used Woodford Reserve)
Fresh mint sprig for garnish

Prepare the Mint Syrup.

Crush or muddle a few mint leaves in the bottom of an 8-ounce glass. Then fill glass 1/2 full with crushed or shaved ice. Add prepared Mint Syrup, water, and bourbon.

Enjoy!

BTW- this mint syrup is really delicious! Iced tea, hot tea, a bowl of sliced strawberries.....

Visiting Norfolk Virginia

John and I took a mini vacation to Norfolk VA a couple weeks ago to visit our daughter and do a bit of sightseeing.  This was the first time either of us had vacationed on a large, working river near the largest Navy base in the world.  It's the Elizabeth River and quite an active shipyard/working river. 

Our daughter, Gina, provided an in depth history of the area as she works for the Great Bridge Battlefield & Waterways project near Norfolk in Chesapeake and part of her job is to share history of the area.  More about the Great Bridge can be found here www.gbbattlefield.org/ .  I learned it was a pivotal moment  during the Revolutionary War and America's history.

We so enjoyed Norfolk's downtown area that offers tons of local art and some really great dining spots!  The river walk at Town Point Park was marvelous and southern hospitality was apparent!  (The Waterside Mariott had an amazing view and piano lounge that allowed for some relaxing and cocktails!)  It was sobering to seeing the original city limits of Norfolk and St Paul's church with a cannonball still lodged in the brick wall.  It brought us a better understanding of America's birth and a resolution to learn more!

Yes, I got the Waffle Chicken @ The Public House

"Pig Pickin" plate

We traveled the Hamptons Roads area of Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake and Portsmouth.  I fell in love with Wisteria (which has a hard time this far north) and fresh crabs, old brick homes with black doors and the entire city's public dog water dishes!!  (you'll find one available at The Market asap :))

We toured the USS Wisconsin and Nauticus Museum, which was an absolute treasure trove of maritime history!  German U Boats off America's coast in the 40's....brought a whole new recognition of "you sank my battleship"!!

USS Wisconsin

We mostly loved spending time with our daughter and experiencing the successful independent woman she has become and the life she is making in Virginia.  We've missed everything about her!  (except maybe sharing a bathroom)

Great Local Food & Wine @ Vintage Kitchen Norfolk VA

Travels & Food

In my opinion there are moments that are life altering. Today was that day! We awoke early after a 2am family pow-wow...it seemed like morning?!?! Place des Vosges, Bastille and Notre Dame are on the agenda. These sites are in a reasonable walking distance from the apartment and we set out! Place des Vosges has a fabulous feel with it's many fountains, trees lined up like soldiers and historical buildings as it's backdrop. We strolled the covered shopping area and sat down for people watching and enjoying the sunshine. We moved on down to the Bastille and felt the gold angel on top watching for us! It was a lovely site representing French history. We walked Henry IV Boulevard on the Seine river side and soaked up the nature around us. We crossed over the Seine halfway to walk the tiny island! We began to see peaks of Notre Dame and soon crossed the river on a foot bridge (with a 4 piece band singing Elvis Presley in English...what?) and arrived!

As we entered the enormous wood and ironworked doors, a hush fell over the people as we took in the stained glass windows, ceiling buttress' and stone monuments. AMAZING...my life has changed to be here today. At once, I see both my insignificance and significance in this world. I lit candles and prayed today at Notre Dame. I am blessed to be here with my family.

Memories of Focaccia

Life is crazy again and yet I yearn to do a little something special for supper! Focaccia bread is just the thing! We had homemade focaccia bread in Matera, Italy and this recipe takes me back to that mountainous, misty area with goats running across the twisty roads, ancient olive trees and fresh goat yogurt from a bucket. We were welcomed to the home of olive oil and cheese producers in a movie setting! (The Passion of the Christ was filmed in Matera) It was one of the most memorable and beautiful places I've seen to date! We ate focaccia bread with different toppings, wine, goat yogurt with chestnut honey and a lovely lemon tart.

The smell of bread baking is so instinctively comforting and hunger inducing! I've never experienced an angry person in my kitchen while bread is baking! (This includes teenagers, small children and animals!) I use a 10 inch stoneware dish for this bread, so I prefer to split the dough in half for a bit thinner bread, or you can use a larger jelly roll pan for the whole batch!

I have also changed the yeast in this recipe for INSTANT yeast. This really cuts down the time required to make bread, but does leave a more yeasty flavor behind. Feel free to use dry active yeast and proof accordingly. This dough also keeps well in the fridge for fresh focaccia in about 45 minutes!

FOCACCIA BREAD- YOUR WAY

1 Tablespoon Instant Yeast
1 ¼ cups hot water (115 degrees)
2 Tablespoons sugar
3 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 Tablespoon kosher salt
½ cup extra virgin olive oil, divided


In your mixing bowl, blend water, yeast, 1 Tablespoon of EVOO and sugar. Add all of the flour and salt. Using the dough hook, blend at low speed until dough forms ball on hook. Continue kneading additional 3-4 minutes until dough looks shiny and all flour has been incorporated.

Coat dough with 2 Tablespoons EVOO and let double in size (about 15 minutes), punch down. Liberally oil (with EVOO) a 12-13” round pan and press half of the dough into bottom. Make depressions with your fingertips. Let rise until dough has doubled (15-30 minutes) and add toppings, drizzle with EVOO and sprinkle with salt.

Bake 450 degrees for 25-35 (whole batch of dough or 18 minutes for a half batch of dough) minutes until golden brown and dough has cooked through.

Herbs, cheeses, tomatoes, anchovies, roasted peppers, salami, spinach. The sky is the limit on toppings!

Our favorite is: add 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 Tablespoon fresh Rosemary and 1/4 cup shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano to dough. Top with 3 Tablespoons each: grated Romano and Fontina and a few more sprigs of Rosemary.