I don't usually blog about food, BUT when food takes me back down memory lane I must admit I need to go there.
Somehow it seems family & food always end up getting tied together. I think if you talk to most people their memories usually have food figured in, whether its holidays or other celebrations, food seems to always play a part. Certain foods just seem to always evoke memories.
Tonight on the way home Mark stopped at this little bistro. We've driven by many times, always saying, "we need to make a stop there sometime", but somehow we never got around to it, at least not until today.
Today we stopped at "Beans & Cornbread - A Soulful Bistro". All I can say is OMG! Now I am thinking of all the great meals we've missed. This fabulous place is located at 29508 Northwestern Highway, in Southfield. This place brought back memories of my "grannie's" Georgia cooking. Memories came flooding back as I tasted the hoppin john, cornbread and ribs. Mark & each ordered the early bird special - I had salmon croquettes with a side salad & macaroni & cheese. I was thrilled to see the tomatoes done the way I remember so many members of my family doing them! Mark had ribtips bathed in an awesome BBQ sauce that tasted like it was right off the grill at a roadside stand in south Georgia! He had the hoppin john and sweet potatoes. My croquettes were awesome as well If you order the early bird special you get dessert as well. They were out of Sweet potato pie (what does that tell you?) so we had peach cobbler. I think that was the best peach cobbler I've had in many years!
Part of the fun of enjoying dinner together was the ability to try what the other had. Boy was I glad. Nothing in this place was bad... I think one of the best things was the sweet potato muffins. OMG! They are so awesome. The chef won't share the recipe, so I guess I'll have to just keep going back!
Despite giving up caffeine I had to try the sweet tea. Its not often you find a place here in the metro Detroit area that asks, "Would you like your tea sweet or unsweet?" Of course I had to have the sweet, somehow things like hoppin john, sweet potatoes, bbq ribs just need a sweet tea to top it off.
At some point I had to ask our server, Darien, if she had my granny in the backroom somewhere. She laughed and said no.
Visiting Beans & Cornbread brought back memories of granny - memories of a more gentle time, time with cousins, aunts & uncles, all gathered around granny's table, surrounded by all her "pretties" & photo's of all her family, times of laughter and fun, crawdads down at the crick, eating tomatoes with a salt shaker out by the ditch...
I can't say that going to Beans & Cornbread will do all those things for you, but I must say it will fill you up and make you glad you stopped in for a visit!
What about you? Have you found a place like Beans & Cornbread that brings back childhood memories for you?
Happy Researching!
Karen
** Ironically after arriving home we talked with a tax client dropping off a return. She said she had to hurry, she had called in a take order to BEANS & CORNBREAD! Amazing!
Showing posts with label Food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Food. Show all posts
07 April 2011
02 December 2009
Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories
Todays Advent Carlendar of Christmas memories is December 2 - Holiday Foods -- Did your family or ancestors serve traditional dishes for the holidays? Was there one dish that was unusual?
Coming from two totally different types of families our holidays were a bit mixed. When our family (Dad, mom & three kids) got together with my dad's family from south Georgia the foods were much different than those of my mom's family who were from SW Ohio.
The Georgia table was set with collard greens, a big ham, some black eyed peas, green beans with bacon & onion, a salad, a plate of sliced tomatoes and some cornbread. For dessert the chosen food was a monster bowl of granny's from scratch banana puddin'. (no that's not a typo that's how you say it!) All washed down with some of the sweetest sweet tea a body could ever want. To this day my kids want their tea "like Granny made it." I don't think anyone can make tea like granny did. All served with that southern attitude of "come on over, pull up a chair and help yourself!".
The Ohio table (shown above Christmas 1961) was set with a big ham, mashed potatoes with gravy, baked beans, corn, bread dressing with & without oysters - grandma always made two pans of her bread dressing, usually a big bowl of buttered noodles, a plate of sliced bread and finished off with sweet tea. Not as sweet as Granny's from Georgia though. Grandma always had several desserts, she loved to make dessert - usually her Milnot Cheesecake (yes, there are two links there!) and her coffee cake were on the table along with her pecan pie and some sort of cake. The cake always varied, but the pecan pie and the cheese cake did not.
Of course I had favorites on both sides, I was fortunate, both of my grandmothers were excellent cooks - and I have many of their recipes that I still use today to feed my children & my grandchildren. I keep some of the best recipes in my genealogy software under the notes on both of these fabulous cooks.
My favorite foods from the holidays would be granny's Georgia ham and her white cornbread made with white cornmeal. My favorite from Grandma's Ohio table would have to be the bread dressing without oysters and that Milnot cheesecake.
What foods did your family serve on the holidays? Do you think that those foods reflect their heritage? What about you? Do you serve traditional foods or do you find yourself looking for new favorite for your family?
Happy researching!
Karen
Coming from two totally different types of families our holidays were a bit mixed. When our family (Dad, mom & three kids) got together with my dad's family from south Georgia the foods were much different than those of my mom's family who were from SW Ohio.
The Georgia table was set with collard greens, a big ham, some black eyed peas, green beans with bacon & onion, a salad, a plate of sliced tomatoes and some cornbread. For dessert the chosen food was a monster bowl of granny's from scratch banana puddin'. (no that's not a typo that's how you say it!) All washed down with some of the sweetest sweet tea a body could ever want. To this day my kids want their tea "like Granny made it." I don't think anyone can make tea like granny did. All served with that southern attitude of "come on over, pull up a chair and help yourself!".
The Ohio table (shown above Christmas 1961) was set with a big ham, mashed potatoes with gravy, baked beans, corn, bread dressing with & without oysters - grandma always made two pans of her bread dressing, usually a big bowl of buttered noodles, a plate of sliced bread and finished off with sweet tea. Not as sweet as Granny's from Georgia though. Grandma always had several desserts, she loved to make dessert - usually her Milnot Cheesecake (yes, there are two links there!) and her coffee cake were on the table along with her pecan pie and some sort of cake. The cake always varied, but the pecan pie and the cheese cake did not.
Of course I had favorites on both sides, I was fortunate, both of my grandmothers were excellent cooks - and I have many of their recipes that I still use today to feed my children & my grandchildren. I keep some of the best recipes in my genealogy software under the notes on both of these fabulous cooks.
My favorite foods from the holidays would be granny's Georgia ham and her white cornbread made with white cornmeal. My favorite from Grandma's Ohio table would have to be the bread dressing without oysters and that Milnot cheesecake.
What foods did your family serve on the holidays? Do you think that those foods reflect their heritage? What about you? Do you serve traditional foods or do you find yourself looking for new favorite for your family?
Happy researching!
Karen
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