Travels in the South

Welcome back friends to another edition of Travels in the South.  We have been talking about our visit with our great friends Bill and Jean from Canadian Cats.  If you have missed the previous editions, please check them out here:  Red Lobster; Fogo de Chao; Stately Oaks; Spa Day. World of Coca-Cola Part I, World of Coca-Cola Part II. World of Coca-Cola Part III, The Varsity, Gone with the Wind Part I, Gone with the Wind Part II

Hello friends – welcome back to our continued tour of Jonesboro, Georgia in Gone With the Wind. Today, let’s talk about some of the gorgeous homes in downtown Jonesboro.

This is the Ashley Oaks Mansion that was built in 1879 by Leander Hutchenson.  Ashley Oaks is built from over over 1 million hand made bricks. Each exterior home wall is 12 inches thick and each of the four large rooms downstairs stand on its own independent foundation.  I guess they are right in the saying, “They don’t make things like they use to.”  And Leander Hutchenson – he was actually the Sheriff of Clayton County several different times throughout the years:  01/18/1860 – 02/02/1862; 09/07/1868 – 02/06/1871; 01/31/1877 – 01/07/1879; 01/08/1887 – 01/08/1891; and 01/06/1893 – 10/17/1896.  Wouldn’t it be interesting to see someone in politics take office this many times these days?

This house is the Crockett-Blalock house that was originally built in 1879.  It has been under reconstruction over the years with rooms added on and now is currently a Wells Fargo bank.  The home originally though belonged to Mrs. Hanes.  Mrs. Hanes was a tough lady.  In the middle of the Battle of Jonesboro taking place outside her doors and windows, Mrs. Hanes was giving birth to her baby.

And her husband was Alfred Blalock.  Now Alfred was a prominent heart surgeon and was the first to ever do open heart surgery.  But we found out something more about Alfred Blalock that mom found fascinating.  Alfred Blalock was also the developer of plasma for the treatment of shock.  Isn’t that totally awesome?

And you know what they say about growing up on the wrong side of the tracks.  Does that really take place?  The tracks run straight down Jonesboro.  So, depending on who you ask they will tell you which side is the right side – snorts.

But don’t worry because all streets lead you back to Gone With the Wind.  And in the end, I guess you can say in some ways that Scarlett and Rhett will always be linked together..if only in street signs 🙂

My friends, I hope that you enjoyed our tour of Jonesboro, Georgia.  Stay tuned next week to find out what additional trouble the foursome (Mom, Dad, Bill and Jean) get into.

 

Shopping Around the World

Welcome my friends to another edition of Shopping Around the World recipes!

This month we are opening the floor for you.  You can post ANYTHING (desserts, appetizers, snacks, entrees) that you want to share.  Just remember pictures and prices.  So what will you post my friends?  We can’t wait to see.

Now with mom/dad, sometimes the best thing they crave is a good old fashioned hamburger with french fries.  Doesn’t that sound yummy?  And mom does them in an unique way.  So, let me present Mom’s Hamburgers and Fries.

Ingredients:

Buns – we get a package of 8 for $1.00 = that makes each bun only 0.13 each.

Hamburger Meat – Mom gets a package of ground sirloin that costs around $6.50 a package.  Now one package will make 4 burgers = that’s only $1.63 per burger.

1 Tomato (which is optional).  We got big beef steak tomatoes on sale for $0.99 a pound.  One tomato costs us $1.28 and you only need one slice of the tomato per burger so the rest goes into a salad for the next day 🙂  So somewhere in the neighborhood of $0.21 per slice.

An egg.  Yep, you heard it.  1 egg for each burger.  Eggs costs $2.00 for a dozen = $0.17 each.

A baking potato because they are huge = $0.59 for one.

Now – the total price per Mom’s hamburger is around $2.75 – take that Mickey D’s restaurant.  I’m not posting all of the condiment prices because that can vary.

How to Prepare:

Mom works on the potato first to get it started  She cuts the potato in very thin slices and places in a bowl.  She then salts them rather well and starts her fry daddy oil.  Once the oil is hot, she drops the french fries into the oil to cook.  Depending on how brown/crispy you want your fries, depends on the cooking time.  Just watch them so they don’t burn.

During the cooking of your fries, plop your hamburger meat out into a bowl.  Season your meat – salt, pepper, anything you normally use.  Sometimes mom puts some Worcestershire sauce in it as well.  With your fingers, gently mix it together – but don’t overwork.  Once mixed, kind of flatten against the bottom of the bowl and with your hand make a cross sign – that way you are separating the meat into hopefully four even hamburger patties.  Get your pan (preferably an iron skillet because hey we are in the south-LOL) hot and add just a little bit of oil to cover the bottom.  Also during this time, turn your stove on around 300-350 degrees.

As your pan is warming up, take one section of your hamburger meat.  This is the time if you want to add cheese inside of your burger you would do it here.  What do I mean?  Well sometimes mom will cut a piece of cheddar cheese and then wrap the hamburger meat around the cheddar cheese covering it.  Just be careful after you cook it and bite into the burger because it will be H.O.T.  However you do it though, patty your hamburger out and make a small dimple in the middle.  Put aside and do the rest of your burgers.

Once the pan is hot, put the burgers in the pan to cook.  We prefer around medium but some like it more cooked – your choice.  While that is cooking, take your buns and put them on a cookie tray.  Butter them lightly and stick them in the oven to toast – be careful not to burn your buns.

Once the buns are done, take them out and put what condiments you want on your burger.  Once the burgers are done in the pan, take them off the burner and let them sit for a few minutes.  After they have rested a bit, build your burger.