Happy Birthday Kara!!
My fabulous sister-in-law wanted to go to this fantastic spot in Memphis to celebrate both her, cousin Jimmy Huff's and Jerry Harvey's birthday. It was splendid even though Jimmy and Beth went on to a Hog game in Fayetteville instead. We had a great time carpooling over there and the food was fantastic! Because we had such a large party, we had a pre-fix menu which was excellent.
We had a choice of 2-4 main courses on the menu, Kara went with two and they were two fabulous pizzas. The 'Shrooms was mushrooms, smoked mozzarella, arugula and garlic (which was fantastic) and the Thunderbird which featured pepperoni, fontina and spicy sauce. The crust was thin and crispy, they were cooked in a wood burning oven, delicious I tell you! But to start the pre-fix, we had a romaine salad with pecorino vinegarette, chicken skins and panna gratta. We all agreed it was light and refreshing. (Funny to call a salad refreshing but I think it was the light dressing for sure). For the contorni course, we had two to choose from, my favorite was the Crispy Pork, which was the suckling pig (I know...we felt sorry for the fella) beautifully smoked and tender with okra, corn, field peas and purslane. This was the first time I had ever had purslane, it's basically a weed very common in the US. From the web, for a better description than I can write except that it was delicious, from www.motherearthnews.com : Until recently, most research on purslane has focused on its eradication. A frequently overlooked approach to controlling this weed is to eat it! Purslane is so surprisingly tasty, North Carolina market gardener Patryk Battle says, “I have rarely had anybody not buy purslane after they’ve tried it.”
Purslane is somewhat crunchy and has a slight lemony taste. Some people liken it to watercress or spinach, and it can substitute for spinach in many recipes. Young, raw leaves and stems are tender and are good in salads and sandwiches. They can also be lightly steamed or stir-fried. Purslane’s high level of pectin (known to lower cholesterol) thickens soups and stews.
Battle also uses purslane in pesto. He throws basil and purslane (upper stems and all) into a blender or food processor, adds a small amount of olive oil, garlic, pine nuts and enough hot water to get a good consistency. Because it’s so juicy, purslane helps create a low-fat pesto without too much oil.
Our other choice for contorni was Hoe Cakes with shrimp, chow chow and creme fraiche, delicious too.
Now to dessert...they did bring out two slices of these desserts with candles on them and we sang to Kara and Jer. It was fun to celebrate two people's birthdays. Dessert choices were peanut butter pie and Carol's Delightful Smile, which looked like coconut cream pie. I, of course, didn't try either one diabetic and all but everyone said they were awesome. Ahh Hog and Hominy, I'm so glad we got to eat there. Our waiter was extremely fabulous, my receipt said Theron. He was great and efficient.
Be sure to make reservations even for just 2. You'll love this place. I really like their motto, "Italian Cooking, Southern Roots". It fits! And by the way, we missed regulars like Becca and Ashley, we'll have to get them from going to Disney every September...yeah right!
Hog & Hominy, 707 W. Brookhaven Circle, Memphis 901-207-7396
http://www.hogandhominy.com/
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| Chloe made the cutest video of all the cousins....This is Whit, CoCo, Stella, Clarah Creighton, August and Tom B. |
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| Our delicious menu |
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| DANG Blogger, it won't turn Alexis' Iphone photo upright....they need to fix this! |
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| And our group photo won't change either...this is me, Alexis, Kara, Cecelia, Kyle, Lisa, Chuck, Martin, Jackie, Stan, Jerry, Mel and Beth. Great crowd for two great birthdays! |
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| Jerry and Kara sharing their birthday desserts! That's Martin, Jackie, Stan and Jerry looking on.... |
