Happy Tuesday! I thought I would try something a little different here and spotlight local places once a week (or something like that.) 

I love trying new places around town, but I also have my, MUST go places. Thomas and I LOVE going to River Rat Brewery. We sit inside some, but their outside area is awesome, because we can take our dog, Darcy. A little history/info about River Rat here (borrowed from their website):

 

------

 Where the Saluda and Broad Rivers merge, they form the mighty Congaree in ColaTown, SC! River Rat Brewery was founded in 2013. River Rat Brewery is named for the three rivers that run through our city, and the working-class men who labored on the canal here more than a century ago. They were the supplying highways of times long ago. The rivers tell us old stories and history of our state and our capital Columbia, SC. The Congaree, Broad, and Saluda rivers contribute miles of riverfront for South Carolina’s capitol and had a role in Columbia’s landscape history.
In their honor, we set out to create craft beers that would satisfy anyone after a long day's work. We used only the best ingredients, and we tested and refined in order to develop complex flavors. What we wound up with was the best damn beer we've ever tasted —perfectly balanced, refreshingly bold, and deliciously drinkable.

-----

Here's the thing, we love River Rat's beer, but the highlight of this post is actually about their new food menu. Taylor is the chef at River Rat and he is really bringing a creative flair and taste to the menu items. We aren't talking about your traditional "bar food" here. The food reflects that same perfectly balanced flavors that their beer does. A while back we celebrated my birthday at River Rat and Taylor made a phenomenal cheese plate. If you know me, you know, I am a bit of a cheese plate snob. I enjoyed every element of the plate. Back to the new menu though....I am uncertain if the menu will always be evolving and changing or not but , one this is for sure: the food we had was GOOD! I saw on their Instagram they are also having Taco Tuesday now. Thomas and I are planning to check that out next Tuesday because two of his favorite things are, Tacos and Beer. 

Here is a few photos of the food we had 2 Sunday's ago. I really do recommend checking them out for not only their beer , but their food also. You won't be disappointed. 

 

 Country Ham Board. This Ham was absolutely AMAZING! I love honeycomb too so it was an absolutely treat.

 

Picnic Pickle Board. First off, those shrimp were BEAUTIFUL and they tasted good too. This was great because everything was so fresh tasting and the flavors all complemented each other very well!

 

BBQ sandwich. Smoked to perfection and sauced just right.

BAT and the sandwich you see in the background was the Turkey and Brie. The BAT was delicious. The bacon had this awesome smoked flavor and the lemon aioli was perfection. The turkey and brie had this homemade marmalade on it that absolutely made the sandwich. 

 So there you have it folks! River Rat Brewery, where not only the beer is outstanding the food is an absolute treat. Be sure to check them out online for their weekly specials and all the current happenings at the brewery.

 They also offer brewery tours that are neat to do while you are visiting. 

Cheers yall! Have a great week and if you check out River Rat and especially their food menu, tell them Southern Peacock Eats sent you! 

Blessings!

Weekend Roundup

Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. Here is a few scenes from what we had going on.

Well, I went and cut my hair shorter. I am ashamed to say I had not had my hair done since late November. It feels good to have a fresh cut and color and I'm still adjusting to fixing it at this length. 

 

 I found the adorable makeup bag at Target. I am a sucker for pineapples. I had to buy it.

 

 I went by Thomas' shop on Friday to check out something he was working on for an upcoming wedding. I love seeing the things I show him photos of, come to life. He truly is talented. I am not even being biased. Ha!

 

I had planned to work on some stuff at the shop, but it was chilly and I wasn't really dressed for what I needed to do. Instead, we went and grabbed some food. We went to Keg Cowboy and as always, I had to get the pimp cheese board. Ya'lllll, those pickled grapes they put on there...to DIE for. I seriously savor them when I eat them because they are so strangely good. 

 

On Saturday I headed to Soda City and quickly realized half of Columbia has caught onto the Livingston Farms $10 fill a box. I went pretty early so luckily they still had a lot available and for $10 you can't beat it. 

 

I stopped by Cannonborough Beverage Company to fill up a growler of one of their amazing sodas. I opted for the Grapefruit Elderflower one this time and it did not disappoint. The lady selling for them told me to take a "soda selfie" with my buys, so I did! If you haven't checked these guys out, please do. They are now selling their sodas in bottles too. They have a really neat story on how they got started that is worth reading about.

Now, I can't make a trip to Soda City without grabbing up some of these empanadas. So, So good.

All of my Soda City buys. I have plans for a few of these things for dinner this week. 

 

I used some of the veggies I bought to make homemade red sauce. The first photo is before I took my immersion blender to it and pureed it down. If you don't own an immersion blender, go buy one. They are a life saver!

 

I stole this photo from my snapchat. Andrea was in town for the weekend and this is a random picture we took together, I am not sure WHAT we are doing ha!

 

Use my Cannonborough soda and mint from City Roots to make this cocktail.

 

On Sunday, We headed to Augusta to take our 1 year photos. Our photographer told us about this restaurant called Manuel's in this cute little neighborhood. The restaurant was neat because they grow, I believe, all of the produce they use for their dishes. If you are in the North Augusta area this place is definitely worth checking out. Each and every thing we had was amazing. 

 

Adorable houses in the neighborhood. 

Wine was 1/2 off bottles soooo, I picked out this Rose.  

 

Loved this light!

 

Duck wings with an amazing sauce!

 

Beet and Goat Cheese salad.

 

Coffee rubbed quail and pork belly with goat cheese polenta. The pork belly was to DIE for!

 

Godiva Chocolate Creme Brulee!

Well that about wraps it up. I hope everyone has an amazing week! My week is super hectic because, one of my best friends is getting married this coming weekend!  

Blessings!

Greek NOT Pasta Salad and the best dang chicken.

 I know I have been slacking, but I was in a bit of a cooking rut. It happens to me every now and then and during those time I just throw whatever together. In those moments, I couldn't even think of turning my madness into an actual recipe for you lovely people.

 I am back at it though and I am trying to think of even more ways to post on this here blog. I have a bit of a makeup obsession, so I thought about posting some about that and then there is mine and my husband's love for wood. Maybe I can convince him to do some tutorials on a few things we are working on. I don't really even know if people are reading this, but oh well ha! On to the recipe...

I think I said it in a previous post but, I legit wish I was born Greek. The flavors in Greek food are my weakness. Greece is definitely on my bucket list and one day I will visit there and eat ALL the food.

My sister started making a greek pasta salad a few years ago and now anytime I crave pasta salad, it is my go. Everyone loves it and it makes a lot. I was trying to come up with something that was like that, without the "pasta"  yet I didn't want to just make my greek salad I have posted before.I wanted to come up with a different dressing recipe and ya'll- OH MY GOSH. This might be one of the best dressings I have made yet! As for the chicken recipe, I change it up here and there, but overall, this is the marinade I use for my chicken souvlaki sandwiches and just a good way to amp up some grilled chicken.

|| Best Dang Chicken ||

Ingredients 

------

- 8-10 chicken tenderloins, cut into small pieces ( breast would work here too)

-2 cloves of garlic ( smashed then chopped)

-2 tsp oregano (dried)

-1/2 tsp salt

-1 tsp cumin

-1/4 cup olive oil

-2 splashes of red wine vinegar

-juice of one lemon

-2 tBsps plain greek yogurt

-------

-wooden skewers (soaked in water to keep from burning)

Directions

------

Combine chicken pieces and all remaining ingredients into a bowl. Be sure to coat the chicken with the marinade well. Cover and refrigerate 45 mins to overnight ( the longer the better). Once marinated to desired amount, remove and place pieces on wooden skewers. Tip- be sure to leave space between the pieces of chicken. It helps them cook evenly and helps you avoid underdone chicken. Place chicken on grill and cook until done. Be sure to rotate the skewers half way during cooking. You can do this keeping the tenders/breast whole and not even use the skewers but, I love the bite sized pieces.

|| Greek Not Pasta Salad ||

Ingredients

-----

-1 english cucumber, spiralized *

-about 8 grape tomatoes, halved

-about 5 peperocinis, stemmed and chopped

-about 6 pitted kalamata olives, halved

-1/2 can chickpeas/garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed ( my favorite are the Trader Joes organic garbanzo beans. They are a bit firmer than other canned ones I have tried)

-4 oz feta cheese, crumbled ( do yourself a favor and don't buy the pre crumbled kind for this salad, the block you crumble yourself is only a little bit more cost wise but a thousand times better taste wise)

Directions

------

Combine all ingredients and toss with favorite greek/red wine dressing OR do yourself a favor and make the dressing recipe I included below.

I was trying to think of a dressing to go with my "greek not pasta salad" and knew I wanted a dill flavor. I also had an ungodly amount of red onions in my pantry so, I decided to combine the two. This dressing is seriously SO good. I am already thinking of when I can make it again. 

|| Dill Onion Vinaigrette ||

 

Ingredients

-------

-1 tbsp (packed) fresh dill  (chopped)

-1/4 cup red onion, finely chopped

-1/2 cup olive oil

-1/4 cup red wine vinegar

-1 tsp honey

-1 tBsp dijon mustard

-1 tsp salt

-juice from one lemon WEDGE

Directions

 -------

Combine all ingredients and whisk well. Allow to sit before serving for around 30 minutes to allow flavors to meld together. Will keep in fridge for 1 week.  

* this is the spiralizer I use. I have had it for about 4 years and use it weekly. It comes with 3 different blades. I highly recommend getting one. 

Until next time, my hungry friends. 

xoxo