Frog Hollow Tavern

Last night, my maternal grandmother (Reece) and her husband (Don) came to visit us in Augusta! It was really nice to spend time with them, and we shared a lovely meal at a restaurant downtown... in fact, the parent restaurant of Farmhaus Burger. So, of course it was good!

Frog Hollow Tavern was fabulous in nearly every way. My only complaint would be the noise level. This restaurant was jamming! Every single table was filled the entire time we were there. Awesome for them, but occasionally frustrating when trying to chat with those whose hearing isn't quite as sharp as it once was ;)

Our meal was delish.  So delish in fact, that all I managed to get a photo of was this bottle of pinot grigio... which was one of the best I have ever had!

I had seared grouper with a fantastic okra, black eyed pea, tomato and corn succotash, while my husband had the most decadent looking shrimp and grits. We also shared a bowl of mussels, which were spectacular.

The concept of the restaurant is very farm-to-table. The freshness of the ingredients was evident in everything we tasted (including the homemade bread... wow!). We will definitely be returning!

PS- I realize that this blog is becoming somewhat of a running restaurant review... my apologies! Between my husband's schedule and my classes, activities more exciting than a nice meal are a rarity these days. Never fear, as soon as more blog-worthy events take place, y'all will be the first to know!

Scallops and Spinach

I mentioned in this post that cooking is one of my favorite ways to give to others.  For me it is one of the most relaxing and fun activities out there. Lately, I've been cooking at least twice a day in order to take advantage of having a kitchen again! I'll try to remember to post my recipe for sour cream pancakes tomorrow...

But right now, I'm going to tell you about the AMAZING scallops and spinach I made the other night. This recipe is inspired by a dish that my in-laws have made for us a couple times.  It is perfection.

Ingredients:

3 pieces of bacon

1 lb of large diver scallops... the bigger and more uniform, the better

3 cloves of garlic

1 Tbs. grapeseed oil

1 bag of organic spinach
1/2 of a yellow onion, chopped finely (optional)

First, take three pieces of bacon and render them in a pan over low heat. After all the fat is rendered, remove the bacon, chop it into bits and set aside. Discard all of the bacon fat except for one tablespoon.

Take three garlic cloves and mince them or put them through a garlic crusher... unless you are a Trader Joe's junkie like me and you have these little frozen cubes! How awesome are they?! Either way, over low heat, saute the minced garlic with the reserved 1 Tbs of bacon fat ('the secret' as my great-grandmother, ReRe, would've said) and 1 Tbs of grapeseed oil. After a couple minutes, but before the garlic browns, turn off the heat. If you use the onion, saute it with the garlic, but instead of turning the heat off, just turn it down to low while you cook the scallops.  The onions with get a little caramel-y and delish :)

Now it's time to get your gorgeous scallops ready! Place them on a couple of paper towels. Gently press on the top of each one (kind of like a gentle mini-massage) to dry off the tops, too.

Side note: this is probably enough scallops for 4 modest eaters, but my husband and I ate all of them! They are that good!

In another skillet, heat a tablespoon of the garlic/oil mixture over medium-high heat. When the pan comes to temperature (aka, screaming hot, but not yet smoking), sear the scallops in two batches so that they have plenty of room to breathe, and you don't crowd the pan. 3 minutes on each side should cook them through.  You want them to get really golden brown on each side before turning.

As the second batch of scallops is cooking, heat the other saute pan with the remaining garlic/oil mixture in it. Throw an entire bag of spinach in the pan and toss the leaves like you're trying to coat them with salad dressing. Turn off the heat and keep tossing until the leaves are barely wilted.

This is supper! I served some garlic roasted red potatoes with this dish, but you could do rice or nothing at all... it really doesn't need anything (except maybe a nice glass of sauvignon blanc)!

For me, the best bite is a piece of scallop with some spinach and a teensy piece of bacon. 

This should be illegal... Enjoy!