Okay, time to get back to it. You may have noticed, I took a little hiatus from my cookbook adventures last weekend. My sisters and I took my mom to Savannah for a girls trip. We had an absolute blast! So much fun. Without a doubt, the amount of fun we had was directly connected with how much preparation we did. And by we, I don’t actually mean myself. My sisters were 100% prepared for this trip, from the activities, to history, to fun facts. (Seriously, if anyone needs a tour guide of Savannah, I have a middle sister you can borrow. She will not disappoint). We went to a dueling piano bar, went to an awesome chocolate shop, went to Wormsloe, and of course had some AWESOME food.
Seriously, the food. So good. This trip will probably be inspiring me for quite a while. In fact, I know that I will have to recreate what I had for breakfast on Sunday morning at some point (fried green tomato benedict). But for this weekend, I wanted to focus on something different: Paula Deen. Tess, Abby, and I took mom to The Lady and Sons for dinner on Friday night. Of course, we couldn’t go to the restaurant without stopping in the store next door. Now, trivia question: What does a girl who has challenged herself to cook her way through all of her cookbooks not need?
Answer: To spend time in a store that mainly sells cookbooks
Spoiler alert: I bought a new cookbook. Two actually, even though I really only wanted one of them but I had to buy them in a set.
Oh well! So I thought I would use this weekend to go through one of the books that I bought in order to further justify this to myself. Curiously enough, I am traveling this weekend as well. My husband and I, along with our friends Justin and Lindsey are traveling up to North Georgia tomorrow to see a cabin that Will designed. (Additional spoiler alert, Sunday’s blog post will likely be filled with proud wife moments and cabin pictures).
I wanted to get a jump start on the recipes and thought I would make us a snack for the car ride. I am cooking from Paula Deen’s first cookbook “The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cookbook.” Pro tip – if you are a fan of Paula’s, and have the opportunity to go to Savannah, all the books in her store are signed by her. Anyway, for the car ride tomorrow and as a snack for this weekend, I am making Georgia Sugared Peanuts. I chose this recipe for many reasons, the least of which not being that both my husband and myself LOVE peanuts.
The Book:
Georgia Sugared Peanuts
The recipe seems simple enough.
2 cups of raw peanuts
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
Pinch of salt
I also added a pinch of cinnamon to mine to give it more flavor. Put the sugar and water into a medium pot. Cook until the sugar has dissolved and add the peanuts. Continue to cook until peanuts are coated and there is little liquid left. Spread onto an ungreased baking sheet and put into a 300 degree oven for 30 minutes. Turn the peanuts every 5 – 10 minutes.
Anyway, I will update you all on Sunday with dinner and with how the peanuts went over. I will be cooking from the Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cookbook all weekend. Happy Weekend everybody!
Update: These peanuts are delicious! Just like what you would get as a child from a fair or carnival. Only downside - you cannot eat just one. They are seriously addicting.