November has been a fun month so far in Hattiesburg. There have been a ton of events going on and I have been taking full advantage. It has also been a bit chilly here, which means fall food time.
Zach and I have been craving winter squash, so that has been on our menu a lot lately. We have found butternut and acorn squash, but if anyone in the Hattiesburg area knows where I can find some delicata squash, I would literally jump for joy. I have been craving it and so far can’t find it anywhere in town.
I made a pretty tasty turkey chili/stew concoction last week and we ate that pretty much all weekend on top of squash. I ended up making up my own recipe because I was in the mood for a chunky chili with a lot of vegetables, which made it more like a stew, and I couldn’t really find what I was looking for online. Thankfully, it worked out well. I made my own tomato sauce with Roma tomatoes and chili spices, browned the turkey with onions, garlic and an Anaheim pepper. I used a ton of vegetables cut into chunks including baby bella mushrooms, tomatoes, bell peppers, carrots, and celery. I threw everything into the Crock-Pot and six hours later we had a delicious meal.
Last Thursday I went to “An Evening with Robert St. John and Wyatt Waters” at the Hattiesburg Library. I am really grateful to the owner of Main Street Books. When my best friend, Lianne, was in town we went to Main Street Books and Lianne ended up buying a beautiful Wyatt Waters 2018 calendar. The owner of the bookstore told us all about him and he also had some Robert St. John books on display. Wyatt Waters is a famous watercolorist from Mississippi and Robert St. John, amongst other things, owns multiple restaurants in Hattiesburg, is a chef, and food writer. Together, the two have created multiple cook books with Wyatt’s paintings and Robert’s recipes. Their newest book is titled A Mississippi Palate and highlights all things Mississippi.
The library had a book signing, Q&A, and viewing of their Hattiesburg episode of Palate to Palette, a show they have together on PBS. This was such a fun event for me because it helped me to know more about the city I just moved to and I enjoyed seeing the passion they both have for Mississippi. I was able to meet them and of course bought a copy of the book. I would definitely suggest checking out their show online. Fair warning, the Hattiesburg episode is going to make you extremely hungry for blueberries.
Robert St. John had such a love for food and the culture of his state, it made me instantly feel the need to try one of his restaurants. Zach and I decided to try out Crescent City Grill on Friday night. As usual, we were hungry for a lot of veggies so we both ended up getting the vegetable sampler and adding chicken. It was nice because we both got to try four different sides. I enjoyed all of the sides, but I think my favorite was the creamed spinach…I say I think because I am looking at the picture of my plate right now and it really is hard to decide.
On Saturday, I got Java Moe’s coffee to start our day. I really like that Java Moe’s is a Hattiesburg chain with three locations. Their coffee has been great every time I have been and I was excited to get a rewards card. Don’t you worry, I will be utilizing that for sure! Coffee makes us happy.
Saturday evening, I went to the Hattiesburg Downtown Art Walk and Holiday Open House. The streets were closed off and there was art and music everywhere. I went by myself and enjoyed taking in downtown with so many other people around me. There was even a wedding reception going on in the street and I saw the bride and groom walking around taking photos downtown. I think Hattiesburg does a great job of showcasing their love of the arts and this event was no exception. People here seem to really enjoy creativity. It makes me happy.
On Saturday night, I met up with a networking group I joined at Branch, which is a cocktail bar and also one of Robert St. John’s ventures. It was such a fun night getting to know some new friends and discussing life in Hattiesburg. I got a lot of great ideas of restaurants I need to try and places in Mississippi and Louisiana I need to take an excursion to. The deviled eggs were pretty dang awesome. They each had a different flavor and all sat on top of a pickle slice which was unique and great.
Zach made a raspberry and strawberry coconut milk ice cream over the weekend too. I will post that recipe in a separate post because it was really delicious and easy to make.
It has been a fun start to November. This week we have a few Friendsgiving events that I am excited about and Zach has a bit of time off this weekend to explore with me. I will keep you updated on the Hattiesburg happenings. Have a great rest of your week my friends!
Behind the Savor 