Wofford Travels – 2019-10-31 – Huntsville, AL-2
Greetings,
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
We got to visit M & K at their beautiful, brand new home. It’s a treat to have visited their residences over the years because they have an eye for décor, particularly, “Madame K.” You walk away with excellent ideas for your own abode. However, WE have a long way to go!
I started the day with a cafe latte prepared by M, in a “vintage” London mug. Of course, I consumed my coffee very carefully. Tom came in 30-40 minutes later. It was good to sleep in a bit.
We bypassed breakfast because we were going for lunch around 1:30 at Below the Radar Brewhouse, billed as American grub and 32 rotating taps of craft beer in a laid-back setting with live music on weekends. Tom ordered the Fish and Chip sand I had the Bangers and Mash (although this sounds British, doesn’t it? (and, as we often do, we took a sample of each other’s meal). M had a Reuben; K just went with the appetizers of Onion Rings with Brewhouse beer batter, Mac and Cheese Bites with Panko breading and served with spicy ketchup dipping sauce, and Humble Heart Bites made with Humble Heart Cajun goat cheese, white cheddar, and jalapeno, and served with spicy horseradish and aioli dipping sauce. We also, and very importantly, got two beer flights (8 samples), which gave us a good sense of their brews. This was quite a successful meal experience considering that M and K had not been to the brewery before!
Finishing up by 3:00, we headed for Costco, where M was purchasing items for the evening’s meal. On the way home, we passed by one of their daughter’s homes, (M & K have three daughters, two of whom are fraternal twins), but didn’t have time to go inside, especially with cold perishables in the car. Their daughter’ husband is a cardio-thoracic surgeon and they have three children, which is what got them to move from North Carolina to Alabama.
Back at the house around 4:30, and interspersed with conversation and Trick or Treaters coming to the door, M began assembling the appetizers. In another hour or 2, we were imbibing his culinary fare. He started with a Tomato Bisque (one of my favorites of all soups), made with a plethora of ingredients all mixed in the food processor. It wasn’t overwhelmed with cream, so it was pretty healthy to boot. Then came Smoked Salmon on Dill Crostini. He continued on with an Alton Brown recipe of Blue Cheese Bacon Devils on Horseback. These are dates stuffed with cheese and wrapped with bacon. I mean, really, can anything taste bad wrapped in bacon?! Finally, came Sweet Sesame Hoisin Meatballs by Katie Lee, as authentic as you would find in any upscale Asian restaurant.
We ended with the main course of Salmon, which he baked so that it came out moist and tender. He sprinkled two different kinds of seasonings on it: one half had the Paul Prudhomme seasoning, the other half had paprika and pepper (which is how K likes it), This provided a little more diversity for diverse palates. Adding to it was a salad and that wonderful Mayonnaise Harvey. Well, doesn’t this sound like we just attended a banquet.?! We are now “officially” spoiled! What are we to do with hotel fare and our remaining restaurant meals? Oh, well!
Tomorrow, the last of our friends’ visits…Nashville.
Tita