Treado's Town House

Here is a rare photo of my grandparents restaurant... Treado's Town House. It was located on Hwy 301 in Sylvania, GA. I must brag for a minute and tell you that it was once world famous. (Jimmy Carter dined there during his campaign). But whether it was or wasn't really famous...it was always famous in my eyes!
Inside that building (which is still standing today (but is closed)) are some of my fondest memories of my childhood. It is there, that I fell in love with food! We (being Baptist) would rush out of church on Sunday's to try and beat the Methodist to be the first in line for the buffet! Not a Sunday went by that we didn't eat there...and if we did miss lunch...we were there for Sunday night dinner.
Once you opened the door at the Town House, you were hit with the smells of home. Everyone knew one another and everyone walked away happy. My grandparents created a legacy through their restaurant... places like the Town House are a rarity these days. I miss it and what it represented to our family.

Before restaurants bought all of their salad dressings pre-made... restaurants like the Town House would actually make them from scratch. I thought I would share the famous Town House Thousand Island Dressing in honor of today's blog.


Town House Thousand Island Dressing

1 Cup Miracle Whip Salad Dressing
1/2 Cup Chili Sauce
1 Chopped Boiled Egg
1 Tablespoon Chopped Pickles

Now is the guessing part: (use your taste buds)
Worcestershire Sauce
Tabasco Sauce
Lemon Juice
Small amount of Grated Onion

Mix All Ingredients and chill until ready to serve.



**Note to those of you from Sylvania who read my blog: Sorry... but the famous Cinnamon Rolls Recipe will never be revealed on my blog...I was sworn to secrecy upon birth! ** I will put other great recipes from the restaurant in the months to follow...leave me a comment and let me know your favorites.

HOE Cakes

Ya'll have been asking for it...so I thought I would deliver... The Blog on my famous "Hoe Cakes". The name "Hoe Cakes" cracks everyone up and no one seems to know exactly what I'm talking about when I say hoe cakes....so I thought I would give you a history lesson on how Hoe Cakes came about.

But before that... let me tell you why I decided to make Hoe Cakes. For the past few years, we've had an oyster roast for my sister and law Lauren's Birthday. This year...Gail, my mother in law told me the menu for Lauren's Birthday Dinner... it went something like this: Oysters, Fish Stew, Hot Dogs and Hush puppies. At that point I immediately said (being the GA girl that I am)... "Great... I'll bring Chili and cornbread". It was my polite way of saying..."um yeah...I don't really eat oysters and something called fish stew just sounds nasty!"

Here's your History Lesson on Hoe Cakes:
The term hoecake first occurs in 1745, and the term is used by American writers such as Joel Barlow and Washington Irving. The origin of the name is the method of preparation: field hands often cooked it on a shovel or hoe held to an open flame. Hoes designed for cotton fields were large and flat with a hole for the long handle to slide through; the blade would be removed and placed over a fire much like a griddle. Hoe Cakes are often called "griddle cakes" as well.

So whether you call them Cornbread, Hoe Cakes or Griddle Cakes... here's a Great recipe to try!


Meme's Cornmeal Griddle Cakes
Bon Appetit, Ya'll- Virginia Willis

2 Cups white or yellow cornmeal
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 cup water, plus more if needed
1/5 corn oil, for frying

To prepare the batter, in a large bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, baking powder, and salt. In a second bowl or large liquid measuring cup, combine the egg and the 1 cup water. Whisk until smooth. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, using as few strokes as possible.
To fry the griddle cakes, heat the oil in a cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Ladle 1/4 cup of batter onto the heated skillet.
Repeat with additional batter, without crowding.
Cook the cakes until the bottoms are brown and bubbles form on the tops and edges, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn and brown the other side, an additional 2 to 3 minutes. Serve Immediately.

Serve with Butter (and Syrup if you're looking for a way to make it even more fattening!)

Nana's Squash Casserole

Meet Nana.

Some of you remember her fondly. She was an INCREDIBLE lady! My Dad told me last week that I was turning into her. That my readers, is a true compliment!
I have a lot of Nana in me. She was 100% Southern. She loved nice things... she had impeccable taste, she loved to cook, she loved her family above everything else and she loved to entertain.
She never left the house without her "face on". I only saw her once in my entire life with her beehive down...and that was at the beauty shop. I unfortunately have her flabby arms and big ole butt...I got them both honestly...and from all the years of great food she would feed me!

Today's Recipe, is one that comes from her collection. Every occasion that our family would dine together, there was always a Squash Casserole present. It's one of the Treado/Zeagler staples at holidays. I made it for Thanksgiving last year for Brian's family and it's now its my signature item to always bring to their house for pot luck meals.

Nana's Squash Casserole

2-3 Cups Cooked Squash
1 Medium Onion
1 teaspoon Salt (or to taste)
1 teaspoon Pepper (or to taste)
2 Eggs
1 cup Evaporated Milk
1 cups Grated Cheddar Cheese
1 sleeve Ritz Crackers
1/2 Stick of Butter

Cut Squash into round pieces. Chop onion into pieces. Place in a pot with a little water. Cut butter into pieces and place over squash/onions season with salt and pepper. Cook until tender-stir occasionally.
Once cooked-- Drain off liquid.
In a Separate Bowl, Beat eggs and add to evaporated milk.
Mix Egg/Milk Mixture, Cooked Squash and Shredded Cheese in a bowl.
Pour into a greased Casserole Dish. Crumble Ritz Crackers on top.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Cashew Nut Chicken

Brian and I headed to Savannah on Saturday to watch our favorite little girl... Paige. Paige is the daughter of our friends Chris and Amanda, who just recently moved to Savannah. We got a full weekend of P-Time.



To Paige we are "Aunt Boo" and "Uncle Bri". She is 2 and as sweet as pie! On Saturday, we spent time in Forysth Park, we read books at E Shavers Booksellers and treated her to her first Afternoon Tea at the Gryphon. I'm not sure who had more fun... Us or Her!



So what does this have to do with Cashew Nut Chicken? Well... during our visit to E Shavers Booksellers (one of my favorite little secrets in Savannah) I purchased a new cookbook. I've decided to try and purchase a new cookbook that is representative to the place or culture that we're in. Saturday I had a tough time trying to decide...they had a GREAT selection of Savannah choices. I ended up getting " Downtown Savannah Style" - Savannah's Junior League Cookbook.


Tonight we tried our first recipe from Downtown Savannah Style... and we weren't disappointed! Listed in the cookbook as "Stir Fry Chicken with Vidalia Onion". I renamed it to Chashew Nut Chicken! (since it sounded a lot like my favorite entree of choice at the Thai restaurant).


Chashew Nut Chicken
Serves 3-5 (depending on serving size)

4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon dry white wine (I used Chardonnay)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder (I used minced instead)
7 tablespoons peanut oil
1/4 cup chicken broth
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 large vidalia onion, chopped
1 1/4 cup lightly salted cashews


Rinse the chicken and pat dry. Cut into bite-size pieces. Place in a shallow dish. Combine the soy sauce and white wine in a bowl and mix well. Stir in the cornstarch, sugar and garlic powder. Pour over the chicken, stirring to mix. Marinate, covered, in the refrigerator for 2 Hours, shirring occasionally. (I marinated it overnight)

Heat 5 tablespoons of the peanut oil and the broth in the wok or skillet until hot. Add the undrained chicken mixture. Stir-fry for 5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Remove the chicken mixture to a bowl. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of peanut oil in the wok or skillet. Add the red pepper, green pepper and onion. Stir-fry for 3 minutes. Add the chicken mixture and cashews and mix well. Serve immediately over cooked white rice.

Key Lime Pie

MMmmm, MMmmm, MMmmm... I love a Good Key Lime Pie!

I used to think that Publix had THE BEST Key Lime Pie.. that was until I made my own!

I've always stayed away from making pies...that was my Nana's expertize and now it is my Dads. But I decided to just go for it...and let me tell you, it was soooo incredibly easy and fast. After making Dad's Birthday Cake earlier in the week...(German Chocolate) I've decided I can cook or bake just about ANYTHING!



Key Lime Pie
From: Susan Mason's Silver Service
Serves: 8

1 (14- ounce) Can of Sweetened Condensed Milk
1/2 Cup Fresh Lime Juice
1 Teaspoon Grated Lime Zest
2 Egg Yolks
1 (9-inch) Graham Cracker Crust

Preheat Oven to 325 Degrees.

Mix together the milk, lime juice, lime zest and egg yolks. Beat until smooth. Pour mixture into the crust.
Bake for 15 minutes. It should be firm to the touch. Cool in the refrigerator for several hours before serving.

Serve with a dollop of Whip Cream on top and Lime Zest.

**I made a double making of this for 12 Mini Pies.**