Perhaps it’s not the most beautiful dish in the world. Maybe it doesn’t even sound that interesting. It’s definitely not fancy.

But it’s fantastic. Beyond fantastic even. I can tell you without hesitation that it is one of my absolute favorite family dishes.

Oddly enough, even though I’ve had the recipe in my possession for years, I had never made it myself until recently. And it’s not because it’s difficult- in fact, quite the contrary. It’s über simple.

No, the reason I’d never made it was because I was scared that once I did, it wouldn’t be special any more. For years and years, it has been my Aunt Gay’s Sausage Casserole that I eat at Thanksgiving and Christmas. That’s it. In the days leading up to the holidays, I start thinking about it. I get excited.

If I made it myself, would it still hold the same allure?

Now I know that the answer is yes.

This Christmas, when I was hosting my husband’s family for the first time, I took the plunge and made it. Compliments rang from all sides of the table. People went back for seconds. The dish was scraped clean.

And it’s still special. Very special indeed.

Aunt Gay's Sausage Rice Casserole

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

1 box Uncle Ben's Wild Rice (cooked according to package directions)
1 lb sausage (cooked and drained)
1 can Golden Mushroom soup
1 1/2 cups Mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix all ingredients and put in a casserole dish.

Bake for 30 minutes. Enjoy!

Important Note: The soup is GOLDEN mushroom soup. Not cream of mushroom.

Today I am thrilled to introduce my first “helper”, a fellow food blogger who is also involved in some other food-related ventures here in Nashville. One of these ventures is something I’m particularly interested in, so I’ve asked her to share details of it with you today.

Please give a warm welcome to Annakate!

~Alimentum Eat & Greet Tours~

by Annakate Tefft of La Aguacate

First off, I’m super excited that Beth asked me to write this guest post. As a transplant to Nashville, I refer to Eat.Drink.Smile. all the time to learn about the food and drink happenings in Nashville and the Southeast. And don’t even get me started on the recipes. That recent gooey mac and cheese post was out of this world!

When I moved to Nashville two years ago, I immediately started exploring what my new home had to offer food- and drink-wise. What I found was very encouraging – nationally-acclaimed restaurants like City House as well as interesting historic ones like Prince’s Hot Chicken, several local breweries including Yazoo and now Jackalope, artisan purveys like Olive & Sinclair Chocolates and local cheesemakers, a vibrant food truck scene, several ethnic neighborhoods and lots of farmers. Nashville has this big-yet-small-town thing going for it, and I think there’s an approachability here when it comes to artisan offerings that I’ve really come to love.

In my real life job, I do PR in the food industry. At the moment I work for an online recipe club, but previously I’ve represented food companies and cooking schools in Chicago and Mexico. Through these experiences I’ve really grown fond of culinary tourism. I absolutely love sharing food adventures and fun finds with others, to spread the good word. I immediately started thinking about how I could share what I’ve learned to love about Nashville’s food scene with others. And then I met Paulette Licitra.

Paulette is a native New Yorker, a classically trained chef, the publisher and editor-in-chief of Alimentum Journal (the first and only food-focused literary journal), and an instructor of cooking classes of her ancestral Italy and the Mediterranean. Bingo. Together, over a long afternoon of coffee and cake at Fido, Paulette and I hatched a plan to begin conducting culinary tours around Nashville. We had a ball doing “research” in different neighborhoods, eating and drinking our way into a plan for our tours, which we named “Alimentum Eat & Greet Tours.”

For the first tour last September, we took nine folks to explore the ethnic eateries on Nolensville Road. We started the day at K&S World Market (if you haven’t been, get in the car and go at once!), exploring the produce, meats, fish, spices and dry goods from all over. From there we hopscotched our way through many international cuisines including Thai, Turkish, Ethiopian and Mexican. In between these mini meals, we shopped an Indian market and stopped at a Kurdish bakery to see such spectacles as traditional flatbreads being baked in Tandoori ovens.

We ended the day with a taste of Mexico at a gas station-cum-taco joint, where the adventurous eaters in our group ordered tongue and tripe tacos, then enjoyed Persian tea and rose water and saffron-scented ice cream at a Middle Eastern restaurant while the owner regaled us with stories of his native Iraq. All in all, it was an incredible day! Keep in mind we found all of this in a three-mile strip. A short video recap of the tour is below, narrated by Paulette. (It’s worth the five minutes – Paulette did a fantastic job!)

In October, we enjoyed a farm tour, highlighting several interesting artisans and farmers. We began with a tour of Green Door Gourmet Farm, in West Nashville. After a walk through the owner Sylvia’s fields where we learned about her CSA, the local restaurants she grows for and sells to, and her impressive herb garden (more than 20 kinds of basil alone!), we zipped over to an artisan dye studio called ASK Apparel, where Ali Bellos walked us through their seed-to-spool operation. We learned about the textile dye process and how they’re working with local farmers to grow natural dye plants like sumac and indigo.

We could have stayed there the rest of the day asking questions, but we had to get on to our private lunch at Miel restaurant. Owner Seema Prasad arranged a custom menu featuring all local meats, cheeses and produce, with many vegetables grown at Green Door Gourmet, where we just were. The greens in our salad were harvested there that morning!

We finished out the day at Noble Springs Dairy, where Dustin and Justyne Noble took us through the feeding, milking and cheese-making process in the beautiful rolling hills of Franklin, TN. It was a perfect fall day filled with food and friends in Middle Tennessee. Another video recap can be found here.

Here’s the scoop on the next two tours:

• Indian Cultural Tour (Feb 4th, 9:30-3:30p) The group will take a private tour of the famous Sri Ganesha Temple and Hindu Cultural Center, enjoy an Indian lunch feast at a local favorite restaurant, and then be treated to a presentation about yoga by Nashville’s premiere yoga instructor Sujatha Yarlagadda. While the group won’t practice yoga in this session we will be in community with a very gentle, knowledgeable, and caring practitioner.

• East Nashville Artisan Tour (Feb 11th, 9:30-3:30) We’ll start with a tour of Bongo Java Roasting Company to get a behind-the-scenes look at the roasting process including a cupping, then stop for lunch at Silly Goose, a local farm-to-table restaurant. Next we’ll explore the production process of Olive & Sinclair Chocolates along with a tasting. We’ll end the tour in downtown Five Points where guests can indulge in some local shopping at Art & Invention Gallery, Wonders on Woodland and the Idea Hatchery, a small business incubator featuring gift shops, clothing stores, vintage shops and more.

For tickets and more info, click here.

All of our tours include van transportation from a group meeting point, all food and tour costs, a copy of the latest edition of Alimentum Journal, and fun times to eat and greet with local foodies.

It’s been a blast recapping the first two tours and highlighting what’s to come. There’s a lot happening in Nashville food-wise right now, and I’m very thankful to be a part of it.

What’s one of the most interesting or memorable Nashville food finds you’ve experienced?

Reality has set in. The countdown is really on.

In approximately 4 weeks or less, I will be giving birth to a BABY. Wow. It’s hard to believe that I’m going to be a Mommy.

While I’m completely and utterly excited, I’m also feeling a bit overwhelmed. Thankfully I have lots of wonderful friends and family that are here to help me out. A few of those amazing friends threw a baby shower for me this weekend and I have to say, it was THE best baby shower ever! (I’m not biased at all) ;-)

Inspired by an image I have on my Baby Stuff Pinterest board, my friend Libby, an insanely talented designer from Chicago, created the invitations for the shower, as well as came up with the “look” of the event. I think you can probably figure out by the photos what the theme was….

The party was held at my friend Amanda’s beautiful home, and the girls truly outdid themselves. The food was incredible and plentiful. In fact, I’m still happily eating leftovers 3 days later!

The Menu:

Mini Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches
Black Bean & Avocado Boats
Roast Beef, Roasted Red Pepper and Pimento Cheese Baguettes
Prosciutto Wrapped Melon
Scrumptious Meatballs
Apples with Blue Cheese & Cashew Spread
Artichoke Salad
Tomato, Mozzarella, and Spinach Skewers
Bird’s Nests (aka haystacks)
Rum Cake

The hostesses with the mostesses: My friends Sherri, Charmaine, Lisa, Libby and Amanda

The shower ended on a sweet note with these cake pops for guests to pick up as they exited the party. I didn’t actually eat mine until the next day and holy schmoly! They were so good! Yes, I said “they”. Because I ate two. And then one more yesterday.

They are dangerous to have around the house, so I suggest you only buy them for special occasions. Where to find?  Party Pops by Julie right here in Nashville.

Any of you guys want to take a guess at when Baby Eats will arrive and if our future will be a sea of pink or blue?!?

The menus are up and it’s time to start planning — next week is Nashville Originals Restaurant Week! From January 16th through the 22nd, you can dine at a number of amazing, locally-owned restaurants for value deals that you won’t find any other time of the year.

Within 5 minutes of looking over menus, I booked a reservation at Sunset Grill.

How was my first dining decision so easy? Remember that “25 Things I Must Eat in Nashville in 2012″ list I started last week? Well, their menu contains one of the first items on my list- their famous bread pudding. There was no way I was going to pass up this opportunity. It didn’t hurt that all of the other courses sound incredible too. I’ve already plotted out my order and can hardly wait for next week to get here!

Starter: “Beet & Heat Salad”: Golden beets, wild baby arugula, shaved fennel, TN goat cheese, orange segments & candied pecans tossed in tabasco-honey vinaigrette

Entree: Coca-Cola BBQ Beef Short Rib served with sweet potato Johnny cakes, Benton’s bacon collard greens, Farmer Dave’s apple butter & tobacco onions

and then, of course….

Dessert: Butterscotch-Habanero Bread Pudding covered in white chocolate sauce

So what else is on my agenda for the week?

I really have my heart set on gathering a group of friends for Mama Myint’s “House Salad” at Cha Chah. This is a very special offering indeed. If you’ve never heard about this salad, you should check out this article by Carrington Fox. I’ve been dying to try it for what seems like AGES, so this could be the perfect opportunity.

Others on my radar: Watermark, Holland House, Fido and Yellow Porch. It’s so hard to choose! Some I’ve visited during past restaurant weeks (remember this pork chop? yum!), or go to on a regular basis already. Others I don’t get to often enough, so this is a good push. Ah, decisions, decisions.

So where will you go? Have any of you already made reservations? If so, I’d love to hear what menus grabbed your attention. For those of you that haven’t yet started planning, you better get on it before others like me grab up all the open reservations!

For a list of all of the participating restaurants and their menus, click here.

When I say this is THE Best Mac & Cheese I’ve ever put in my mouth, that is not an exaggeration. Ooey, gooey, cheesy, rich and decadent-  it’s so wrong, yet so right.

One bite of this dish a few weeks back at a dinner party was eye opening. Honestly, while I like macaroni & cheese fine, I’ve never been one to go ga-ga over it like some people do.

But this? This is different. It makes me want to turn cartwheels down the hallway.

In fact, when it came time for me to host friends for dinner on New Year’s Eve, this was the first dish I added to our menu. The rest of the meal was created around it. While I don’t want to speak for our guests, I’m fairly certain that they would agree with my opinion of the cheesy creation.

A huge thank you to Ashley who made the eye-opening mac & cheese for a friend’s potluck, and to her Aunt Jeanette and Uncle Craig for sharing their recipe with her. Even though I made a few minor tweaks, the ultimate credit goes to them. The world is now a better place for having access to the Best Ever Mac & Cheese!

Best Ever Mac & Cheese

Serves 14-18.

Ingredients:

8 Tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter
6 slices good white bread, crusts removed, torn into 1/4 inch pieces
3 1/2 cups milk
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
10 oz grated sharp white cheddar cheese
10 oz grated sharp yellow cheddar cheese
8 oz grated Gruyere cheese
1 pound elbow macaroni

Directions:

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 3-quart casserole dish with cooking spray; set aside. Place bread in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Pour butter into bowl with bread, and toss. Set breadcrumbs aside.

In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, heat milk and whipping cream. In a high-sided skillet, melt remaining 6 tablespoons butter over medium heat. When butter bubbles, add flour. Cook, whisking, 1 minute.

While whisking, slowly pour in warm milk. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until the mixture bubbles and becomes thick.Remove pan from heat. Stir in salt, nutmeg, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and cheeses. Set cheese sauce aside.

Fill a large saucepan with water; bring to a boil. Add macaroni; cook 2 to 3 minutes less than manufacturer's directions, until the outside of pasta is cooked and the inside is underdone. (Different brands of macaroni cook at different rates; be sure to read the instructions.) Transfer macaroni to a colander, rinse under cold running water, and drain well. Stir macaroni into the reserved cheese sauce.

Pour mixture into prepared dish. Sprinkle breadcrumbs over top. Bake until browned on top, about 30 minutes. Transfer dish to a wire rack to cool 5 minutes; serve hot.

Do you see this ooey, gooey, cheesiness???

 Prince’s Hot Chicken

Recently there was a post on Nashville Scene’s Bites blog that got me to thinking about all of the foods in Nashville that I haven’t even begun to explore. So as the New Year begins, I’m going to do something I never do– make a resolution!

This year I’m going to make it a point to eat at least 25 dishes here in town that I’ve never tried before. But I’m not going to do it randomly. No, there certainly has to be some reason for my consumption of all of those calories. These need to be the Best of the Best.

I’ve started my list with 4 items I’ve heard many good things about. Some are well known, others are fairly new on the scene:

 #1: Hot Chicken at Prince’s Hot Chicken Shack

#2: Butterscotch Habanero Bread Pudding at Sunset Grill

#3: Grilled Pimento Cheese and Fried Green Tomato Sandwich at The Harding House

#4 Housemade Bacon with Maple Cotton Candy at Kayne Prime

Now this is where you come in. I need more suggestions. MANY more. Please leave me comments below with dishes you think are not to be missed here in Nashville…dishes that make our city a special place.

And even if you know for a fact that I’ve eaten something before, feel free to leave those ideas too! I’d love for this list to turn into a comprehensive guide for all who are looking for the best foods in Nashville.

As a special thanks for your input, everyone that leaves comments by the end of January will have their name entered  into a drawing for prizes. I’m not sure how many prizes or what they’ll be, but I promise, they’ll be good!

Since I was pregnant for more than half of 2011, I found that there really wasn’t enough imbibing going on to create a full blog post this time around. So for 2011, I’ve combined them both and made a Top 13 list that encompasses both food & drink.

Many of the dishes I’ve highlighted were standouts of a full meal I enjoyed at a given restaurant or items I’ve gone back and ordered again and again. You know those foods you eat and then aren’t able to get out of your mind? That’s these.

However, a couple of the featured are ranked for the full meal experience, because I was so blown away by several aspects that I couldn’t narrow it down to specifics. To read more about why I’ve picked each, just click on the links provided. Hopefully you’ve already had a chance to enjoy some of these yourself, but if not, be sure to make it a point to do so in 2012!

#13

Bangkok Peanut Ice Cream

Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream

Nashville, TN

#12

Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate

Co Co. Sala

Washington, D.C.

#11

The Mickey Finn

Bar No. 308

Nashville, TN

#10

Cream Corn Brulee, Black Kale Salad, Bubbles and Squeak
(on my list to try this year: house made bacon!)

Kayne Prime

Nashville, TN

                                                                                                                                             .

#9

Belly Ham Pizza

City House

Nashville, TN

                                                                                                                                         .

#8

Overall Experience
(but those shrimp n grits pictured above might be the best EVER!)

Riffs Fine Street Food

 Nashville, TN

                                                                                                                                                                              .

#7

Overall Experience

Husk

Charleston, SC

#6

Crispy Squash Blossoms and Fried Green Tomatoes

F Scott’s Restaurant and Jazz Bar

Nashville, TN

#5

Piyaz

Zaytinya

Washington, D.C.

#4

Palak Chaat

Rasika

Washington, D.C.

#3

Tomato Tarte Tatin with tapenade and fromage blanc

Fig

Charleston, SC

#2

Salted Caramel Chocolate Bar

Gin Joint

Charleston, SC

#1

Overall Experience

The Catbird Seat

Nashville, TN

Photo credit: 2012 by Ludie Cochrane