Hello everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, Hanukah, or are having a lovely Kwanzaa!
Let’s talk about Magnolias. Oh yum. I had been to both sister restaurants before, Cypress and Blossom, but this was my first experience at Magnolias. One of the HMGI group restaurants, Magnolias blends traditional southern ingredients with modern international flair. Located downtown on East Bay Street, it is an upscale restaurant with a quiet, yet very comfortable ambiance. 
I’m still timid around certain Southern foods, but tossing in modern flair is a surefire way to spark my attention.
The most exciting part of this dinner was getting to hang out with Katie again!! 
Love this girl so much! We could have talked for hours, but food kept getting in the way! Not that that is a problem or anything. At dinner, it was Katie, her boyfriend, her brother Andrew, their parents, and me! We are all pretty much food-obsessed and I’m pretty sure all we talked about was food…with a little bit of fitness. Story of my life. Although I didn’t take pictures, I will tell you what I ate.
Wine: Pinot Gris Blend Sokol-Blosser Oregon, 2008. This could be a new favorite!
Appetizer, shared by all: House made Potato Chips with crumbled blue cheese and scallions. These were awesome. They were slightly crispy without being very greasy or soggy like many homemade chips I have tried. The blue cheese on top is even made right at Clemson University! Pretty neat.
Entrée: Sweet Chili Rubbed Ahi Tuna over habañero hummus and pepper jack spring rolls, with roasted mango salsa, and Creole rémoulade. No joke. When ordering, I assumed the tuna would be served atop the hummus, but no….was I so wrong. The hummus was INSIDE the spring rolls. Hummus spring rolls. Think crispy and sweet outside with warm spicy inside. Unreal. My first thoughts were “must recreate stat.” An hour after dinner, Katie texted me asking, “Umm is it weird I can’t stop thinking about your spring roll?” It was that good. The tuna was slightly spicy but the mango salsa cooled it down. Nothing beats my tuna from Cypress, but I could have eaten 400 hummus spring rolls.
Dessert: Apple Cobbler with Brown Sugar Ice Cream. Mmm. Served in an adorable little casserole dish, the warm apple cobbler with a cup of coffee was the perfect end to my meal. The consistency was similar to that of a bread pudding and had a good hint of nutmeg and cinnamon. Other desserts at the table included Pumpkin Pie Bread Pudding and and Raspberry Sorbet.
I had such a wonderful time with Katie, Andrew, John, and the family and am so grateful they invited me along. 
When I got home from dinner, I hopped on Google reader and remembered a recipe I had seen on The Hungry Runner Girl’s blog for braided bread. It must have slipped my mind that yeast breads can take hours for the dough to rise, but once I decided to make it, there was no stopping me…Stay tuned.
Question: What was your favorite present? Mine was from my Grammy – money in a measuring glass. Please notice how she rolled the money. I guess she thinks I snort my baking products!! Geez Grammy!