Mixed Citrus Salad with Thinly Shaved Shallots, Cubed Feta Cheese, Fresh Mint Chiffonade, a Drizzle of Homemade Spicy, Fresh Cracked Pepper Honey and Champagne Vinegar Vinaigrette, Olive Oil, + Fleur de Sel

Okay guys, prepare yourself mentally... I'm really going out of the box today with this recipe. It doesn't have butter, it doesn't have bacon, or buttermilk, or a crispy outer coating, or anything southern really ((let the shock set in for a few seconds)). This is something healthy and gorgeous and vegetarian. Woah, I know. At the peak of winter, every citrus fruit is practically at its best, so why not use them to our advantage? I bought multiple citrus... blood oranges, cara cara oranges, navel oranges, ruby red grapefuits, clementines, tangelos, meyer lemons, and limes (and probably more that I can't even think of). I'm not going to lie to you, prepping the citrus for the salad can be tedious and time-consuming, but if you're willing to eat a piece of artwork, like this dish, it's so worth it. Pretty much, you have to remove the rind and the bitter pith, leaving behind gorgeous "carpaccio" style slices. After you've done every citrus, the hard work is pretty much done! Arrange a plate with the prepared citrus in any colorful manner you like. I decided to do a rainbow/ombre pattern and I think it looked fabulous! Next, I whipped up a delicious and easy-breezy dressing to drizzle over the top. It's made with honey, raspberry champagne vinegar (you can use any flavor really though), dried red pepper flakes, and fresh cracked pepper. Cube up or crumble some fresh feta over the top of the citrus, followed by a drizzle of the homemade honey dressing and olive oil. I finished it all off with a scattering of mint chiffonade and a sprinkle of fleur de sel. The salad is so juicy and practically explodes in your mouth. The cheese offsets all of the acidity and heat because of its delicious creaminess, while the spicy + peppery honey perfectly accents all of the other components. Finally the fresh mint gives the dish a final herbaceousness that should not + cannot be missed. I really hope y'all get around to making this unique salad because it is so different than anything that I have made before. I imagine it would be fabulous during the spring or summer as well... with a bottle of white wine!! Enjoy :)

For the Spicy Fresh Cracked Pepper Honey + Champagne Vinegar Vinaigrette:

¼C Orange Blossom Honey

2T Champagne Vinegar

½t Fresh Cracked Pepper + Dried Red Pepper Flakes

 

For the Mixed Citrus Salad:

3 Blood Oranges

1 Ruby Red Grapefruit

1 Cara Cara Orange

1 Navel Orange

2 Clementines or 1 Tangelo

1 Meyer Lemon

1 Lime 

Cubes or Crumbles of Fresh Feta Cheese

Fresh Mint, Chiffonade

1-2 Shallots, Thinly Shaved

Prepared Honey Vinaigrette (listed above)

Drizzle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Flakes of Fleur de Sel, For Sprinkling

 

Directions:

1. For the Homemade Honey Vinaigrette: In a mason jar, add the honey, champagne vinegar, fresh cracked pepper, and dried red pepper flakes. Shake the heck out of it until the dressing is cohesive, the honey has dissolved into the champagne vinegar, and the pepper/red pepper flakes are speckled throughout the vinaigrette. Set it aside until you are ready to use.

2. Preparing the Citrus: Slice the different citrus fruit into rounds, and then using very sharp kitchen scissors, carefully cut off the rind, making sure to get rid of the white bitter pith. Gently remove any seeds. Continue until all of the citrus have been finished and resemble a citrus “Carpaccio”.

3. Preparing the Salad: Cut the big block of fresh feta cheese into small cubes (or you can also decide to crumble it as well if you prefer). Shave a few shallots, using a kitchen mandolin, until you have thin slices of the onion. Chiffonade the fresh mint into small strips.

4. Assembling the Salad: Scatter a thin layer of the shaved shallots on the bottom of your serving dish. Shingle and layer the prepared citrus rounds in an overlapping fashion, so that they cover the entire plate (we decided to go in a rainbow colored scheme, but you could also do random or strips of color if you please). Place the cubes of feta into any holes that you see that need to be filled on the plate. I also scattered some crumbles on top, just for a little extra. Drizzle as much of the spicy honey vinaigrette as you want all over the salad, making sure to get all of the fresh cracked pepper + dried red pepper flakes (these ingredients really balance against all of the sweet flavors of the dish). Drizzle a few spoonfuls of olive oil on top of the dressing as well. Finish by garnishing with a sprinkling of fleur de sel and chiffonade mint.

5.  Enjoy this refreshing salad with a glass of white wine!

Blood Orange Mulled Red Wine with Spiced Brown Butter

Blood Orange Mulled Red Wine

HI GUYS. I am terrible. I left y'all high + dry. But but but but, I can explain. See last week the world ended. What? You guys didn't hear? That's shocking, I know, but so true. Well, if you didn't hear, I'll give you the quick rundown of how it snowed two inches in Atlanta and the whole city shut down. I'm not making this up. Luckily for me, I work from home, so I really didn't experience anything too badly. Actually, we were quite excited at first...

the beginning of snow fall

yep, it snows in the south

starting to cover the ground

shots at 5AM in honor of the "state of emergency" 

snow day with my little pup.

See? We welcomed the snow, with open arms. I was tooooo excited, I hadn't seen snow since probably my middle school days. It started innocently enough, but then I got a phone call from my Mountain Man around noon, saying that he got released from work early due to the possible inclement weather. I was TOTES excited. However, I just waited and waited and waited... I watched the news. EVERY major highway, intersection, and street was practically shut down. Black ice was everywhere. Children were stuck at school, or worse, in school buses. Finally 9PM had rolled around I had yet to see my Mountain Man because he had been stranded for over eight hours. In the same spot. I mean it couldn't get any worse. I was stranded at home and couldn't possibly rescue him. It got so crazy, he and one of his friends, abandoned their cars and walked about 7 miles in the sleeting snow back to our house. I can't even tell you how crazy it all was, and it was all over a pathetic two inches of snow. People had to sleep in grocery stores, hospitals, gas stations, and even their frozen cars. It was just straight up ridiculous. By 10 o'clock, the Governor officially called a "State of Emergency" and cancelled all non-essential work/travel for two days. If you guys watch The Walking Dead, this is really how Atlanta looked. No joke. We had no food, or barely any at all, so we ate a lot of potatoes and leftover roasted chicken. Not fun. We did, however, have a lot of red wine... and blood oranges. So, I decided that I would try my hand at making mulled red wine. This classic winter cocktail never really gets enjoyed here because well it's always so-dang-hot and DEFINITELY not snowing. It was the perfect occasion. The flavor was boosted with those gorgeous red citrus fruit, fresh ginger, mulling spices, apple, a-whole-lotta-booze, simple syrup, and a homemade spiced brown butter. The brown butter/compound butter is perfect for any fall drink, but especially anything mulled or it would be fab in a hot buttered rum too! This was the bomb to drink while the snow kept collecting on the ground... and it warmed my Mountain Man up real fast. So all of y'all that are still cold up in the Northern states can enjoy it as well!! Enjoy :)

juicing the blood oranges.

winter citrus art.

gorgeous blood orange slices in mulled wine

a generous slice of homemade spiced brown butter

ready to drink!

For the Spiced Brown Butter:

2 Sticks of Unsalted Butter, Browned & Softened

2C Homemade Dark Brown Sugar (or store-bought can be used)

1 ½t Cinnamon

1t Fleur de Sel

½t Freshly Grated Nutmeg, Bourbon Smoked Paprika, & Ground Ginger

¼t Cardamom, Cayenne, & Black Pepper

For the Mulled Red Wine:

2 Bottles of Red Wine

4 Blood Oranges, Zests Peeled & Sliced

1 Apple, Sliced

1 Inch Knob of Fresh Ginger (peeled)

2 Cinnamon Sticks

¼C Mulling Spices

2 Star Anise Pods

1C Homemade Mulled Simple Syrup

1 Vanilla Bean Pod, Split & Scraped for Seeds

½C Brandy, Bourbon, & Apple Jack

Nutmeg, For Grating

Homemade Spiced Brown Butter, For Serving

Directions:

1. For the Spiced Brown Butter: Cream together the butter, spices and sugar. At this point you can roll up the mixture with parchment into a log. Cover well and refrigerate or freeze for later use. In the fridge the mixture will keep for two weeks, in the freezer a couple of months.

2. For the Mulled Red Wine:Peel the zests off the blood oranges, and then cut up one of the oranges into slices and juice the remaining three. Throw them into the pot, along with the sliced apple, cinnamon sticks, mulling spices, star anise pods, mulled simple syrup, vanilla bean pod, and fresh ginger. Let this mixture simmer for 5 minutes. Add in the wine and bring back to a simmer, about another 5-10 minutes. Turn the heat off the burner and toss in the brandy, bourbon, and Apple Jack. Stir to combine.

3. For Serving:In a mug, add a tablespoon of the spiced brown butter. Top with a few ladles of blood orange mulled red wine. Grate some fresh nutmeg over the top and serve with a cinnamon stick for stirring. The ratio of the ingredients is really preference.

Mulled Moscow Mules

Mulled Moscow Mules

If I could pick a drink of the autumn-winter season, it would be this Mulled Moscow Mule. It's fabulous. And even though it is a cold drink... that is supposed to be enjoyed during the cold days of the year, it doesn't matter because when swallowed, you immediately feel like you are being hugged by a good looking man in a big 'ole sweater. Now who doesn't want that? Well, I guess some guys wouldn't. But that's a topic to be covered on another blog. Anyway the nitty-gritty deets of this cocktail are pretty simple-- homemade mulled simple syrup, vodka, fresh lime, strong ginger beer, and cinnamon sticks for serving. Ain't nothin' wrong with dat. I am in LOVE with this simple syrup. It is so versatile for the season/holidays. We put it in just about everything... mulled spiked apple ciders, mulled wine, etc. All absolutely delicious. You really can't go wrong. Some of the flavors that are prominently featured are cinnamon, orange, ginger, nutmeg, cardamom, mulling spices, star anise, and peppercorns. They all work cohesively together to create a perfect balance between these headstrong spices. The syrup is quite strong + extremely fragrant, but don't worry, the flavor mellows out miraculously with the addition of Vodka. PS-- I hate vodka. So, that says a lot about this recipe when I'm going back for seconds, thirds, and fourths. ALSO, make sure that you buy a high-quality ginger beer, no ginger ale please! It really brings the flavor to a'whole'nother level. We used Reed's Extra Ginger Beer, it was just what the doctor prescribed. Lastly, it is crucial that you serve your drink with a cinnamon stick, because, well, it adds flavor and festivity to it. So do that, fo'sho. Y'all, it's pretty important that you have a copper mug because when the drink is super cold, the mug begins to frost and makes the whole experience much more enjoyable-- take my word for it. Anyway, try these out before it starts to warm up because you'll be missing them throughout the whole summer season!! Enjoy :)

Tito's Vodka, Extra Ginger Brew, Mulled Simple Syrup, Copper Mug

Homemade Mulled Simple Syrup

Ready to enjoy!

excited about the drink

okay, maybe super excited.

For the Mulled Simple Syrup:

2C Sugar

2C Water

3 Knobs of Fresh, Peeled Ginger

½C Candied Ginger

2 Cinnamon Sticks

2 Oranges, Peeled for their Zest

¼C + 2T Mulling Spices

2 Star Anise Pods

10 Peppercorns

½t Cinnamon, Freshly Grated Nutmeg, & Cardamom

Pinch of Salt

For the Mulled Moscow Mules (for one drink):

Crushed Ice Cubes

1 Lime, Zested & Juiced

¼C Vodka

3 Shots of Mulled Simple Syrup

½C Chilled Ginger Beer

Cinnamon Stick, For Stirring

Candied Ginger, For Garnishing

Lime Wedge, For Garnishing  

Directions:

1. For the Mulled Simple Syrup: Add all ingredients to small saucepan and bring to gentle simmer. Stir until all the sugar has dissolved and let simmer for 10-15 minutes or until sufficiently steeped and it has reached a syrupy thickness. Turn off heat and let cool to room temp with spices. Decant into glass bottle (or plastic squeeze bottle as I do) straining out the spices with a cheesecloth or small strainer. It is ready to use or keep in fridge.

2. For the Mulled Moscow Mules: Zest and juice a lime into in the bottom of a cocktail shaker, add in some crushed ice. Next, pour in the mulled simple syrup and vodka (we used our large jigger at home to make our drinks, so we followed a ratio of 3 shots of mulled simple syrup to 2 shots of vodka with ginger beer up to the rim… not exactly specific ounces, so keep that in mind). Fill a tall cup or glass with a little bit of crushed ice. Pour the strained liquid over the ice and fill the glass up to the rim with strong ginger beer for finishing. Stir until a frost forms on the outside of the cup. 

3. Garnish with a cinnamon stick for stirring and candied ginger and/or a lime wedge for presentation and more flavor!

Five Spice Moscow Mules that we enjoyed in Savannah-- our inspiration for this recipe!

Mama Jones' Famous Cranberry Relish Mold

Mama Jones' Famous Cranberry Relish Mold

I've been itchin' in anticipation because turkey day is getting so close. I posted my favorite recipes to put on the table a couple days ago, and y'all should totally make some of those... err or all of them. Either one works for me really. Well today, Peej & I got crackin' on potentially our family's favorite dish... Mama Jones' Cranberry Relish Mold. Now normally any time I hear the word, "mold", I do NOT want it. But, this my friends, is very different. It's so popular that we often have to make two of them because one almost always gets eaten before the important day. This relish might not look like anything special, but it truly is an important part of our family tradition. Fresh cranberries, oranges, apples, and toasted pecans are finely chopped up, and then stirred together with some flavored jello to hold the mold in place. I'm not quite sure where the original recipe came from, and neither do my parents, but I know it tracks back to my grandmother, MiMi, and my great grandmother, Mama Jones. These were the first women in my family to truly love cooking and make it a part of their daily life, so we always have to make this dish in honor of them. And if we don't, then I'm pretty sure my dad would slap us blind. Sometimes we add some fresh jalapeno in when we're feelin' extra spicy, but that decision is purely up to y'all!! Enjoy :)

fresh cranberries, orange peel, + cara cara oranges

Adding in the toasted pecans...

For the Cranberry Relish Mold:

1lb Fresh Cranberries

3 Large Oranges, Zested (using a peeler) & Cut into Quarters

2 Granny Smith Apples

2C Sugar

1C Toasted Pecans, Finely Chopped

2 Packs of Flavored Jello (we like raspberry, black cherry, or cranberry flavored)

1 Packet of Unflavored Gelatin

2C Strained Juice + Water

1 Medium Jalapeno, Finely Minced (optional, if you want it spicy)

Directions:

1. Toast the pecans in a pan, and then finely chop them by hand. Set them aside.

2. In the bowl of a food processor, grind the cranberries, apples, orange zest peels, and quartered oranges (remove the bitter white pith with a sharp knife) until it is coarse and finely chopped (if you want to add in the fresh jalapeno, mince it up with the other fruit). Pour the mixture into a large mixing bowl and stir in the sugar. Let it sit for 20-30 minutes to extract as much juice as possible.

3. Strain the juice from the chopped fruit into a large measuring cup, and then fill it up with water in order to reach a total of 2C of liquid (orange juice or cranberry juice can be substituted for water instead).

4. Bring the 2C liquid to a boil and add in 3 packs of gelatin, stirring to dissolve. Let it cool slightly to set and thicken before adding it to the fruit. Pour the gelatin liquid over the chopped fruit and stir to coat and combine. Pour into a mold of your choosing.

5. Refrigerate overnight or until it has completely set and chilled.

Here are some pictures of our early Thanksgiving prep...

Southern Braised Collard Greens + Roasted Garlic-Boursin Mashed Potatoes

these... are my jam.

whippin' them up!!

Roasted Garlic-Boursin Mashed Potatoes that will turn into mashed potato casserole, yum :)

Chunky Biscoff Cookie Crust for Cheesecake

The always popular, Pumpkin-Pecan Pie Cheesecake

Homemade Mulled Five Spice Simple Syrup for Autumn Moscow Mules

Pickled Cranberries with Champagne + Vanilla Bean

Pickled Cranberries with Champagne + Vanilla Bean

We're still continuing on with recipes inspired by Thanksgiving :) Only 5ish days away until we reach a turkey coma, yippee!! I have been enamored the past year with pickling, jamming, and preserving. It's been almost a weekly ritual. Well, this is one of the first recipes I saw and I was immediately excited. Who makes pickles with fruit?? Who makes pickled cranberries?? One fabulous food blogger did and the results were fabulous, I stored it away, knowing I would eventually make these before the big day (and no the big day isn't a wedding day). I used her recipe as a base, but decided to change it up a bit by making it with champagne vinegar, vanilla bean, and fresh citrus. All of those are lovable, so my pickled cranberries nailed it! I love this variation, it seems so festive doesn't it? There's something about citrus and champagne that remind me of the holidays. Speaking of champagne, this is also amazing mixed into cocktails for an-even-better mimosa. Don't question it, just try it. I love it's vinegary power, but it's totally rounded out with unfounded sweetness from the vanilla bean and mulling spices. Not only is this great for the "cranberry sauce" element at the table, but is worth every calorie on a Thanksgiving leftover sandwich or on top of some cheese. It is just unbelievably versatile and we're totally digging it!! Are ya'll... I hope so!! Enjoy :)

holiday edition boursin cheese + pickled cranberries... delish crostini :)

For the Pickled Cranberries:

24oz Fresh Cranberries

3C Champagne Vinegar

3C Sugar

2 Cinnamon Sticks

1 Vanilla Bean, Split & Scraped for Seeds

1 Orange, Zested

1t Allspice Berries

½t Whole Cloves + Pink Peppercorns

¼t Juniper Berries

Directions:

1. Prepare a boiling water bath and mason jars. Place lids in a small saucepan of water and bring to a gentle simmer. Wash the fresh cranberries and pick over for any stems or bad berries.

2. For the Pickled Cranberries: Combine the champagne vinegar and sugar in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the cinnamon sticks, vanilla bean, and orange zest to the brine. Put all of the spices into a spice bag or tie them in cheesecloth. Add them to the brine. Once the brine is boiling vigorously, add the cranberries. Stir to combine and cook for 5-7 minutes, until the cranberries begin to pop and bring has returned to a rolling boil. After the cooking time has elapsed, remove the pot from the heat. Pull out the spice bag, cinnamon sticks, and vanilla bean. Break the cinnamon sticks in halves or thirds and set aside.

3. Finishing the Pickled Cranberries:Using a slotted spoon, ladle cranberries into prepared jars. Cover berries with brine, leaving about a ½-inch headspace. Place a cinnamon stick segment into each jar. Wipe the jar rims, apply the lids and rings, and process in a boiling water bath canner for 10 minutes. When time is up, remove jars from canner and place them on a folded kitchen towel to cool. When jars are cool enough to handle, remove rings and check seals. Any unsealed jars should be kept in the refrigerator. Let jars sit for at least 24 hours before eating to all the flavors to settle.

source: pickled cranberries.