Wine and Food Festival in Savannah Georgia

From time to time I like to write about a culinary advent that I have attended. The Savannah Food and Wine Festival was held from November 9 through November 15, 2015.I enjoyed it tremendously. We attended the Reserve Wine tasting on November 12th where wines from all over America and some Italian wines were featured. We met the nicest ladies on a girls getaway and they allowed us to join them at their table. A shout out to April, Donna, Dolores, and Michele. In no time we learned each others stories over wine and food. My favorite dish will surprise you. It was pizza. Not just any pizza, but The Big Green Egg pizza made with artichoke and feta cheese. The Big Green Egg is a covered grill equipped with a  ceramic interior. Everyone went back for seconds and thirds. On the 13th I attended a cooking class given at the 700 Kitchen Cooking School given by Nathalie Dupree. She was on the original Food Network Show and at 75 years, she is a stitch. See her picture below.

She made Southern Ratatouille, Asparagus salad and Okra griddle cakes. When she told us that we need to measure the onion we use in the ratatouille, she said "onions are like men, they are never the right size " LOL.

Friday nights event was a big disappointment. It was billed as an artisanal but there were no tables. Consequently, we spent the night balancing food and drink, and were unable to engage in conversation with the chefs displaying their wares. This was at the Landings Club about a 40 minute drive from Savannah. A long drive from downtown Savannah and it was not worth the trip. This was the third annual Festival for Savannah. I suggest they drop this event from their repitoire. I think it was a poor venue for a great chef like Tory McPhail  of Commander's Palace.

Saturday's Taste of Savannah at the Georgia State Railroad Museum may have made up for the prior nights artisanal dinner. It was a blast. Our good friends with their Big Green Egg was back and still popular.We also tasted some great Champagnes and ate some great food. I really loved the Grown in Georgia section of the event. There were hot jellies and jams, seasoned pecans, and artisanal salts and a great number of other food crafts available. Unfortunately, when we came home,TSA would not let us on the plane with the habanero jelly. We had to check the bag. Oh well, all in all, I would go back again. Savannah is a delightful city to visit.

Going in a New Direction

To all  my loyal followers,

     You have noticed that I  have not been posting new recipes on my blog. I have been traveling around with my cookbook talking to working moms. I have found that cookbook or not, they are not willing to add making a home cooked dinner to their hectic schedules. I have also found that stay at home moms do cook for their families but they don't go to a cookbook. They go to Pinterest or some other on line site to get the recipe of the day. While I was doing this, I also started teaching underserved /at risk middle school students cooking once a week under a program called Excel Beyond the Bell. I really love doing it and will be doing it again this year. I have also learned that there is a profession called youth development practitioner. These professionals work with kids between 10 and 20 years old. I have gone back to college to get my certificate in this profession. Hopefully, that will be in spring 2016. From this experience, I hope to write another cookbook directed at teaching kids to cook. Perhaps starting at this age and grabbing their attention, they will grow up to be working parents who cook for their families. In the meantime, I have started posting recipes on Pinterest .Look for recipes there if you would like. Thank you all for your support.

Gabbie