Trailer Days

In honor of my parents buying a used camper at Lake Norman, NC I thought I would post one of the more ingenious devices to ever cross my path. This little gadget is handy for camping out or just simply fun to throw on any grill. A friend once gave one to me and often times I will just pull it out of the closet to look at it and make sure I was not dreaming. Cooks a mean chicken to boot! Ladies and gents, the beer can chicken roaster. Add a cheap beer and simply slip this up the under-side of your bird... truly a de-Lite.

During these long, hot summer days, nothing feels quite so right as sitting down with a good book, a chilled beverage at your side. We hand out suggestions about good books like candy, but I feel we’ve been lacking in the beverage department. To remedy that, today we have a recipe for the Mojito, courtesy of Hemingway & Bailey’s Bartending Guide to Great American Writers (illustrated by Edward Hemingway and Written by Mark Bailey).

Hemingway (Ernest, of course) is associated with any number of cocktails, but perhaps none more so than the Mojito. The drink was invented at La Bodeguita del Medio in Havana, Cuba, where Papa drank them, as did Brigitte Bardot, Nat King Cole, Jimmy Durante, Erroll Flynn, and countless others. Enjoy!

Mojito
6 fresh mint sprigs
1 oz. lime juice
3/4 oz. simple syrup
2 oz. light rum
Lime Wedge

Crush 5 mint sprigs into the bottom of a chilled highball glass. Pour in lime juice, simple syrup, and rum. Fill glass with crushed ice. Garnish with lime wedge and remaining mint sprig. Sometimes a splash of club soda is added, according to individual taste.

Apricot Chicken W/ Pasta Primavera

5 oz. Chicken Breast

4 tbsp. Apricot Preserves (low sugar)

1 tbsp. Sweet chili sauce

1 teasp. Lime juice

1/4 cup chopped zuccini

1/4 cup chopped tomato

1/4 cup chopped mushrooms

1 teasp. minced garlic

2 teasp. Extra virgin olive oil

1/2 teasp. salt

1/2 cup whole wheat pasta (cooked)



Apricot sauce: combine apricot preserves with lime juice and sweet chili sauce (heat on stove)

Grill or saute chicken and brush on sauce while cooking

Past primavera: saute zuccini, mushrooms and garlic in olive oil

Add salt, tomatoes and pasta

So, if you are in Winston-Salem, NC and are a foodie, you have to check out Willow's Bistro (Shameless plug, I am a server there now). But for some great dishes made with local produce from the Yadkin Valley, cheeses from The Goat Lady, meats from Shore Farms and fresh NC seafood, this is the place to be. It has a great Sunday brunch (11-3) and half-price bottles of wine on Mondays.