G2 Gastro Pub: Durham

We had tried to eat here once before and they were on a wait and we had plans that left us unable to bide our time. Last week when we stayed in Durham to see Aziz, we had a little bit of time to spare and we headed straight back here. 

And it was an extremely wise descison. When we got there, they were only slightly busy and we found our waiter to be very knowlegable about everything on the menu and everyone to be extremely attentive. Any moment that our server was tending to another table, other service members were right there to make sure we didn't need anything. Luckily for us we were there on a Tuesday night and they had quite a few drink specials, I chose to take advantage of the $7 martinis and went with the french. Good choice. 

The atmospehre is very modern and funky, yet it still somehow comes off as inciting. They use tablets as your drink menu and the lights behind the bar are constantly changing, but not in an obnoxious way. The menu over the open style kitchen is akin to a movie theater style and lists all the options on a rotating basis. 

For a starter, my husband went with the scotch egg. Their version involves a soft boiled egg, house made garlic and sage sausage made with red pepper and onion, rolled in panko crumbs and deep fried. He had high praise for it and I skipped that and went with their apple and celery root soup, topped with crunchy pancetta. I wanted to love it, and while I liked it a lot, I found it a little too sweet. It was very fall like and I appreciate that, just could have used a little more pepper for my taste. 

For our entrees, we both ordered the G2B burger.  He went with all the works and I kept mine simple with just bacon and cheese. I normally prefer a sauce for my burger, but didn't want to ask for one and the burger was perfectly cooked and juicy enough that I didn't even notice the lack of an added flavor of sauce. It normally comes with an aoli but I am never a fan of those. The real winner of my whole meal was the sweet potato wedges. No questions asked. These are hands down the best version of any sweet potato I have ever thought about having. They were perfectly crunchy on the outside and an almost creamy texture upon your first bite. Plus, they were salted rather than being served with cinnamon. I enjoyed everything I ate, but I would return here for those alone. 

We were too full to even contemplate dessert (this is the problem when you have bread and soup, I never seem to learn this lesson) but the couple next to us ordered a few that looked absolutely decadent and I would love to try them on our next visit. Mainly their sticky toffee pudding. Drooling just picturing it.

If you are in Durham and want to head away from downtown, head here. Some items are a little pricey, but the quality of food and competence of the wait staff more than makes up for it.

Weathervane @ A Southern Season

Earlier this week on my other blog, I mentioned that we had stopped by a Southern Season in Chapel Hill this weekend. While there, we grabbed a quick afternoon bite at their restaurant, Weathervane. Having had terrible weather here lately, we decided to take advantage of the beautiful day we were graced with and eat on their patio. 

As many times that we have been to a SS, we had never eaten at the restaurant before. I like the set up of their patio. It is huge! I am pretty sure they must host events there as the back had an open setting and a bar area. The patio was split into tables under a pergola on one side and the other side was "cubbies" built into the wall with benches under an umbrella. We chose to sit in one of these and soak up the sunshine. 

The menu looked great and we started off our meal with beverages and I went with sparkling wine and he grabbed a beer. They have lots of local beers on tap! Our first menu item we tried was the deviled eggs. You should know they topped the eggs with bacon. Also known as my lifeline. 

Then we ordered and I got the soup and he grabbed a salad. His salad was huge and so colorful. I don't even eat salad and it made me hungry! My soup was really good. The only gripe I had was that the soup of the day was coined "creamy tomato" and when I got it, the server who put it in front of me called it "tomato basil" soup and if you know me...you know my feelings towards basil. and the fact that I actually finished this soup and enjoyed it (in spite of that pesky herb) tells you how good it was. It was packed full of flavor. 

Then for dessert we went with the butterscotch pot de creme. Oh my word, people. So amazing! And at first glance, we thought it was topped with homemade ice cream. But no, it was actually homemade whip cream complete with vanilla bean! Yum. Pretty much perfect, the only thing that I could possibly say is that certain bites tasted a tiny bit salty. Which I know salt is often used to cut the sweetness, but a few bites were off. However, I would get this dessert again, no questions asked! 

Afterwards we headed into the store to check out what new items they may have on hand. I could spend hours upon hours in this place. There is something for everyone. Coffee, wine, chocolate, cook books, a plethora of cooking supplies and bar items and they now have an ice cream parlor. As if I needed another reason to visit! 

We frequently buy from their catalog. Whether it be Christmas presents, graduation gifts or baskets for new parents, you can find it at Southern Season! Here is the link to their online store and if you are in the triangle, head over to Chapel Hill and check them out. They have also recently opened a Charleston location and are soon coming to one of my other favorite cities, Richmond!

Banana Caramel Pudding

Now, I may be messing with a Southern staple and it may not go over very well in certain circles. However, my circle is one that really hates bananas and the caramel flavor was actually enough that I became quite fond of this simple dessert. And really, you could mix it up to suit your tastes. 

Ingredients
2 boxes banana pudding
2 cups Vanilla coffee creamer
1 cup milk
1 tub cool whip
1/4 cup caramel ice cream sauce
vanilla wafers (enoguh to fill your dish)
bananas(optional)

make the pudding with the creamer and let set up for about 15 minutes. Then fold in the cool whip. (You can add in a little of the caramel sauce right now, if you so wish) using a spoon, fill the bottom of your dish with a layer of the pudding mixture. Pour 1/2 the caramel sauce over the pudding mixture. (if you chose to use real bananas, you would slice them and add them on top of caramel sauce) then add a layer of  the vanilla wafers and then proceed to layer.

I decided to serve this "icebox style" and so I froze it for a few hours and it melted in your mouth as you devoured it. And I think I actually liked this because I chose to forgo the actual banana step. What can I say, not a banana lover.

Bourbon Snow Cream

So, I had seen snow cream floating all around social media these past few months and especially these past few days and the only god thing about getting this snow, was the chance to finally make one. Living here for almost 9 years and other than one time, this was our first "real snow" Meaning there was almost 5 inches of accumulation and it was fluffy at first before the ice came to visit.

Once I saw the recipes, i knew I had to try and of course, bourbon had to join in on the fun. Almost all of the recipes I saw called for milk and I wanted to add in even more flavor, so I used a sugar free coffee creamer we had on hand in lieu of milk. So my recipe will be just a bit off of the norm. Feel free to use milk if you don't want to use creamer. And then, the second time we made it, we used the remainder of our bourbon eggnog, who says it is just for the holidays? 

Both recipes below!

ingredients
4 cups snow
1 cup bourbon eggnog

for bourbon caramel 
4 cups snow
3/4 cup caramel coffee creamer
1/4 cup bourbon

Mix together until you have the consistency you desire. I made mine a little more liquidy so I could enjoy in a glass with a straw. 

Red Velvet & Bourbon Cheesecake Trifle

Oh, this was superb. It was the perfect mix of some of my favorite flavors and is perfect for a Valentine's treat, even if it is just you and your girlfriends. I love the richness of the colors. The red set off by the layers of cream. So very tasty.

This is very simple to put together and you do not have to use bourbon, but I happen to love the sweetness it adds to the cream and how it plays off of the red velvet cake. 

Ingredients
red velvet cake
(and any ingredients that box mix calls for)
cheesecake pudding pack
8 oz cream cheese(softened)
2 cups whipping cream
1 oz whipping cream
1 and 1/2 oz bourbon

Make the cake according to the directions on your box(or, I sometimes make one from scratch using red food coloring) Let cake cool and cut into cubes. In a mixing bowl, whip the cream cheese until fluffy. Add in the pudding pack and 1 oz whipping cream and the bourbon. Whisk until granules are incorporated and then slowly add in remaining whipping cream, beating on low, until you have a thick, whipped consistency.

In a trifle bowl, place the first layer of red velvet cake, top this with a few scoops of the cheesecake mixture and using a spatula, even it out. Repeat. Keep refrigerated until about 15 minutes before you are ready to enjoy. 

If you have any left over, I cannot even tell you how amazing this is the next day. Oh, my word. It may not have the appealing look it did while in the trifle bowl...but oh, my goodness, never has a Tupperware snack tasted so decadent the next day!

and I happened to use a little bit of the bourbon while actually making my cake, in the batter. I think I maybe used a tbsp. But for recipe sake, I am not sure

Linking up with Foodie Friday, The Pin Junkie

Barbalo Chicken Sliders

This was an idea that came to me from one of our local wing places. I am not sure about you, but I could have wings for dinner multiple times per week. And for personal preference, please don't bread them. I am just not a fan of breaded ones, naked all day long. 

Anyways, one of their flavors is "barbalo" and it is basically exactly what it sounds like. A mixture of bbq and buffalo sauce (unless you're from Buffalo in which case, it's 'wing sauce') and it quickly became one of my favorite wing combos. 

Making menus for the week and I wanted to do an easy crockpot meal for one night and while I was going throuhg my sauces, I spied these two...sitting next to one another on my shelf, beckoning me to use them together and so I obliged. 

You can use this for so many dishes, tacos, over a salad or as I did, on a sandwhich. I used sweet rolls I found in the bread aisle and since they are smaller, they were perfect for sliders. 

I made this for myself when Tony was out of town, so feel free to double or triple this recipe if need be.

5 chicken tenderloins

1 cup bbq sauce

1/2 cup buffalo sauce

1/4 cup chicken stock

Combine the bbq and buffalo sauce. Place chicken in crockpot and pour sauce mixture over the chicken and then add in the stock. I cooked this on low for about 4 hours and that was all it took for mine. If you will be gone longer than that time, you should add more stock to ensure that it will not dry out as it cooks. 

You could serve this with a slaw or even the southern way of pickles. 

Gingerbread Eggnog IceBox Cake

Some people may think this is just a dessert for the holidays, but nope...Eggnog, especially eggnog with bourbon, is a winter drink. This means you have another 2 months to enjoy this treat. You should still be able to find some at your local liquor store(or if you are looking for non alcoholic, they normally carry till mid Jan at grocery stores) and the ginger cookies are out year round. 

This is very light and it is quite simple to make. There are few things I love more than a yummy icebox cake and the many variations you could make...just use your imagination. but only after you try this one;)

Ingredients

2 packs instant pudding(vanilla or cheesecake)

2 cups eggnog(cold)

1 cup milk

1 tub cool whip(or make 2 cups whipped cream)

1 package ginger thins

make pudding packs with milk and eggnog, place in fridge to set up. After about 15 minutes fold in whipped topping. In a loaf pan, ladle the eggnog mixture into the bottom of pan in a thin layer, place a layer of cookies on top and continue layering to top. Cover and place in freezer for at least 2 hours.

linking up with Jessica & Ashley