Spring Favorites

Happy first day of Spring! I can't think of a better way to celebrate than by sharing a few favorites, perfect for the season! I'm dying to get my hands on a ruffle sleeve blouse like this baby blue one, a pair of these gorgeous tassel earrings and a fun bag for summer. What are some of your favorite pieces for spring?

2017 Charleston Wine & Food Festival Recap | Part 2

In case you didn't get enough food photos in my last post, I thought I would give your eyes something more to feast on. As I mentioned last week, we had a blast at the Charleston Wine and Food Festival! 

How cute is this Le Creuset photo booth we set up!? Complete with waders and all, we had fun snapping some photos in the USS Shucktown!

Both Friday and Saturday afternoons were spent exploring the culinary village, sampling all of the food and wine we could get our hands on. Or should I say that we were willing to stand in line for. This dish below was the first thing I tried and I can't even tell you what it was. I was so hungry I went for the first thing I saw. 

We spotted what seemed to be a real live scientist whipping up a gin concoction. I'm not a fan of gin, but couldn't pass up at least giving this a try.  His set up was pretty impressive. 

I also discovered that a white pinot noir exists. This white wine from Left Coast Cellers was nice and refreshing and is only available for a limited time. In fact, I don't see it on their website, which is a bummer because I would love to break out a bottle of it at my next dinner party. 

This dish below was actually on the list of top favorite things I sampled during the festival. Roasted sweet potato with pickled golden raisins, ancho chili and yogurt, so many flavors packed into this little bowl. Chef Whitney Otawka of Greyfield Inn does it right! I could have eaten a few of these. 

 There was a beautifully set rosé garden, complete with Whispering Angel Rosé.

And if rosé wasn't of interest, there was a biergarten lined with any and every kind of beer you could want. 

What goes better with beer than chocolate ice cream from Cirsea?! They seriously have some the best flavors. 

I also gave these BBQ snails a try. The thought of snails threw me off at first, but it was actually delicious!

Sloppy Joe Toastadas from Taqeria del Sol. 

I honestly can't remember what this dish was, but I remember being good. 

And speaking of good, this shrimp roll from Chef Jason Stanhope of FIG was great! You can't beat fresh shrimp in between to buttery toasted pieces of bread. 

There were several meat options served straight off the grill. 

And there were also sous-vide options like these 72-hour seared beef short ribs, served on a bed of truffle polenta with a port wine reduction from Cuisine Solutions. I was impressed with the flavor and how juicy and tender the meat was. This would be a great way to serve a delicious meal for those who don't like to cook. 

Different day, different ice cream. A scoop of chocolate chocolate chip, topped with old fashion strawberry from Republic Ice Cream for the win! As I mentioned, I didn't consume all of this in one afternoon. This was a result of spending two afternoons in the culinary village, which was totally fine by me. 

Once the culinary village closed on Saturday afternoon, I hopped over to the Le Creuset Boutique for a book signing with Colu Henry, author of Back Pocket Pasta. It was a pleasure to have her in our store. 

The Boutique was serving colorful pasta dishes from her cookbook.

Exhausted and running on fumes after a long day at the festival, I pulled myself together for an exciting event I had been really looking forward to. The What the Pho event actually took place at my office. Our parking lot was beautifully transformed into an Asian-inspired, high-energy nighttime experience.

The Veuve Clicquot was flowing. 

And the noodle dishes were endless. A lineup of a dozen local and guest chefs offered their spin on oodles of noodles, accompanied by incredible craft cocktails and complete with beats from DJ Rehab. 

Excuse the red nose, I was freezing cold and sunburned from earlier in the afternoon. 

This festive event was the perfect way to end a weekend full of wine, food and good times with great friends. Until next year...cheers!

2017 Charleston Wine & Food Festival Recap | Part I

I'm still trying to recover from all the wine and food that was consumed over the last several days. I had such a blast at the Charleston Wine & Food Festival! A lot of time and hard work went into the execution of our company booth but it was all worth it in the end. (More to come on that in part II of my recap). But it wasn't all work, I did find some time to play. What better way to recap this year's events than with food photos! Warning, this might make you hungry. 

A private event was held for all of the partners of the festival last Wednesday evening at the William Aiken House. This stunning venue located downtown was the perfect place to unwind after work, mingle with friends and enjoy some wine and cheese. How beautiful is this spread?

 So many charcuterie boards, so little time!

But really though, cheese board goals. 

 There were also sweet and savory crepe stations. 

 This mushroom crepe with gruyere and béchamel sauce was delicious!

These cute little macarons were displayed inside and consisted of some of the most unique flavors. In fact they were quite the opposite of the traditional sweet treat you would assume to bite into. The flavors included salt + pepper with pimento cheese, sundried tomato pistou and curry shrimp.

I took this photo from the upstairs porch which over looked the party in the garden. This event was the perfect way to ease into a weekend full of festival events!

It wasn't so bad going to work on Thursday morning knowing that two amazing chefs would be in our kitchen whipping up an awesome breakfast. Le Creuset welcomed Chef Mike Lata of FIG and The Ordinary and Chef Michael Anthony of Gramercy Tavern for a casserole cookshop that didn't disappoint.

While they were casually whipping up breakfast casseroles, there were plenty of appetizers and snacks to go around, including these lox bagels topped with caviar and french press coffee from King Bean Coffee Roasters. 

These breakfast casseroles were amazing. 

My favorite was this super savory, creamy casserole that was worth every single calorie (and I'm sure there were thousands). If only you could taste this photo. 

And of course breakfast wouldn't be complete without fruit. These sweet parfaits tasted like dessert. And speaking of dessert...

Fresh and hot out the oven, this monkey bread was the perfect balance to all the rich savory casseroles. 

Unrelated to the festival was an event my girlfriends and I went to Thursday evening at Caviar & Bananas. This was more of an industry appreciation party, which seemed to align perfectly with all the wine and food events. 

Amazing wine from Portgual was flowing and there was no shortage of snacks. 

We sampled everything from meats, cheeses, and deviled eggs, to sushi, chicken biscuits and caviar. I can't say that I've ever really eaten much caviar but I now have a better appreciation for it, especially the infused truffle whitefish.

 It's safe to say that I didn't go home hungry!